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New Battery systems => Other new battery systems => Topic started by: Bizzy on February 23, 2011, 05:05:49 PM
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This thread is a spin-off of Lasersaber’s working air battery thread. I applaud Lasersaber for his creativity and skill at inventing. And we look forward to his DIY joule ringer circuit.
This thread will detail how to make a working acid free carbon battery. Some of the initial information will be repeats from Lasersaber’s thread so bare with us while we complete the switch over. It is our goal to supply all the needed information to construct a usable battery system with only minimal component degradation. This is achieved by eliminating acid from the cell and using water as the only electrolytic source. The ongoing experiments will help everyone to understand the thought process behind the cells and to give us the maximum possible efficiency.
I hope you find it useful. We only ask that you please contribute.
Thanks, Danke sehr, und merci vielmals
Bizzy
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In early experiments, this has been a good source for the carbon. I would be interested to know if others have found another good, cost effective, high performing source for carbon.
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Good Morning
This is a picture of my working "air" battery
Each cell is made of copper casing with a copper plug bottom. A thin layer of activated carbon at the bottom. A magnesium rod is covered with mascing tape and incerted inside and more activatred carbon is filled in. I poured a shot glass full of water into each cell and hooked them in a series. and the result is 5.96 volts.
Currently I am running an led on just 2 cells to see how long it runns.
Bizzy
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Good morning
Here is a diagram of the cell I used. I then hooked them up in a series. Copper to magnesium. I hope to work on it more after work today and will report on what I find. Enjoy
Bizzy
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Good morning
The following are the results of my latest test. I wanted to know if granular size of the carbon made a differance. Below is a picruew of a single cell with activated carbon just as you would buy it at the store.
Bizzy
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The following is another cell with the carbon finely ground. Although .08 volts may not seem like a big differance, it is an increase. And the water is still settling into that cell.
When I pooured the water into the granualr cells the water went down easily. However in the case of the fine ground carbon it is taking much longer to filter down. I am hoping by this evening it will be full and I can get better readings.
Bizzy
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Good morning
I discovered an error last night. When I was originally setting up the cells my wife came in and I forgot to add water to the last cell which by itself was not producing any power. So as a result my original readings of 5.9 volts was just for 4 cells not five.
Each cell individually produces bewteen 1.49 and 1.52 (not including the new cell with fine carbon instead of granualar) If water would have been added to the 5th cell the power would have been much higher.
Just to prove this I hooked all the cells in a series this morning before work. In this I also included the new cell and I was getting 7.40 volts.
The new cell individual output was already to 1.61 volts. I will have more updates tomorrow.
Bizzy
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Good Morning
As promised here are the results of all the cells hooked in series including the cell with finely ground carbon. 7.63 volts.
I know for certain it can go higher with the ground carbon, but there are still other tests that need done and the granular carbon is easier to work with.So I am going to leave the others granular for now
Bizzy
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Hi Brad
I wanted to compare your idea of incerting the wire as you do compared with using the copper tube as I do. The following are those results.
In the following picture is a single cell using granular carbon and magnesium as before. I was hoping to use a galvanized tube and thought I had one in my workshop but didn't.
The voltage results were 1.51 volts.
Bizzy
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continued...
The following is a picture of a cell using just a single wire in the granualar carbon. Just as the previous picture I used a magnesium rod. The only other differance is I removed the copper tube and used a PVC pipe to contain the carbon and water around the magnesium rod. The resulting voltage is actually 1.08 volts. This photo was taken the previous night.
But I have to conclude that a larger contact area is needed to maximize voltage.
Bizzy
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continued...
The following is a picture of a cell using just a single wire in the granualar carbon. Just as the previous picture I used a magnesium rod. The only other differance is I removed the copper tube and used a PVC pipe to contain the carbon and water around the magnesium rod. The actual resulting voltage is 1.08 volts. The picture was taken the previous night
So I have to conclude that a larger contact area is needed to maximize voltage.
Bizzy
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In early experiments, this has been a good source for the carbon. I would be interested to know if others have found another good, cost effective, high performing source for carbon.
Hi Brad
Another cheap source of carbon would be coal and just crush it yourself. Fortunately there are railraod tracks next to my hunting camp and they often spill coal along the side.
Bizzy
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Good Morning
As promised here are the results of all the cells hooked in series including the cell with finely ground carbon. 7.63 volts.
I know for certain it can go higher with the ground carbon, but there are still other tests that need done and the granular carbon is easier to work with.So I am going to leave the others granular for now
Bizzy
For the ground carbon, are you crushing the coal you mentioned or crushing the carbon pellets.
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For the ground carbon, are you crushing the coal you mentioned or crushing the carbon pellets.
Originally I crushed the coal until you told me about the activated carbon. The cell with the crushed carbon is from the activated carbon.
However when I I do the tests on the various dielectrics, tape, paper(coffee filter) clothe and plastic, I will use the the granualar carbon, only becuase it takes so long for teh water to settle into the crucshed carbon, and because it takes alot of time and wine :) to crush the carbon.
Bizzy
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fyi here is a link to my source for magnesium
http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/magnesiumextrudedrod.htm
I use the .675 diameter extrusions and they will cut it to length for you.
For copper tubing you can go to any hardware store and get 1" diameter copper tubing and the respective end caps.
The activated carbon can be purchased at any pet store that sells aquirium supplies
Bizzy
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This is thanks to Pirate88179. It should help you to understand why we are using the metals that we do. These same parameters are used in creating earth batteries as well.
http://www.thelenchannel.com/1galv.php
I posted this about 3 years ago on the earth battery topic. This chart shows that it makes a huge difference what metals are used. This is why I chose magnesium and carbon a long time ago. They are the cheapest and easiest to get metals that give the most difference. I frequently get over 2 volts from my earth battery which is still running after all of this time.
I hope this helps.
Bill
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As I mentioned before the next round of tests I want to look at are the dielectrics between the carbon and magnesium. I want to examine paper, clothe and plastic compared to the mascing tape I am currently using. Can any one recommend a way to secure the clothe around the magnesium rod until the carbon is filled in but doesn'tinterfer with the reaction?
Hi Brad
How did you secure the coffee filters around your conduit?
Thanks
Bizzy
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Hi Brad
How did you secure the coffee filters around your conduit?
Thanks
Bizzy
Remember that you only need the filter to stay in place while you are packing the carbon around the conduit. I use 2 methods that I am showing below. The filter for the bottom goes on first working my way to the top. This way the overlaping seams will not allow the carbon to work underneath the filter.
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Good morning
Here are the results of the seperater tests. I wanted to test the differance between clothe paper plastic and tape seperaters....
Below is the results of the tape 1.55 volts
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Here are the results of the paper seperater. I used Brad method of fastening it to the magnesium rod. (thanks)I had a nice fit but only got 1.47 volts. I actually thought I would get closer to the tape readings becuase the mascing tape is also made of paper but I guess the tape is a little thicker.
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Here are the results of the plastic. We attached it as we did the paper. But as you can see .0 volts
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And finally the clothe seperater...We tried several methods and each time the clothe was giving us problems eventually we used thing rubber bands to hold it in place... we got a nice tight fit. Intially I got a reading of 1.72 volts and thought this would work. However when I went downstairs this morning to get official readings(allowing the water to settle over night) I saw we only got 1.32 volts
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It looks like paper and tape seem to work the best. Although if someone can suggest anything else that can be used as a seperater I would be happy to test it next to the tape seperater...
One more observation. When I dismantled the three cells I noticed the activated carbon still retained much of the moisture far better than the coal did in past experiments. I didn't dismantle the fine ground carbon tube but I can tell by the way it absorbed the water it worked just as well as the granualar carbon....
The next step is to grind enough activated carbon to fill all the cells and tape the three magnesium rods from this past experiment. Afterwards I will assemble a complete cell series using tape and and finely ground carbon. At that time I promise I will also have amperage results for everyone who is asking.
I am uncertain when I will have the grinding done since it is a very time consuming process and is done by hand. I thought about using my wife's food processor, but she said "NO!" with a few more colorful metiphors added :)
Bizzy
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It looks like paper and tape seem to work the best.
I thought about using my wife's food processor, but she said "NO!" with a few more colorful metiphors added :)
Bizzy
Excellent information. I am a little surprised the tape worked better than the paper. Makes me wonder if something in the sticky part of the tape is encouraging the higher voltage. ??? I will give the tape a try as well.
Funny, Funny, Funny - been there done that!
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Excellent information. I am a little surprised the tape worked better than the paper. Makes me wonder if something in the sticky part of the tape is encouraging the higher voltage. ??? I will give the tape a try as well.
Funny, Funny, Funny - been there done that!
Hi Brad
I was kind of surprised too. I really thought the results would have been much closer. The only thing I could think of as a reason was that the tape gave a tighter fit. Even though we tried very hard to get the coffee filter to fit just as tight as the tape, the tape undoubtly gave a tighter more complete fit. The only other thing I could think of it that the tape was more dense than the filter.
thanks
Bizzy
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I am looking at my coffee grinder to convert the granules
Mark
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I am looking at my coffee grinder to convert the granules
Mark
Hi Mark
I envey you and your grinder I am using a mortar and pestle
Bizzy
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@Bizzy
Tried your idea of using more copper in the cell last night. The first cell in the image below reported 1.13v. Had some copper foil that I lined the cell with. The second cell in the image reports 1.09v. This cell is 11 days old and has 120+ run hours on it. The only other difference between the 2 cells is the first cell is plain tap water ond the second has a weak epsom salt solution. I will continue to monitor both for best results. I have really enjoyed this project - the first cell built lives on the patio and is great for relaxing at night. Just enough light to enjoy a beverage without drawing attention to yourself. Magnesium fire starter and carbon.
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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.
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Update on conduit cell battery. This is my pride and joy build due to the simplicity, and cost. The six cells in this battery took about an hour to build and the consumable part (conduit) cost less than fifty cents. All other parts of the battery are reusable. This picture was taken after 120 plus hours of continous run time.
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Update on conduit cell battery. This is my pride and joy build due to the simplicity, and cost. The six cells in this battery took about an hour to build and the consumable part (conduit) cost less than fifty cents. All other parts of the battery are reusable. This picture was taken after 120 plus hours of continous run time.
Hi Brad,
That is a nice set up you have!... how much voltage are you getting per cell?
Bizzy
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I know there will be some magnesium degredation while the circuits are closed, will there be any degregation when the circuit is open??
Bizzy
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Hi Brad,
That is a nice set up you have!... how much voltage are you getting per cell?
Bizzy
Under load the conduit battery is putting out 2.54v - below is a sketch of how I have them connected. Given that - under load you would assume each cell is producing about 0.84v. I have noticed in the past when connecting multiple cells the voltage does not always add up like you think it would. I have no explanation for that.
Brad S
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I know there will be some magnesium degredation while the circuits are closed, will there be any degregation when the circuit is open??
Bizzy
My guess would be some degradation does occur - but I am just guessing.
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My guess would be some degradation does occur - but I am just guessing.
Interesting originally I thought there would be no or just very minimal degregation, just as you would put the metals on a shelf next to each other if there was no current there would be no reaction
I may just have to build a single cell set it up like the others and put it on a shelf. However because of the cost I may build two of your conduit cells. One to sit on a shelf and the other to run so I have somthing to compare it too.
Bizzy
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Under load the conduit battery is putting out 2.54v - below is a sketch of how I have them connected. Given that - under load you would assume each cell is producing about 0.84v. I have noticed in the past when connecting multiple cells the voltage does not always add up like you think it would. I have no explanation for that.
Brad S
Hi Brad
Ok the big question everyone asks me (but I haven't answered yet)... how much amperage are you getting?
Bizzy
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Hi Brad
Ok the big question everyone asks me (but I haven't answered yet)... how much amperage are you getting?
Bizzy
I am ashamed to say that I popped the fuse on my digital multimeter trying to read amperage while powering a motor. The numbers were bouncing all over the place and then the fuse popped. Reading from the analog is a challenge for me. The best I could tell was that the mag/carbon running the solar light was arond 150 to 180ma. The zinc cells are not as powerful. They seem to run around 100 to 120ma. Sorry I can not be more specific - need to go pick up some new fuses or a better multimeter.
Brad S
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ps - if you put 2AA batteries running those lights at 100ma - 120ma you would expect to get 20 to 24hours running the lights as I have them set up. I do not believe 2AA would run those lights that long. If someone could confirm or deny this statement, I would certainly appreciate it. As I said before, I have already logged over 120 continuous hours and they do not seem to be weakening. In my book, this is pretty good.
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@Bizzy
Since I am in water treatment since many years, I am curious of what you would think if using a carbon block filter as the carbon source.
I have my own line which is the worlds most finest at 0.45 micron absolute, twice as better as the KX brand shown below, but I am not asking this for publicity of any sort. I just wanted to have your impression on if it is a good idea to try since these carbon blocks have the best and most homogeneous carbon matrix you could get. Even a low end carbon block would be much better then the carbon power, but I could also be wrong relative to this direct battery effect.
Thanks for sharing your works.
wattsup
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@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
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@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
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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
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have to tried not covering the internel electrode with anything if so what happened
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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.
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@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 – 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 3â€, 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
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have to tried not covering the internel electrode with anything if so what happened
Had you asked this question last week I would have replied that I think the separator is absolutly necessary. Yesterday, for grins and giggles, I tried a different cell type that was not using a separator and it worked, although very poorly. I will give this cell type a try without a separator when I can get back into the shop.
Thanks, Brad S
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I would love to duplicate your work and have one running 120+ hours too.
Many thanks,
Fausto.
Please share, I would love to see what you are doing.
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Had you asked this question last week I would have replied that I think the separator is absolutly necessary. Yesterday, for grins and giggles, I tried a different cell type that was not using a separator and it worked, although very poorly. I will give this cell type a try without a separator when I can get back into the shop.
Thanks, Brad S
Hi Brad
How much voltage did you get without the seperator? I haven't had a chance to work on any projects my parent's house was flooded due to the rain and thaw. But I hope to jump back into it this weekend!!
Bizzy
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Hi Brad
How much voltage did you get without the seperator? I haven't had a chance to work on any projects my parent's house was flooded due to the rain and thaw. But I hope to jump back into it this weekend!!
Bizzy
Sorry to hear that. Hope everyone is safe and no permanent damage.
The separator is an absolute must in the type cells I am building. I tried a quick test last night with conduit and carbon - no separator. The voltage was 0.09v.
Brad S.
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Observation: @all - please respond with your thoughts.
The magnesium carbon cells powering my little solar lights, Old one sealed using Epsom Salt and the new one uses plain water. The plain water cell seemed to be dropping current faster than the Epsom Salt cell. A wind driven rain fell yesterday and rain-water got into the plain water cell. Last night the cell gained strength and the morning the cell light was brighter than when I made it. Why would rain-water be better than tap-water? Any thoughts?
Brad S
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Observation: @all - please respond with your thoughts.
The magnesium carbon cells powering my little solar lights, Old one sealed using Epsom Salt and the new one uses plain water. The plain water cell seemed to be dropping current faster than the Epsom Salt cell. A wind driven rain fell yesterday and rain-water got into the plain water cell. Last night the cell gained strength and the morning the cell light was brighter than when I made it. Why would rain-water be better than tap-water? Any thoughts?
Brad S
Hi Brad
It could be one of a couple things, so i thought I would throw out my ideas for others to comment on or to add to:
First it could be simply that the cell needed water and the extra water helped to "recharge it" I know it doesn't actually recharge it but it gives it the added moisture to operate. If that is the case build a simple cell run it and add water after a few days to see if that helps and has the same results.
The other thing it could be is that the rain water has a slight charge to it it. Nikola Tesla proved that the atmosphere is charged and that only makes sence that water as it falls would collect some charges on the way down. If that is the case it could be that it added the charges to your cell.
We are still working to clean up my parents house and hope to be back in the tinkering room this weekend.
Bizzy
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For anyone interested, I have placed a step by step guide in the download section for the conduit/carbon/copper battery.
http://www.overunity.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=460
Enjoy,
Brad S
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@all
I fully intended to do research last night but, instead I played with a basic joule thief and the Carbon/Copper/Zinc battery. What great fun. I could not light a 5mm LED directly from the two cells. With a basic joule thief the two cells produced a very intense light. I could light with as little as 10.7ma and the pot used at full on would consume slightly over 50ma. I need to find the sweet spot where the cells are not stressed.
The DIY Copper Carbon Zinc document is here:
http://www.overunity.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=460
The Basic Joule Thief 101 document is here:
http://www.overunity.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=441
Have fun!
Brad S.
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Hi B_rad great work nice nice. What is Alum? Aluminium filings?
Thanks
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Hi B_rad great work nice nice. What is Alum? Aluminium filings?
Thanks
@guruji
Alum: food grade found in the spice section of your grocery store. This is used in pickling recipes as a preservative to maintain fruit and vegetable crispness. People have been using alum in the restoration of lead acid batteries as it breaks down the lead sulfate that destroys lead acid batteries. Many think alum has mysterious properties that preserve the anode in a battery and claim that early lead acid batteries used alum, but was discontinued because the batteries would not wear out.
Brad S
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This weekend’s fun little project. 8) A voltaic pile battery using magnesium, copper foil, felt, and plain tap water with Alum. Open circuit shows slightly over 4volts. Enough under load to power a 5mm red led directly. :)
Brad S
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@guruji
Alum: food grade found in the spice section of your grocery store. This is used in pickling recipes as a preservative to maintain fruit and vegetable crispness. People have been using alum in the restoration of lead acid batteries as it breaks down the lead sulfate that destroys lead acid batteries. Many think alum has mysterious properties that preserve the anode in a battery and claim that early lead acid batteries used alum, but was discontinued because the batteries would not wear out.
Brad S
Thanks for the info b_rads it seems that this chemical preserve batteries but not health for sure :). In food all chemicals are introduced these days.
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Status Update:
The 4 penny cells connected in series and built on Feb 20th are still lighting 9 led’s non-stop for a month (> 675 hours). The intensity is not as good, but still puts a nice ring on the ceiling over 5 feet away in the dark. I will make a DIY for these, I have simplified the construction and should have this available next week.
The 6 conduit cells quit lighting 9 led’s after 3 weeks. These were not constructed using copper foil and had Epsom Salt in the electrolyte. Either the poor construction or Epsom Salt shortened the life of these cells. I will be building another test group soon.
The 2 solar magnesium copper cells, first one built on Feb 13th and the second one a week later are still running. The second one using copper foil, carbon, and magnesium fire starter seems to be the better of the two. If I let the water completely evaporate and refill, it starts up like a new cell.
The small voltaic cell made a week ago is still lighting it’s led.
Brad S
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This weekend’s project:
I have been wanting to build a poor mans version of lasersaber’s air battery for some time now. The two cells constructed are slightly different. The one on the left is made with 6†x ½†copper pipe, felt, and magnesium ribbon. In the cell on the right I filled the copper pipe with powdered carbon packed tightly and slightly moistened. Start up voltage and current were nearly identical on both. While I do not expect this to change, I will follow both cells to see if any anomalies develop.
Brad S
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Brad:
Wow, you have been doing some great work over here. Very impressive stuff. I will have go back and get caught up but just from what I have read on the last page it appears things are going well. Excellent progress.
Bill
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Brad:
Wow, you have been doing some great work over here. Very impressive stuff. I will have go back and get caught up but just from what I have read on the last page it appears things are going well. Excellent progress.
Bill
Thank you Bill for your kind words. My mission is to get maximum results from the cheapest materials available and simplicity so that anyone could replicate my results.
I have been looking at circuits that could exploit the small amount of energy produced by these cells and last night I did the one shown below. This circuit will turn on at 0.3ma and the circuit voltage drop is very small. I used one of the air cells shown in my last post. Open circuit is 1.4v and on the circuit voltage drops to 1.2v. I know the pot looks to be on the wrong side of the circuit, but placing it on the positive rail dropped the circuit about 0.5v. This was very exciting for me and I can’t wait to try it on one of my conduit or penny cells this weekend. I will update results next week.
Thanks
Brad S
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@all
Here is my simplified method for making the penny cell battery as promised.
1. Pennies from the Bank. Sort the pennies and select only those minted after 1982. I have already accumulated a baggie full of 1982 and older pennies that are almost all copper. Clean pennies with Goo Gone and/or ketchup.
2. With my dremel I use a small grinding stone on the edges to remove the copper plating. The copper plating comes off very easy. Take 2 pennies and remove the plating off the face of each. These pennies will become the beginning and ending penny in the stack.
3. Drill a small hole in one of the pennies and secure copper wire to this penny by winding through and around the hole.
4. Using a piece of coffee filter, stack the pennies in a holder. I made mine from a piece of pvc and Plexiglas. Roll the filter around the stack. I use the small plastic zip ties to hold the whole thing together, and then wrap another piece of filter paper around the whole unit.
5. This is the penny stack completed. Use the instructions posted in the download section and replace the conduit anode with the penny anode.
6. This is a completed penny cell.
I am now well over 40 days of using 4 of these cells to light 9 5mm white LED’s connected directly without any circuitry. The intensity of the light has diminished considerably, but they are still lit. I will let them go until they stop completely and then disassemble one of the cells to see what is going on.
Thanks - Brad S.
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What happens if you make a cell with conduit center with carbon around it, THEN put the separator, and then more carbon around the separator, and then the outer electrode? Will it be a battery with high internal surface area, or a capacitor like these new boost caps they have out? Maybe you can just make capacitors instead of batteries that don't go bad?
If it does work as a capacitor, maybe try stainless steel for the electrodes or maybe even a carbon core from a zinc/carbon D-cell battery. I'll test it within a month if no one else does when I have some free time.