Jacobs Ladder ver 2.0

October 14th, 2006: New and Improved Jacob's Ladder ver 2.0

Introduction:

I decided to rebuild my old Jacob's Ladder to a new and improved version. Rather than using coat hangers I decided to be more professional and use 0.5 cm diameter aluminum rods. I also redesigned the wooden box -- it now has internal L-bracket supports, a male SPH-386 AC connector, hinges and a magnetic catch. The rods are easily removable for quick set up and dismantling, and the hinged lid includes a Gabriel electrode to help initiate the initial spark. Special thanks to Pat, who helped make the box.

Procedure:

Instructions on how to build it are coming soon -- I promise!

Photos of the Finished Product: Ver 2.0


A front view of the Jacob's Ladder. The aluminum rods are about 4 feet tall, and flared at the top by about 30 degrees. The box was made with 1/2" plywood. The lid of the box, is hinged in the back and has magnetic catches in the front.		A side view of the custom made box. The transformer is really heavy, so be sure to build a strong box. Add a handle to make it easier to carry, and an AC power connector so it is easy to plug in.	This is the back view of the jacobs ladder box. Kind of boring, ehh? But notice the nice hinges. I couldn't use the brass screws that came with the hinges because they were too long. I found some others that worked okay though.

	The Gabriel Electrode helps start the initial spark. Place it about halfway in between the two rods. In my setup, I cut a nail in half, soldered two 1 MOhm resistors in series and ran a wire to one side of the transformer. In a later photo you can see the Gabriel Electrode Wire. It is a small red wire. The current through this wire is quite small and only for a fraction of a second. The wire doesn't need to be that big.	This is the AC side of the transformer. Ground goes to ground wire, L (load) goes to the hot wire and N goes to the neutral wire. If you use a computer power cord like I did, the colour code is standard. Green to ground, white to neutral, black to hot. You may want to put an SPH-386 style AC connector. You can see it towards the back left corner of the box. Notice all the structural support for the plywood.	This is the "business" side of the transformer. Across the two insulators is a 15,000 volt potential. Low current so it is fairly safe, but don't touch them. The black wires run to the front of the box, through the PVC pipe, to the wire couplers, which connect to the rods. The red wire runs to the Gabriel Electrode.

	This shows all the critical elements of the Jacob's Ladder. The AC side of the the transformer is on the left. The high voltage side of the transformer is on the right. The Gabriel electrode is fixed to the lid. Although not pictured, the lid also contains magnetic catches.	The aluminum rods are held in 2AWG aluminum wire couplers. These are then inserted into PVC pipe. Be sure to use PVC or any other suitable insulator between the couplers. If you don't, they are sure to arc!	A flash video, showing the Jacob's Ladder in action. Click here for a larger version of the video, in avi format. This file is large (~110 Mb) so please be patient. Note: The above video is very small and short. Hardly enough justice for something this cool. But, I wanted it to load quickly.