flourescent light ballasts- good for anything hho?

[rahdzhillaxxx]

Being a novice (very novice) in my electronics knowledge I'd like to know if it would be a bad idea to use a ballast on some stainless tubes for hho production. Just asking before I potentially hurt my self.
My idea is to hook up a dimmer switch(adjustable resistor) before the ballast and then to the tubes in water. maybe an oscillating switch of some kind between the ballast and tubes.
I've been hit with a jolt of 480 volts before due to a maintainance guy half explaining how to activate conveyor switches in the power box once with what looked like an ink pen (not an ink pen!) and I've had a more than healthy respect for electricity since. Thus questions to the experts BEFORE sticking my fingers where they dont belong FIRST.
On a side note, I think this site is first rate and hope to understand much more of this info better once I get a chance to take beginning electronics at the local community college. for now I'm just trying to tinker safely(mostly with low dc stuff, mostly) and will appreciate any help given.

[citfta]

Definitely a very bad idea. A ballast puts out high voltage AC. It is much higher than the 480 volts you have already experienced. Also an HHO cell requires DC. I am glad you asked before trying this. After you have some education in electronics you will see there are some other reasons why this is not a good idea. But the most important are that it is very dangerous and it wouldn't work anyway. Hope this helps, citfta

[rahdzhillaxxx]

thanks a lot for the info, Idea aborted. I am glad to have a place to go for questions,,, thanks again

[milosman]

well in my 54 yrs on this planet I quess I never learned to respect my curiosity with a measure of caution,,I know little of electronics and have been knocked almost outta my boots just hooking up a simple 220Volt electric water heater a time or two as a plumber,,"humm just remembered a time in the white mountains of Arz when I was messing with heard of cattle in a thunderstorm and was hit by lightning along with a cow and the cow took the main jolt and was killed I was dazed but fine,,sorta.
Anyways, I have hooked up two of several ballasts I have salvaged ,"independently of course" trying to increase production of hho,,though I have no confirmed test rates of production, I believe I saw the production of the gas increase slightly better than brut force using a auto flasher unit to simi switch a dash panel 12volt bulb breaking and re-connecting the circuit through a couple of caps and then the ballast to the cell,,"something or the other way round" and not only did this produce well, it did so with 99.9% stripped water, R/O. Broken down and broke as I am,,,I guess I am blessed with luck from the big guy,,I am here still playing with HV and able to read and respond. DUMB LUCK I quess. Wish I could win a lottery and then hire brains to do the things my brain comes up with! Anyway, this winter I plan on trying this again but with hi speed relay circuit and installed in my truck. Now I have a cell in it with a PWM, an EFIE and a o2 monitor and only getting about 26 to 30% more MPG's depending on temp and humity conditions,,It was a great deal to me almost three years ago when I first built it, and am thankful to all who got me intrested,,but it seems we have stalled out and I am really wanting the only oil or grease in our vehicals to be synthetic,,NO more spills or ill's. But someday with the right stumble, someone will be able to do what we all need,,maybe by luck, maybe by stupidity, or brains.
I am thinking of pwmmmmmmmming the the mosfet gate as normal but having the increased voltage from the ballst be my source and I dun know yet, got some 1000V mosfets I ordered,, don't know if they will burn or earn,,,but am gonna try or fry! Thank you guys,,though I may not seem to have,,I HAVE LEARNED A LOT, just reading the posts and watch the videos from all you brainies out there, thank you thank you!

[Polarkangaroo]

Iffff you really want something for HHO production, you probably want the transformer from a microwave. I've never done it, as I have a power supply, but you could easily un-wind the secondary of the MOT, if you can count the number of turns on the primary. You may have to also reduce the primary, and increase the gauge.... The core is capable of delivering huge ac currents at low voltage, all you need are suitable diodes, which are fairly cheap!

Instead of looking for power supplies, your time would probably be better suited looking how to minimize gap between electrodes...


I know all this seems sorta out there, and un-related to the post, BUT... I figure if someone is looking for a power supply for H2 + O2 gas, they are just starting, and I want to welcome them into the friendly world of electrochemistry =)

[milosman]

better production

thanks for thee info, yes sir I have a few MOT's I too have been messing with too and I intend to do that also but I also have these ballast's,,"outta there case and windings exsposed" easily un wound and seem to have some sigificant added benefit that they are easily found in any homedepot anyware in the country for anyone instead of salvageing or ordering, so for now I will work in that direction and do intend to do some more bench testing later with the MOT's,,,,if they don't end up as a door stop or a tesla coil,,never made one,,but my nieghbors think I'm wacked out anyway and I'd really like to prove um right with an awsume demonstration !

[milosman]

Better Production

Ummm, hello again all. I was wondering if anyone out there can direct me to a schematic circuit w/ componet list to build a PWM that will allow me to switch HV/current to the cell via relay or what ever works best. I am guessing, what I am going to be needing is; two seperate circuits combined,,one to bump up the 12VDC to high voltage and the, other the PWM to deliver it the cell. Have made many different PWM's and they scopped out ok, or at least working and adjustable, but I know if the Mosfet should fail it would prob burn up my PWM's because I have no idea how to prevent it, sooooooooooo, amd looking for the WHOLE COURSE MEAL DEAL here. Thanks! Ed

[HawkNo1]

Iffff you really want something for HHO production, you probably want the transformer from a microwave. I've never done it, as I have a power supply, but you could easily un-wind the secondary of the MOT, if you can count the number of turns on the primary. You may have to also reduce the primary, and increase the gauge.... The core is capable of delivering huge ac currents at low voltage, all you need are suitable diodes, which are fairly cheap!

Instead of looking for power supplies, your time would probably be better suited looking how to minimize gap between electrodes...


I know all this seems sorta out there, and un-related to the post, BUT... I figure if someone is looking for a power supply for H2 + O2 gas, they are just starting, and I want to welcome them into the friendly world of electrochemistry =)

For HHO production the way of Stanley Meyer's You do not want high amps but high voltage so this advise is wrong. I do not know how to change a ballast but a Tad Johnson once did and replicated Meyer's output using the power supply for neon lights that ran on 12 volts DC so I am sure it can also be done with a florescent ballast if someone out there with good electronic experience can figure it out. I can't but in Meyer's set up you want almost no amps at all and very high voltage. I was looking into these tennis racket like bug zappers or human zappers that police use that are High Voltage and very little to none amps and modifying them? The police tasers or zappers go into 50K volts and way less than one amp. They run on very little batteries and a car battery can easily fit the bill. Now the bug zappers that look like tennis rackets can be caught on Sale as I thank they are right now at Harbor Freight for $2.99 each. I was thinking of putting them into a parallel circuit and seeing what I got out of them? I am sure a real electronics engineer can take those circuits already made and fix them into making the WFC of Meyer's work perfectly? You want high voltage and next to zero or no amps at all to run his unit and no electrolyte also. His was straight tap water.

[HawkNo1]

Definitely a very bad idea. A ballast puts out high voltage AC. It is much higher than the 480 volts you have already experienced. Also an HHO cell requires DC. I am glad you asked before trying this. After you have some education in electronics you will see there are some other reasons why this is not a good idea. But the most important are that it is very dangerous and it wouldn't work anyway. Hope this helps, citfta

You know this guy is right. You need DC and not AC for HHO. I forgot about that and that is major but again maybe you can take a bunch of tennis racket bug zappers from harbor Freight and make them work for you since the amps are very low, way below 1 amp and the voltages I believe where like 20K volts output and they pulse but you would need a faster pulsing to make a Meyer's HHO WFC work right on straight tap water with no electrolyte materials. Also again the LRC or LC circuit has to be in resonance. It needs to be 50% pulses on and off across the WFC which is like a giant capacitor.