Geissler tube questions, does any one collect them

I have been thinking about collecting Geissler and/or Crookes tubes and was wondering if any other people collect these as well? Also I was wondering what are the safe operating voltages of these? AC or DC? and what would be a safe current to run them at? Any info would be very helpfull. Thanks

I have 2 violet ray generators
they are quack medical devices
they are hand held tesla coils 50 kv rf
I have about 8 glass tips for them
I think one would power a Geissler tube

violet ray generators are very cool! I have a simple one my self with 3 probes. The metal probe will set paper on fire when set at it's highest setting. I had not thought of useing it to exite geissler tubes but that should work.

I haven't handled or seen a Geissler tube in about 25 years. But I know they can be excited by about 1,250 volts AC RMS. At least the C02 one I had could be. Other fill gases could have different start voltages.
The CO2 one I had was a straight tube, with a capillary length of approximately 12".
And if I remember correctly, it glowed a pinkish white color.

I believe they were meant to be driven from AC.

I don't believe they are meant to be operated for any significant length of time over 5mA or thereabouts. But it's been more than two decades since I've messed with them, so take this value with plenty of crystalline sodium chloride.

Re: Geissler tube questions, does any one collect

I`ve got one and I`d love to find more. Funnilly enough I was looking for them at Ebay the other day. *Nearly* scored a lot of three there about a year ago but it went out of my reach. They are highly desirable, turn up only very infrequently, and some are worth a lot of money. I have heard there are modern replicas made by one or two places but never saw anywhere I could buy any.


This is my little one. It`s missing an end-cap so has a wire lead soldered directly to it instead. Excuse the poor photos they was taken ages ago with a video capture system before I had a digicam:







I think I used the insides of one of those small 12 volt powered plasma globes to fire it up for this photo, it has a miniature TV flyback type transformer that puts out a few KV at hardly any mA. The inverter circuit out of a battery powered 6 inch fluorescent lantern works too if I remember correctly, but drives them a little hot.

Or you could use one of these things which were made specially to light Geisslers in the days before electronics. Even harder to find than the tubes though!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: Geissler tube questions, does any one collect

I was keeping track of the geisser rotator on ebay but after a maxa beam can't quite justify the 830+ bucks it sold for. I would realy love one though! I would like to get an old beam or other style motor from the pre 1900s too but thats probly a dream.

I did win 2 simple tubes from ebay a few days ago. I can't waite to get them!

Thanks for posting pictures! very neat looking tube! I hope to find some like that one day.

Also thanks LedMuseum for the current info and voltage type. DC would most likely damage the tube by pitting and erroding one of the electrodes.

I am kinda suprized more people on this fourm don't collect these or are they that rare?
About 5 years ago I had a chance to buy a realy neet set of about 9 tubes but it was around 900 bucks. I thought hard and then whant back to the vendor and he had allready sold them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Re: Geissler tube questions, does any one collect

I can grab the metal probe I have for my violet ray generator. due to the skin affect of rf I feel nothing once I am touching it.

sure freaks my friends out when I hold a metal object in my hand and let the 1.5 inch arc's zap it.

zapping my skin directly hurts a little bit.
too much and I get burnt by the rf energy.

do not try this unless you know what you are doing.

I built a large 750 kv tesla coil when I was a teenager.