DIY ACID FREE CARBON BATTERIES

[Bizzy]

@Bizzy
Last night I was still scratching my head to try and figure out how tape could be a better separator so I conducted a test, as I told you I would.  In order to be objective I selected a metal I have not tried before (aluminum tube).  Since I had not tried aluminum before, I did not know what to expect.  I saw the voltage increase you are seeing but the amperage way different than I expected.  Using digital and analog meters, I confirmed the readings.  Figuring something wrong (short or something), set up the test again using conduit.  This time I did not see the voltage difference you saw or what I saw in the aluminum, but the amperage verified my first experiment.  Look forward to your findings.
Brad S

Hi Brad
Sorry I couldn't respond sooner I have been shoveling my driveway all morning and just got to work.
Those amperage numbers do seem odd. I should be able to test paper versus tape this weekend again and check the amperage at that time. What size cells were you using, so I can try to replicate them as well?
Thanks
Bizzy

[b_rads]

Hi Brad
Sorry I couldn't respond sooner I have been shoveling my driveway all morning and just got to work.
Those amperage numbers do seem odd. I should be able to test paper versus tape this weekend again and check the amperage at that time. What size cells were you using, so I can try to replicate them as well?
Thanks
Bizzy

Bizzy
Snow is bad stuff.  I moved 30 years ago from Colorado to Alabama to get away from the snow.
The aluminum and conduit both were cut to 3 inches.  You can tell from the attached image how they were built.  I seriously hope you find an error in my results.  Good Luck!
Brad

[dasimpson]

have to tried not covering the internel electrode with anything if so what happened

[plengo]

Update on the penny cell battery.  This battery has 120 plus continous run hours and still going strong.  Without using carbon in other build, I would have already started pulling LED off.  I have not had to with this one.  Will continue to monitor this build.  The picture was taken after the 120 hours of run time.

I tried the same setup BUT the pennies will become black (like an oxide of kinds) on the surface and the whole process will no longer produce power.

Can you, please, show more details about the construction process and steps? It would be great if you could show pictures in every step where one can see it. The pictures posted are too small.

Concerning the carbon, I little confused to how much and how "tall" compared to the "conduit" it should go.

How much water is also necessary? I tried many different mixes and it did not seem to matter.
It does produce power right at the beginning but so far it looks to me like a galvanic reaction of sorts.

I would love to duplicate your work and have one running 120+ hours too.

Many thanks,

Fausto.

[b_rads]

@plengo
Thank you for your interest in these battery projects.  Unfortunately, I have tried so many configurations that I normally only take pictures of completed successful builds.  I have a full time job, consulting on the side, and obligated to the misses this coming weekend in her home-based business. It will be next week before I am able to get back into the shop.  I will be happy to talk through the steps until then. 
Penny cell construction:
I found it easier to use a small jeweler’s bench grinder to take the copper plate off the edges of the penny.  Post 1982 pennies are 97.7% zinc.  I have used 2 different methods to connect the pennies together.  1 â€" Using 26ga copper wire threaded through the hole in the center and making 4 complete wraps around the pennies.  2 - #10 threaded rod with galvanized washers and nuts.  With the edges cleaned of the coppers and the pennies connected, I wrap the entire unit with a coffee filter.  Place this into a small prescription bottle and pack activated carbon as tightly as I can.  While packing the carbon around the pennies, lay copper wire around the periphery.  I get about three full turns around while filling in the carbon.  I use 1 teaspoon of Alum with about .4l of water as the electrolyte. I capped my cells just to slow down evaporation.  I have not taken one apart yet to see what is happening.  Here is a link to a slightly larger copy of the build. 
http://www.overunity.com/index.php?topic=9752.56
The bottles I am using are about 2 ¾” tall.  I cut the conduit to 3”, so about a quarter inch of conduit stick about the bottle.  I pack the activated carbon the very top of the bottle.  Here is a link to a larger picture of the conduit cell.  I fill all my cells the top with the alum water electrolyte.
http://www.overunity.com/index.php?topic=9752.50
You are correct; this is totally a galvanic cell.  The interesting thing however, the alum seems to draw more usable power with less corrosion than other things I have tried.  The power is highest for the first several hours and then stabilizes.  The copper penny cell has been lighting 9 LED’s for over 200 hours now.

I will take pictures and post step-by-step instructions next week if possible.
Thanks again, Brad S