Joule Lamp

[Lynxsteam]

Nick-Z

Where the heck do you live?  Beautiful beach and a Sloth for a neighbor?  I live on a lake and a few neighbors are Sloths (different kind)

So, today I am trying a homemade transistor of sorts, made from galvanized steel, aluminum, some wire.  Its really just a negative resistance oscillator.  Kind of silly, because a person would still need a battery, wire and LED or CFL bulbs.  Can't really make lightbulbs too easily.

[JouleSeeker]

Good ideas, fellas.  Here's a summary of experimental runs today; first a reminder from yesterday (where we enjoyed a big jump up in Lumens/Watt):

4 bulbs, tapping at winding 75 on the primary:
12.8V   385 mA   4.9W    Output: 508 Lm 104 Lm/W


Today, following suggestion from Lynxsteam, I tap the primary at other windings; winding 73 result:

12.8V   409 mA   5.2W    Output: 539 Lm 104 Lm/W: same Lm/W as winding 75


Tapping at winding 70 instead,
12.8V   458 mA   5.9W    Output: 597 Lm 102 Lm/W  : so light out increases, but Pin increases more and the efficacy drops a bit.


Add a 4700pF cap in parallel across the bulbs, tap at 75^th winding:
12.8V   536 mA   6.9W    Output: 686 Lm,   96 Lm/W :  Lm/W decreases with added cap in this case.


Raising ferrite rod from bottom of PVC to supported in the middle raised the yield to about 105 Lm/W (winding 75).
I tried 12.3V; power in and out both drop, as expected; Lm/W = efficacy drops a little:
12.3V   325 mA   4.0W    Output: 412 Lm ;    103 Lm/W


I tried adding a bulb, so 5 in lieu of 4 bulbs:
12.8V   436 mA   5.6W    Output: 591 Lm 106 Lm/W  â€" so output light increases and Lm/W up with the 5^th LED bulb. 

Add a second ferrite rod, this time the yield increased (with 5 bulbs and at 74^th winding):
12.8V   304 mA   3.9W    Output: 416 Lm 107 Lm/W.

Note that the input-power drops along with total light output, but the efficacy increases.
Pause to note that the Utilitech 7.5W bulb (110VAC) puts out 450 lumens, about 60 Lm/W.



One more test â€" tap into 80^th winding on the primary, but with same 5 bulbs and 2 ferrite rods in place:
12.8V   303 mA   3.9W    Output: 397 Lm 102 Lm/W


So we find an incremental but solid increase from yesterday's 104 Lm/W, to 107 Lm/W with the 5th bulb and 2 ferrite rods.


It would be great IMO to get above 110 Lm/W.  Lynx has talked about winding a new coil, smaller or larger. Changing the core would also be good;  having the ferrite core go into a complete LOOP would be great to try!  Lots of ferrite... or metglass (etc)

Or somehow getting back to the resonance nature of the Tesla coil...  that would be great...
I would also like to find a way to RELIABLY measure the actual OUTPUT POWER, to compare with the input power.   The trick is measuring the output power in the case of high voltage and fairly high frequency (around 15-40 kHz typical; I don't usually leave the DSO hooked up since this could affect the measurements).    Measuring Lumens-out is a start, but IMHO not quite enough for the inquiring mind.



All in all, 107 Lumens/Watt with a simple system, running off 12.8VDC, is pretty good! 

[NerzhDishual]

Hi Joules Looters,

Sorry if this is a little bit off topic.

I have successfully built/replicated  the "Slayer exciter circuit test" (see picture).
BTW: thanks to 'Slayer*' for his CCT.

I use a small 4.5 volts bat and one (or 2 (for the moment)) 6 watts fluorescent tube(s).

It works with (more than 30 years old out off my mess) 2N1613 or 2N1711 transistors,
so, this 2N2219 is not 'redhibitory'.

My L1 should have about (600-650) turns of #30 (0.25 mm) wire on a 2.5 cm ((one inch) diameter tube) - length 17.5 cm.
My L2 have 3/3.5? turns of #15/16/17? insulated wire.
Why not 4 turns or more? Just because I (purposely) used this 'trashed/refused' wire (plijout a ra din c'hoari a-wechoù).

It draws 100 ma (under the said 4.5 volts).
The transistor does not get hot at all.
I had to add a 4.7K pot. to the 1K resistor to get the circuit working each time
I switch it on. ) It was not the case with a single 1K resistor.

Now, I will order a bunch of these small 4 and 6 watts fluorescent tubes just to figure out
how many of these tubes I can "connect" on this amazing CCT.
-----------------
This post is not intended to provoke some diversion but to tell you that, IMO, all these kinda
CCTs seem to be very 'flexible'. It looks like we do not need to too accurately follow the specifications.
This consideration is not intended also to lessen the merits of the inventors (Slayer/Lynx/???/Etc...)
For my part, I would not have been able to even dare to think about such circuits!
However, I dared to walk on fire! (BTW: It works for anybody).

Bien le bonjour chez vous,
Jean

[Lynxsteam]

Jean,

Nice!  I have built a lot of Joule Thief circuits and they are amazing because they defy the things we have been taught.  Lots of fun and useful.  Keep experimenting, its good for the brain.

Since you changed the subject so will I.

How about a 3 watt LED on 44 ma 12 volts no transistor, no resistor, no capacitor.  Some wire, a stick or plastic tube, some scrap metal.  Hmm?

I was surfing the web looking for some ideas and stumbled on http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/els/zincosc-el.htm

I didn't put this in the circuit the way he does.  I wanted to fit the concept into the reversed biased HV circuit and light LED bulbs.  He doesn't use the aluminum with the galvanized as a NPN bipolar combo, but definitely this website inspired me to try making my own scrap metal oscillator.  Whatdyaknow - it works.  Next up is to refine this, and incorporate it as part of the LJL build.  I am thinking of wrapping a strip of aluminum around the aircore tube, then tape, then the treated galvanized, then tape and then a strip for the emitter.
See the video below, I think you will be amazed as I was.  This is how the early experimenters were proceeding in the 1920's with the blocking oscillator circuits.  I am learning so much more from 100 year old technology.  Its amazing when you start seeing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHWMeF5ybCg

[JouleSeeker]

  I decided to try out the E-core-based Lasersaber SJR 2.0, with the SAME FIVE BULBS as used in the air-core-based tests above.

Results in this vid -- sorry its dark...  I will get more light on the subject next time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0WSrcWDy3c&feature=youtu.be

Text:

  Today I test with 5 LED bulbs and my build of the Lasersaber SJR 2.0 device.  I wound the E-cores with approx. a 10:1 ratio for the secondary:primary.  Here I push to 23 VDC input, and measure (real-time) the current drawn and the light output.

  The current is 237mA @ 23 V = 5.45W.  The light output is 4750 Lux and to get lumens we multiply lux by 0.111 for five bulbs (box previously calibrated using American-rated bulbs).  The result is 4750 x 0.111 = 527 Lumens, so 527/5.45 = 97 Lumens per watt.   Note that this result is close to the 98 Lm/W that PeanutButter got with his (transformer-based) build yesterday IIRC.

Good progress!  but:  1 -- running at 23V like this blew the 2N3055 transistor -- dead.  I was concerned I blew out the bulbs, but the bulbs tested OK after I replaced the 2N3055.

2.  Also, I did somewhat better with the air-core Lynxsteam approach on the same Lasersaber circuit -- 104 Lm/Watt yesterday (see my previous video) -- and 107 Lm/W today (at 416 Lumens, with the SAME five bulbs and the same circuit -- just changed the cores).  Note that I inserted one ferrite core in the air-core to get to 104 Lm/W, and two ferrite cores to get 107 Lm/W today.  I have also run at 591 Lumens (@106Lm/W) with the air-core plus ferrite; for further discussion please see:  http://www.overunity.com/12340/joule-lamp/new/#new .

IMHO, these approaches are worth further study and the light-box is very helpful in quantifying the light output so that one can make comparisons -- and progress!
Happy experimenting!