How long can you operate the tesla coil?

[bytecode77]

How long can you operate the tesla coil before she runs in danger to blow up some components, such as the IGBT? Does she need breaks in between runs?

How long is her life span? Will she live for a few years or is an IGBT change necessary after a few hours of total run time?
Can it be turned on for a while when currently not operating or should I turn her off and back on again when I have to edit a MIDI file?

[Alex]

you can leave it plugged in for as long as you want it won't decrease it's lifetime.

However, running it (making sparks) will eventually kill the IGBT's. They are being run past their specifications, so the silicon will degrade. You don't need to worry about it because it wont die anytime soon though. Maybe a decade or so, no one really knows

the IGBT's do heat up during runs, so a minute break in between songs would help coll it down. other than that, you won't need to worry.

[bytecode77]

A decade? Well that sounds promising

The manual says it's better to give her some breaks, so I'll do that. Also good to know that she can sing more than a few minutes, like if I want to show her off.

[Alex]

playing higher notes will cause it to heat up faster though.