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Author Topic: Joule Lamp  (Read 344843 times)

Lynxsteam

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #120 on: June 16, 2012, 05:38:50 PM »
I totally agree, I have just been lazy to order the light meter.  I will order one and build to your specs so we can compare results.

Hopefully others will go the Tesla Coil route.  I want to try the aircore torroidal wound coils and see what happens.  It makes sense when you think about the field dispersion in a solenoidal wound coil.  Getting the secondary in as strong a field as possible makes sense.  I think it is amazing that the Aircore performs as well as it does compared to a ferrite core which boosts the field strength by 1000's times. 

The question isn't why doesn't the Aircore perform better, the question is why does it perform as well as it does?

NickZ

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #121 on: June 16, 2012, 05:50:07 PM »
  At one time I had made this (Picture below) into a Joule Ringer circuit, crystals lit by some colored leds. 

  I got no help from Radio Shack here obtaining the 2n3055 transistor, as they didn't have any, so I'll have to use another one for now, for the Joule lamp. I'll see what I can come up with.
 

PhiChaser

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #122 on: June 16, 2012, 06:35:05 PM »
Just wanted to say that I agree that LUX meter is essential to testing bulb brightness. Tune and test, tune and test, tune and test... Exactly how progress is made in slow steady steps. Duplications and comparisons. Right on...
I was wondering if anyone here has tried using a wound toroid as a primary on a straight aircore? It would have to be a big toroid or a small aircore probably...
Also I was thinking that PHI (1.618) or the 'Golden Ratio' conjugate (-0.618) may come into play when spacing the inner/outer/? cores. Direct wind is easiest but maybe the addition of a measured space between those winds will increase the outputs (increase coupling), lower amp draw (more resonance = lower resistance right?), etc... Stuff to try myself when I get up and running on this project I suppose...
Nice pics Nick, looks like a great place to relax... Cool crystal light too! :)

Happy experimenting
PC

NickZ

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #123 on: June 16, 2012, 07:50:13 PM »
   Lynx:
   Just saw this video again, and it reminded me of the way that air-cores, and ferrite cores or the E-cores can maybe even work better together. Half the draw.

   Magnetman always has some neat stuff to show.
   Joule ringer power.MOV - YouTube

MileHigh

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #124 on: June 16, 2012, 09:33:44 PM »
How about a design competition for you enthusiasts out there?

The challenge is to make a truly practical light for indoor use at nighttime that runs on renewable energy.  We will assume that this will be based on using a solar array during the daytime.

Here are some suggested design goals:

- charge during the day, use at night for an "unlimited" number of days.
- easy to use
- at least one hour worth of practical illumination per evening (eg:  You can sit next to it and read a book.)
- no noise emitted
- 100% renewable energy
- if a battery is used then you have to do extra testing to make sure the battery is truly being recharged enough during the daytime to replace the energy expended at nighttime
- reasonable cost
- easy to build
- easy to get parts

I don't follow this thread so perhaps it's already done.  Or perhaps the requirement for one hour of useful illumination is too easy to do.  Perhaps three hours is a better target to shoot for?

MileHigh
« Last Edit: June 16, 2012, 10:39:33 PM by MileHigh »

MileHigh

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #125 on: June 16, 2012, 09:45:34 PM »
Just some "outside of the box" ideas.

Note for any Joule Thief or Super Joule Thief there is an energy overhead to run the oscillator that makes the whole thing work.  Also, there is the argument that for certain applications the sharpest possible on-off transitions for the main power coil are the most desirable.  The JT architecture isn't particularly good at generating sharp transitions.

One possible solution to these two problems is to use a 555 timer.  It's an oscillator that gives you sharp transitions, exactly what you want.  It's also low power.  If you use CMOS 555 timers then it's ultra low power.

So with 555 timers you can emulate exactly what a Joule Thief does and sort of make a clone Joule Thief.

The other thing 555 timers give you is absolute control over the timing.  In a Joule Thief you have a bunch of interacting components that generate the timing so it's much more difficult to control.

With two cascaded 555 timers you can generate a pulse waveform with control over the pulse frequency and also for the length of the "active" pulse.  That corresponds to the flicker rate and the intensity of your CFL or LED light.  So you can really control how much power you send to the light bulb.

MileHigh

MileHigh

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #126 on: June 16, 2012, 10:17:21 PM »
If I took up the challenge here is how I would do it:

I would take a modular approach.  One module is the solar panel.  Another module is what I will call the "Pulser" that contains the CMOS 555 timers.  The third module is the LED light.  The fourth module is the battery.  Each module would connect to the other module with a nice easy-to-use connector.  I think that I might use a 1/4-inch jack, like a headphone jack.

Daytime:   [Solar Panel] -> [Pulser] -> [Battery]

Nighttime:  [Battery] -> [Pulser] -> [LED Light]

You can see how the battery and the pulser have to move back and forth between outside and indoors each day.  Seeing that it would be tempting to create a single module that combines the two functions.  Then you could have a switch that changes the order that the pulser and the battery are connected together.

The modules:

[Solar Panel] - large enough to do the job

[Battery] - something like a 12-volt motorcycle battery

[LED Light] - a standard 60-watt equivalent LED light but with the electronics stripped off (that just wastes energy)

[Pulser]  - consists of the two 555 timers, a big transistor on a small heatsink, protection neons, a big coil, diode.  This would be like the heart of a classic Bedini motor.  There would be a switch on the module to change the programming of the 555 timers.  One position would select timing suitable for pulse charging the battery from the solar panel.  The other position would select timing suitable for driving the LED bulb to a suitable illumination level.  You could easily add a potentiometer to control the intensity of the LED bulb also.

So the trick here is to use a generic "Back EMF" pulsing coil setup just like in a Bedini motor to do double-duty, charging the battery during the day and powering the light at night.

If you are very careful with the timings that you use to energize the coil, you should be able to maximize your efficiency.  Note the "overhead" for wasted power is very very low in this design.

Finally, here is the Cadillac version of the design:

You combine the pulser module and the battery module into a single module like I stated above.  You know how when you put a cordless phone headset into a cradle it makes contact to recharge?  Same deal here.

Imagine a "basket" with a handle that holds the combined module - the motorcycle battery and the pulser module.  In the daytime you pick up the basket and you bring it outside and drop it into the charging cradle next to the solar panel.   Then at night you move the basket to the power cradle to power the LED light.   That's more expensive of course, but it makes it 100% easier to use.  Note you can go to any garage sale and get some junk cordless phones and then with some determination you could "dissect" the "cradle" parts out and reuse them.

MileHigh

MileHigh

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #127 on: June 16, 2012, 10:31:38 PM »
Phichaser:

Quote
Just wanted to say that I agree that LUX meter is essential to testing bulb brightness. Tune and test, tune and test, tune and test...

How did the Egyptians build the Pyramids and keep them perfectly level?  They simply had a trough around the perimeter and filled it with water.

If you are going to gut a CFL or use it without gutting it in your experiment then you just have to compare the brightness put out by your setup with the same unmodified model of CFL plugged into a 120 VAC socket.  Same thing if you work with an LED light bulb.

Keep it simple and anybody can do it!  Nothing to buy!

MileHigh

PhiChaser

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #128 on: June 17, 2012, 12:40:18 AM »
Phichaser:

How did the Egyptians build the Pyramids and keep them perfectly level?  They simply had a trough around the perimeter and filled it with water.

If you are going to gut a CFL or use it without gutting it in your experiment then you just have to compare the brightness put out by your setup with the same unmodified model of CFL plugged into a 120 VAC socket.  Same thing if you work with an LED light bulb.

Keep it simple and anybody can do it!  Nothing to buy!

MileHigh

What happens when your DC conversion setup and your 120v house supply start to 'look' the same? I agree with the idea that our eyes are really the 'only' real meter we need for lumens, but how can you 'see' minor changes when you alter minor components (change tunings, whatever...) without some sort of test equipment (not necessarily a meter)?
PC
EDIT: People doing 'research' need some sort of reliable 'platform' to compare results as well...
BTW, I like the 555 timer and phone cradle ideas! ;)

JouleSeeker

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #129 on: June 17, 2012, 02:05:50 AM »
I totally agree, I have just been lazy to order the light meter.  I will order one and build to your specs so we can compare results.

Hurray!  I think you'll find this is a very useful tool.
Quote
...
The question isn't why doesn't the Aircore perform better, the question is why does it perform as well as it does?

Very much agreed.

Busy day (and I'll be out most of this evening) -- but I got several experiments in and made progress, described in this video:


http://youtu.be/Mz2osV3NRDQ

From the text:

Quote
More results starting with the circuit designed by Lasersaber (SJR 2.0) and the build by Lynxsteam.  Congratulations, gentlemen, looking good!  I've tried a few variations myself, including addition of a 20-cm-long ferrite core and some cheap 36-LED bulbs I've found.  Finally, I've reached 95 Lumens/Watt running off 17VDC.

 Most LED bulbs off-the-shelf in the US give around 50 to 70 Lumens per watt using the grid-mains.  So already, reaching 95 Lumens per Watt is notable (drawing 6 W @ 17VDC) -- and I congratulate Lynxsteam, Lasersaber, Lidmotor, Peanutbutter and all others who have contributed to this progress. 

 I am hopeful that friends in Haiti and Mali (who have enjoyed my solar funnel cookers) will appreciate the realization of bright, cheap, off-grid lighting!  We're getting there!



MileHigh

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #130 on: June 17, 2012, 03:18:54 AM »
PhiChaser:

I am suggesting doing the bulb comparison because it works and it should be consistent from one builder to the next.  Measuring Lumens is fine to, but one experimenter's homemade measurement setup will be different from another person's so they can't really compare measurements.  Certainly when doing measurements on your own setup you will be able to see what your tweaking does to your light output.

The more I think about it, trying to replicate the brightness of an unmodified bulb you are working with when connected to standard 120 (or 240) VAC makes sense.  I think most people would agree that reading with a 40-watt old school light bulb is not comfortable but reading with a 60-watt bulb is.  So measuring very little power consumption where the bulb is too dim to be of practical use is not very useful.

MileHigh

JouleSeeker

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #131 on: June 17, 2012, 03:33:22 AM »
PhiChaser:

  Measuring Lumens is fine to, but one experimenter's homemade measurement setup will be different from another person's so they can't really compare measurements. ...

MileHigh

This is not correct. Lux depends on the set-up, but when the lux-to-lumens calibration is done as I have described above, then one can really compare measurements, in LUMENS!  There is some calibration uncertainty/error (perhaps several percent), of course, but this can also be taken into account.

Lynxsteam

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #132 on: June 17, 2012, 04:32:06 AM »
Very exciting progress Joule Seeker and great video!

I am glad you didn't give up on this.  Sometimes I think this is a waste of time, and then I get another idea to try.  I am glad you tried the ferrite rod.

I made the torroidal aircore.  It works but nothing thrilling.  Same amp draw as others, and less brightness.  However, I did use 1/2" butyl tubing, 2000 turns and 200 turns.

But back to LJL verison 3.0.  Tonight I brightly lit 4 Utilitech 7.5 watt bulbs on 800 ma at 12.3 volts, 22 Khz.  At 20 volts amp draw was 1.5 amps, at 14 Khz.  Super, super bright.  I would say I have these set up so that they run at 17 volts as you have found.  Can we figure out why and settle them down to a more user friendly voltage of 12 or 24?  12 would be the most common and economical.

I need to keep working with this one and find out what's special.   It is very different from what we all started with at the top of this thread.  The secondary is different, and the primary is full and looped back on itself 1/4 of the aircore.

PhiChaser

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #133 on: June 17, 2012, 12:26:04 PM »
PhiChaser:

I am suggesting doing the bulb comparison because it works and it should be consistent from one builder to the next.  Measuring Lumens is fine to, but one experimenter's homemade measurement setup will be different from another person's so they can't really compare measurements.  Certainly when doing measurements on your own setup you will be able to see what your tweaking does to your light output.

The more I think about it, trying to replicate the brightness of an unmodified bulb you are working with when connected to standard 120 (or 240) VAC makes sense.  I think most people would agree that reading with a 40-watt old school light bulb is not comfortable but reading with a 60-watt bulb is.  So measuring very little power consumption where the bulb is too dim to be of practical use is not very useful.

MileHigh

@ MH: I agree the best way is to do side by side 'brightness' tests. What else would you measure besides power usage though? I agree that a certain level is too dim to bother with measuring but I wouldn't set the bar at a 40w incandescent bulb. That wattage actually used to be in my reading lamp on my nightstand and in multiples is plenty bright to light your home with. Say you need (hypothetical) one AA battery to run a 20w bulb, or two to run a 40w bulb, or three to run a 60w 'old school' bulb. Which is more efficient: Three 20w bulbs or one 60w bulb or two 40w bulbs running at 75% power/lumens? If the 'power usage' measured the same when you did the math, how would you know if you didn't measure the lumens which setup was actually better?
What about running a 100w bulb (with our hypothetical 5 AA batteries of course!) at 60% power/lumens? You see where I'm going here with this...
I didn't mean to imply that you NEED a lux meter to do lighting research, it IS just another measurement device. I agree that the setup is everything with that type of measuring...
I will happily settle for 'bright' myself...  8)
Our eyes work well enough to say if something is 'brighter' or 'dimmer' which works just fine for most folks most of the time. But if you want to measure 'light output', what else are you gonna use that will give you some kind of number?
Happy experimenting,
PC

NickZ

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Re: Joule Lamp
« Reply #134 on: June 17, 2012, 05:15:14 PM »
  It would be good to use 12v as a standard. As that is what both the solar panels, as well as the common 12 batteries use, or need.
The12v Lithium batteries would probably work the best for their size, like Lasersaber is using. It may not take a big battery, as he uses a small one to light 10 bulbs.
  I'm still wondering just how Hitman was able to light 10 AC 2 watt led bulbs, AND,  charge his laptop using only 6 small 3volt  solar garden light cells. So, I'm also trying to see how I can make that work, as I already have what it takes. But, Hitman used the 6 solar cells, to  charge a 6volt battery. And,  used only a single, 2n3055transistor,  a small capacitor, and a used 220v to 12v Halogen lamp transformer.  No other components to make this all work. But, what he has not mentioned is how long it runs for, at night.
  So, I'm going to be working on that replication, also. Only I just found that my garden light solar cells are 4v and 30 mA, but some of them are only 1.5 volt solar cells. And I have a 12 4.5 Ah battery instead of the 6 volts one that he uses. So, I need more solar cells to reach 18 volts. He probably has them in series, as 6 times 3 is 18 volts which would work for me, but he uses a 6 volt battery instead.
  I was thinking that led bulbs can also be placed on the same box, or container, in such a way that THEIR light would also keep charging the battery, through the same solar cells, while those leds are on, at NIGHT, also. Doesn't hurt, if it can be done, practically.
 
   In case you haven't seen this Hitmanmob1 video I uploaded a link.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pti_qpTg32o&feature=BFa&list=ULiHmT09MP_Ms