Big Joule Theif

[nvisser]

Toroid is 1" diameter (in small print on web page). I have used a small ignition coil with no internal resistor in place of the trigger coil and that worked very well. I have not tried a standard size car ignition coil, the internal resistor may degrade performance.

There is a resistor in an ignition coil?

[xee2]

There is a resistor in an ignition coil?

Some have it and some do not. Most have it.

[nvisser]

Is there any way to measure it with a meter?

[jeanna]

Hi folks, thought i would share what could be novel results, though would like to get some feedback as to whether others have seen similar effects and your thoughts. I am using 2 toroids tied together like another fellow did in a youtube video, though i am using one toroid made from steel enamel coated craft wire at about 4 inch diameter and the other toroid is from a computer psu at about 2 inches diameter, ferrite i think. And tied the 2 together with 24 gauge magnet wire with maybe 200 turns, then on the smallest toroid adjacent to 24 gauge coil i have the bifilar 18 guage self oscillator joule thief type setup, though wired bedini style. The result is that when a load is applied the input amps drop and when the secondary which is tied between the 2 toroids is shorted, it drops even further. Though this may be simply back emf fighting against my input voltage causing this, however when i put 6 leds as a load on secondary i can adjust input by lowering base resistance which increases leds brightness yet input amps stay the same and at some points, drops a little bit. At 6 volts and between 15-20 milliamps input, it lights up the 6 leds to almost full brightness. Your comments are greatly appreciated.
peace love light
Tyson

Hi Skywatcher,
I would need a picture to be very sure about your set-up.
I can, however say that this is totally normal when using the secondary from a joule thief.
I have no idea if you are gaining any benefit from the complex of toroids (unless you are able to wind more turns onto your secondary).

In general the battery of joule thief runs a transistor and if there is a secondary winding sharing the same toroid as the joule thief bifilar, you will get high voltage on that secondary which is unaccountable by normal transistor equations; and, the effect of what you draw from that secondary has little to no effect on the draw from the battery.

That said, it is important to remember that a transistor can use considerable amps from the battery.
Lidmotor showed me to put a rheostat coming right off the battery to lower the draw.

I hope this answers at least some of your question.

jeanna

[xee2]

Is there any way to measure it with a meter?

I am not an expert on car ignition coils. But, I would guess that if the primary resistance is less than 1 ohm then there is no internal resistor.

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, hi jeanna, thanks for the reply. Here is a couple pics and the 2 coils on the larger toroid are not used.
peace love light
Tyson

[Tectalabyss]

Two JT's

Hi folks, hi jeanna, thanks for the reply. Here is a couple pics and the 2 coils on the larger toroid are not used.
peace love light
Tyson

Hi Skywatcher.
I like your setup. Jeanna's explanation Is the best I've heard on JT's. Tec

[Tectalabyss]

Car ignition coil's

I am not an expert on car ignition coils. But, I would guess that if the primary resistance is less than 1 ohm then there is no internal resistor.

I've used both the older tower type and the newer Flat-pack type.both worked well.has far has the resistor most of the older one's dont have them that I know of.you will alway's get some resistance due to the winding's.No resistance = bad coil, at least in automtive coil's. Tec

[jeanna]

joule thief power unit

Hi folks,
I posted these pix at ou last night but I am aware not everyone here looks in there.
And, besides this has such a snappy name.
This is my new Joule Thief Power Unit!

The pictures are
The JTPU, which is a joule thief with a 3/4 inch toroid with secondary where I connected the secondary to the wire points of the plug unit. I split the red battery wire so it encloses this wall type switch.
One unmodified LoA lamp being lit by plugging conveniently into this JTPU,
The same unmodified LoA lamp being plugged into the wall outlet from the power company.

The light is ever so little dimmer. You cannot really notice it. If you look at the underside of the bulge in the green lamp you can see the wall powered one is a little brighter.

I can put a second lamp into this JTPU as well.
It dims the lights a little but the total light is more with the 2 than with just the one, so, it does not steal it all. And, I believe this is capturing what is being lost to dissipation with only one lamp.

I am using 2.4v to power this to this level of brightness. (maybe even 2.33v)
It is too late tonight, but I should do a run down time on this jtpu with this lamp. It seems great, but you never know til you try it.

jeanna

[SkyWatcher]

Hi folks, Hi jeanna, nice work. What is the normal power draw of that LOA multi led bulb again. it really seems to spread some light.
peace love light
Tyson

[jeanna]

power draw

Hi folks, Hi jeanna, nice work. What is the normal power draw of that LOA multi led bulb again. it really seems to spread some light.
peace love light
Tyson

The package says 1.5 watts
112 lumens.
They claim 40 watt filament bulb equivalent. I agree as long as you use a silk shade. Otherwise I say 25w.

It should be about 100mA draw for the 20 LEDs bulb, because it needs the TIP31c or 3055 to light this bright..

The TIP31C in a jtc runs down the battery a lot faster than the 2N2222. But the 2N2222, cannot get the spikes high enough for this bright a light.

I will do a battery drain test over the weekend.
Especially since I am using 2 AAA on this.
I am very curious to learn what the time factor is.

I Have decided that is a more accurate estimate than an amps draw test using a resistor and ohms law. That is a lie here.
Without an amps meter, this is all I can do. It is the actual practical amount of useful time too, so it is not a bad thing to know.

thank you,

jeanna

[Tectalabyss]

Hi Jenna.
Great job on the JT power supply Looking forword to the length time you get on the run time. Tec

[ewizard]

oops - duplicate post

[ewizard]

Very nice setup jeanna - I like they way you have used a standard socket and switch. As I'm new here (but not new to alt. energy or LED's) I have to ask what an LOA is as I'm not familiar with that (acronym?). And you can't say I didn't try to find the meaning :
LOA Law of Attraction
LOA Length Overall (boat specification)
LOA Leave Of Absence
LOA Letter Of Authorization
LOA Library of America
LOA Life Of Agony
LOA Letter of Agency
LOA Letter of Approval
LOA letter of offer and acceptance (US DoD)
LoA Legends of Aranna (game)
LOA Lords of Acid (band)
LOA Length Over All
LOA League of Awesomeness
LOA Loss of Appetite
LOA Letter of Authority
LOA Love One Another
....... this was much longer but I decided to shorten it to not waste bandwidth but nothing found relating a light.

[jeanna]

LoA

Lights of America

The limitation here is that if you are not in the states, you might not be able to get this.
Their website didn't have anything to say about these lights a few weeks ago.

But if you can get them, they are great now that you can make a power supply that works with them unmodified.

have fun.
If you are really new I suggest that you make a plain joule thief to get your hands into it. Makezine has a great how to video. It is how I learned.
Then start making the secondaries and carry on from there.

jeanna