Joule Lamp

[NickZ]

  Just wanted to thank Lynx for providing the smaller version. As it's what most of us low budget guys can build or replicate.  Making the circuit small but powerful is great.

  I wound a used E-core yesterday and am trying that core out today. But I'll be getting some more wire soon to wind one of your designs.

  I'm also interested in making the Joule Lamp, but one that will hold a CFL bulb on top, like the one that Lidmotor has shown on his video. As I have a bunch of used CFLs to work with.

  I'm still playing with the Solar Exciter circuit, and getting some garden light solar cells to work with the Exciter set up. It has been tricky, but I'm getting there.

  Thanks again, I really appreciate your taking the time and effort to share your ideas with all of us.
                     NickZ

[JouleSeeker]

   Another very instructive, step-by-step vid by Lynxsteam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWq5uDdiQzE&feature=channel&list=UL

Thanks for sharing this information.  You do very good work.

[Lynxsteam]

NickZ,

If you want to light gutted CFLs you can. 

I have tried lighting unmodded CFLs and it works OK, but the internal circuit rings and they draw too much current.  LEDs are dimmable and CFLs aren't.  They are built for 50-60 hz and 120 vac, not our high frequency spikey voltage.  The CFL has a circuit that starts the bulbs at 240 v and then drops the voltage back to line voltage.  With our spikey voltage this circuit doesn't work properly and it never drops back down.  It keeps trying, but instead forces the LJL to put out max power. 

Look at the drawings I did, everything is the same except you need to halve the primary.  Do that by using two primary wires and wind the secondary til its covered.  Then join the primaries so they are parallel.  In essence you have one fat primary with half the turns.  This will simulate the 240 startup until the bulbs are heated up, then flip the switch to dim and they should run very efficiently.

For instance on the medium build LJL, you will have about 770 secondary turns, and 37-38 turns primary.  That will give you the underlying 240 volts.  When you switch to the dim setting the underlying voltage will be about 140 which will run the CFLs bright on very little watts.

Once you get the idea you can do the same with that small "mini" LJL.  Gut the CFLs and reattach the wires to the base minus the circuit.  Mark them as "modded".

[NickZ]

  Lynx:
   Wow, thanks for all that info.  I really do appreciate your taking the time and effort to help out.
   The idea is to gut the CFLs, and avoid the higher startup voltages. I've already done that to several of them, but have some that are still whole, or ungutted. I've also been able light up a 15 watt round florescent bulb, ungutted. I can get several of the gutted CFLs to light on 12v, but not full on. So, I made a bigger tower yesterday, to see if I can improve the light output.  The new tower will brightly light a neon bulb, but I'm still having a hard time tuning it to light the CFLs.  Tubes bulbs seam easier to light than CFls.
 
   I spent the whole day yesterday working on winding the a new tower coil on a piece of 1.5 inch by 9 inch pvc pipe, winding the L3 coil (secondary) using the mag wire off of a refrigerator fan motor coil. Not an easy thing to do, all by hand. It took hours just to get the pretty red mag wire off of the refrigerator fan motor that I recycled as the coil wire to be wound on the pvc pipe. As I'm far from the nearest place to buy mag wire. It is mostly wound now, but I still need to finish the last inch or so, and I have enough wire to do it, but need to solder and add the last bit of wire on to the first part, still,  to finish the tower.  It took many many hours of work, and so far it does not work any better than my tiny coil I use on my previous Exciter circuit. I'll have to redo the whole Exciter circuit to match the new coil, that is what I've been doing today.
  I also wound a used E-core, but did not have any luck on that still, as something is still not right there, yet.

  Today I looked at your part 2 video, as well as the one with the bunny wabits. Wary Nice!
  Funny how the smaller 9 inch core you showed looks very much like what I just wound, except for the primary on the outside, which I can also be added on to it, later.
  Any ways, thanks again, for sharing... 
  I'll upload some pics and videos, once I have it all done and working. The idea is to make the Joule Lamp out of it, which will also be a Solar powered Exciter, as the Exciter circuits still have me captivated.
                                                       NickZ

[triffid]

test,just wanted a link to here and want to say hi to all the members in this thread.I just recently made a JT myself.Powering an LED but soon to build a bigger light.triffid