Joule Lamp

[cyber19]

 
  I now keep the joule lamp on all night long lighting a single CFL, I've used two AAs, and after two nights they are still at 1.5 volts. Wow!

I missed this setup can you give details or post number. I am guessing the 2 AA are in series.

I am looking to do the same with a CFL plus mod an 11 LED camping lamp that uses 3 AAs in series. I was hoping to use the 3 AAs in parallel for extended run time.

[Lynxsteam]

Hi Joule Seeker,

The device I am making will mount to a wall, much like the Joule Lamp.  It will be powered by 12 vdc.  It will have a small wheel, that when you spin the lights will come on.  Stop the wheel, lights off.  I don't think it will adjust to load.  It will back charge if there is no load.  My guess is it will be very efficient based on my work with the SSG Bedini motor (battery charger).

I imagine with some tinkering we can get different frequencies.  What frequency do you want?  Generally the smaller diameter the higher the frequency, or the higher the voltage the higher the frequency.  The idea is to avoid the heat energy lost at the transistor.  I know many people say theirs run stone cold, but when the lights are bright the transistors usually get warm or even hot (heat sink).

Another advantage is we can pull more power off this device because we aren't limited by the transistor in reverse bias mode.  The limit will be the ampacity of the primary.  I am shooting for 60 watts at 120 volts ac.  That will be 5 amps on primary and 0.5 amp on secondary.

I'll hold off on more details in this thread until I make the thing and it works.  Then I will probably start a new thread.

Yes this is fun stuff.  The power is out here so its nice to have the efficient lighting.

[jbignes5]

Jbignes5,

That is a different application which is why I haven't jumped on it.  If you are running different numbers of LEDs it might not work as well.  But if you parallel all LEDs it shouldn't be an issue.  Lets think, if you parallel all LEDs you need about 3.5-3.9 volts.  What voltage will you run?  Is it 12 volt?  You aren't running 120 volt bulbs like we are doing.
If this is 12 volt then you need a step down transformer.
If your primary is 90 turns and your secondary is 30 it should be fine.  The voltage spikes will be higher than 4 volts but will be absorbed by the LEDs as amps.
Look back in this thread and see the LJL Mini.  I would make something like that but use bell wire or CAT5 wire for the primary and secondary.  One layer of secondary, 30 turns, 3 layers of primary, 30 turns each.  You may also want to wind this on a Torroid or one of those snap together ferrite chokes.
Build the circuit as usual and tie the main power into your ignition switch "run" position.
Then feed the secondary output to all your light switches.  You may need to have at least a couple of LEDs running somewhere (tail-lights) all the time so the circuit is oscillating.

In modern cars the LEDs are configured in series so they run off the normal voltage.  I think they use 6 in a string for 12 volts.  Check the LED package.  Reds run on lower voltage than whites, yellows, blues....

No it's a far cry from your setup. But I was thinking it should be able to run off a small rechargable pack. Most likely 6 volts or round about there. It would be nice to get a few days of charge out of a pack under heavy use.


The power pack for my scooter is 24 volts. But I didn't want to take the chance and tie it into the lighting because I would like them to be separate systems for now.


I was thinking of running the lights in 2 led strings, one for low beam and another added for high beam. The stop and turn signals I figure should be 2 for each turn signal so 4 for each side. The stop light I haven't figured out yet. Prolly 4 or 5 there.  They are 3.2v 24ma 30000mcd whites. Like I said I got a bunch of them. Maybe if I put them in 4 series all paralleled it would work out. Yeah that will work. So the leds will need 13 or so volts for the series of 4. Not all of them will be running at the same time. Would that be a problem with your system?


So would a boost from 6v-12v work? or is it 1/3 or 4v work for the battery?

[Lynxsteam]

Jbignes5,

I had two scooters, one was a Vespa 90, the other a 1960 Vespa GS.  I loved both.  I totally decked out the GS with every chrome accessory known to mankind.  It was white with red stripes.  Those were fun times.  I managed a college coffeehouse in Calif before it was mainstream.

Attached is a schematic of what I would do.  Study up on various ways to run tail / turn signals.  Often they are the same lights and they are just interrupted by a flasher.  Your LEDs (2 in series) should run fine on 5.8-6.5 volts which is a typical range for a healthy 6 volt battery.  You could add a small 6 volt solar cell somewhere to keep the 6 volt topped up.  Since your voltage is so close to the what your two LEDs need you don't need a series resistor.

[jbignes5]

 Yeah so how can I fit your system into that? I was thinking of using the leds in groups of 4's to lower the current draw via voltage doubling before the leds system. The groups of 4 work well. I'll see if I can draw it up as to the connections of the various lights. I could even get away with 3 volt supply then converting it up to 12 volts via the air transformer you have devised. I'll draw up the connections to let you see the load and how it should be connected.

My scooter is an electric 500 watt and is pretty basic of a setup. Future plans include bigger seat and shocks of course. But it does well for a cheaper scooter. The power pack is one I devised of parallel 24 volt 12 ah batts.

I am working on a new system to power it which means I must get rid of the controller and install a new one of my own design. The 500 watt motor will be redesigned to take advantage of some Tesla features in a new type of exciter/generator/motor. I'm collecting the parts as we speak. The only thing I have left to do is the rotor and housing. I have the field core, magnets(generator for the field exciter) and two different motors. One is the 500 watt dc and another is an ac induction motor. I might even wind my own motor because Tesla was soo specific to the design of the prime mover that it might be worth it to develop and use this design.

But for the meantime I am gonna need a power supply for the lights and maybe even a small information panel to tell things like speed and battery levels.

Thanks for the time you are allowing me to distract you from your projects. I really would appreciate the help in designing this system.

Thanks,
John Bigness

P.S.
So it would be 3.2 volts per led X 4 = 12.8 volts per string of 4
max of 6 strings but not all of them will be on at one time. Max strings active could only be 5 since I'm not including a hazard feature on this version. 2 strings min I'm guessing.