Wiring for Stun Gun Ignition

[ArticWolf]

First off I did search for my answer but got good answer's, but don't know if they will work for my configuration. What I was wondering was this, I have a 650 KV Cheetah rechargable stun gun (lucky me save's on battery's ) and I think that the most answer's that I got wouldn't handle the power this thing makes, Speaker wire don't know if this will work, BBQ wire might work, Fly back wire will definitely work but not readily available. What else could I use that has good insulation? (2 wires side by side and don't spark across each other) This is the last thing I need to know before my cannon is done other than an ignition box that is the easy part

[hi]

you can buy wire at any wardware store, they have all kinda of thickesses, some have insulation as thick as the wire its self.

[ArticWolf]

I tryed that, I might have to go to a different store my local one don't have wire that can handle the load. 650,000 volts is alot for a wire

[Pete Zaria]

I used the old spark plug wires off my Explorer. They're not very long (2ft tops) but they're VERY well insulated.

I'd think you could use Romex cable (the stuff they use for wiring electrical outlets in walls) or any other heavy-gauge, insulated cable/wire.

You could probably use computer-type power cords. Just cut the ends off and use all 3 wires inside the cable. These are cheap and will probably handle 650kv for a short period of time...

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

[ArticWolf]

I'll have to try the computer power cord wire, I don't have any spark plug wire's till later my friend has some extra he said I can have. Oh yea just to let every one know Speaker wire don't work on 650kv stun gun's, just a tap of the button makes them smoke and the spark jumps radicly thru the wire, It's a pretty site but they don't work.

[ArticWolf]

Thanks for the help all. I got some real good wire from my local radio shack guy. He didn't like the reason he sold the wire for, but he had no choice it handles 20kv AC the wire will handle it due to the stun gun being DC. But that thing is loud inside tha cannon

[hi]

I think i used 14 gauge wire for a 500k stungun. it seems to work as long as you only use it for a few seconds.

[ArticWolf]

I was thinking of using 14 gauge wire to but didnt use it first I went to radio shack and bought my wire fo only $2.50 for 2 1 foot piece's I didnt need that much but it worked out in the endmabe when I mod this one I will use smaller wire thanks for the help

[jimmy101]

Very few multiwire cables will handle 10KV let alone 650KV if there is no complete circuit. (The gauge of a wire has absolutely nothing to do with the maximum voltage rating of its insulation.)

Most generic wire, including Romex etc. used in household wiring is only rated from a few hundred volts up to about 1KV.

The only reason that lower rated wires work is because the breakdown voltage of the spark gap is less than the breakdown voltage of the wire's insulation. If you increased the spark gap enough, eventually you would reach the point where the spark would jump through the insulation instead of across the spark gap.

The common solution for using very high voltage is to use individual wires and keep them well separated to avoid arcing through the insulation.

[ArticWolf]

jimmy101

The common solution for using very high voltage is to use individual wires and keep them well separated to avoid arcing through the insulation.

That is what I will do I just wanted to make it look cleaner with the wiring togeter, but some things need to be sacrificed so I don't ruin the stun gun. The wire I got From my local Radio Shack guy is double insulated, thick clear rubber core inside and colored rubber outter core. The wires work together without arching but I don't want to ruin the stun gun so I'll stick with your idea thank's jimmy101

[PneuJose]

use the tesla coil wire from an old tv. im using that type on mine too 650kv stungun.

[pyrogeek]

Have any of you looked at the wire used inside stun guns? I have 2 different 200K volt ones, and they use wire probably about the size of the single wires in a USB cord. It's tiny stuff.
I just use cheap, generic wire on my guns. The wire is like 2mm thick, and just has the normal insulation. I know that when you extend the distance you need thicker wire. But, I have fired a gun remotely using a 200K volt stun gun and a 50ft roll of some medium sized cheap speakerwire.
Quit worrying so much. Spark plug wire may look cool, but I really don't see the point of using it other than easthetics.

[ArticWolf]

I didn't think think that the stun gun would work with that much wire on it. I quess you learn new things every day. The reason I was mounting it to the cannon is because I wanted it to look like I know what I am doing. People around me never made anything like mine before and I want to be proud of it.

[jimmy101]

As I said earlier. In this application, the gauge of the wire is totally irrelevant. You could use 40G (hair thin) wire or triple-ought (almost pencil diameter) wire. Both would work just fine.

Like Pyrogeek said, look at the wire inside a stun gun. Pretty small gauge, generic, "what ever was cheapest" wire is used. But none of the high voltage wires inside the gun is multiconductor and they are well separated.

What matters isn't the gauge of the wire, it is the insulation on the wire and the maximum voltage the wire sees.

In most spud gun applications a 200KV stungun is not operating at 200KV. If you have a 1/8th inch spark gap the maximum voltage on the wires is only ~3KV. If you have a 1" gap then the maximum voltage on the wire is ~25KV. You never get anywhere near 200KV if there is a spark gap.

The required voltage rating of the insulation is relative to the spark gap, not the theoretical voltage of the stungun.

When you trigger a stungun the output voltage starts to rise. As soon as a spark jumps the spark gap the circuit quenches itself and the voltage drops back to zero. It then starts to charge again and the output voltage starts to rise again. The maximum voltage you get is whatever voltage is required to get a spark to jump. You can never get a voltage higher than that.

[iPaintball]

use the tesla coil wire from an old tv. im using that type on mine too 650kv stungun.

I'm pretty sure there aren't any tesla coils in a TV... Flyback transformer wires can stand up to enormous voltages, so they would work in your application. It would probably just be easier to buy some heavy guage insulated wire from Radioshack.