[TowerTalk] [Fwd: Re: Lubricating air variable capacitors]

[Barrie Smith]

> Barrie,
>
> I cleaned the capacitor with Simple Green followed by the dishwasher per
> your advice. Took the cap back my friend's shop today. The 1-2 microamps
> of leakage at 1KV before the cleaning process was reduced to about one
> tenth of a microamp afterward.
>
> Then that I noticed some dark matter on the end of one of the
> insulators, I'd call it carbon tracks but that may not be the right
> term. I cleaned that area with a pencil eraser, removing the "carbon
> tracks".
>
> Tested again and found zero leakage current at 1KV.

Indeed, when it comes to high voltage, cleanliness is next to godliness, or, 
at least next to low leakage.

73, Barrie, W7ALW