Joule Ringer!

[LaserSaber]

This is the first time I have been able to keep a Joule Thief type device running a CFL on just an electrolytic capacitor.

Video: YouTube - Joule Ringer! Keeps running with battery disconnected.

[Jbignes5]

As usual...

Lasersaber,

What an excellent experiment you have there. I can't wait for your instruction video!

[xee2]

Lasersaber,

That is amazing. What is the electrolytic capacitance?

[gyula]

Lasersaber,

A possible explanation for the poor performance of your supercap is that it has a high value inner resistance, ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), compared to any good normal electrolytic capacitor you seem to use. Especially high series resistance is "embedded" in the so called memory back-up supercaps where the load current is but a few microamper or even less and the voltage drop hence dissipation across the high ESR is a very low value. Possibly you current consumption is higher than a few microamper...
Another possible explanation is that your supercap you showed in the video has a deteriorated capacitance value, maybe by abused use. They are very sensitive to higher than specified working voltages exposed to.

Could you show a schematic?

Thanks, Gyula

[LaserSaber]

Another possible explanation is that your supercap you showed in the video has a deteriorated capacitance value, maybe by abused use.

I have over 20 of those little super caps and they all show the same effect. If I connect over three of them in parrel then they start driving the circut.

Could you show a schematic?

I am planning on doing that soon. I will be building another unit soon and will making the schematic at that time.

[FRC]

Well made

Lasersaber, You have very well made descriptive videos of all your projects. On
this last one, are the capacitors in series or parallel ?



FRC

[LaserSaber]

That is amazing. What is the electrolytic capacitance?

The ones in the video were 10000uF 10V. I will attach the specs. I should make a video showing runtimes with different size capacitors. I have tried many different types of electrolytic capacitors and they all seemed work about the same.

[gyula]

I have over 20 of those little super caps and they all show the same effect. If I connect over three of them in parrel then they start driving the circut.

Well, then this means that high inner resistance is involved, so paralleling them reduces it. A supercap manufactured for memory back-up usage has any ESR between 40-100 Ohm, an unusually high value one would not think of.

Gyula

[LaserSaber]

Lasersaber, You have very well made descriptive videos of all your projects. On
this last one, are the capacitors in series or parallel ?

They are in parallel.

[kooler]

kool i never thought to try ferrite..
but i had a mini tesla that emdevice posted a diagram of a long time ago made up the same way with a feedback coil to the input but it would only running for 35-45 seconds with no battery.. i always felt like i was pulling to many ma's to get it to run longer..
so you have showed me that i was wrong..
very well done .. sir

robbie

[seth]

Very well done Lasersaber!

Out of curiosity, what is your ''record duration'' for no batteries?

Have you tried this with an exciter, or is it only suitable for the joule thief?

Thanks for sharing

[LaserSaber]

Out of curiosity, what is your ''record duration'' for no batteries?

I have not really tried to do a record duration. I did do a test duration run once with a fluorescent tube and my 10 volt caps filled to 8 volts. The tube stayed lit for 48 minutes. The last 20 minutes the circuit was still ringing but the tube was lit very dimly.

[rave154]

This certainly looks promising, but could it not be a sort of weird "capacitor relaxation circuit" of a kind? hopefully its something more exotic than that.

my thinking is that with 6 or 7 x 10,000uF caps in parallel, thats a very large capacitance capable of storing a lot of energy and which via the right circuit could be made to light a cfl for a long time without anything "exotic" going on.

Hopefully its not thw above and we can look forwards to some interesting developements

[Jbignes5]

Yup..

Well, then this means that high inner resistance is involved, so paralleling them reduces it. A supercap manufactured for memory back-up usage has any ESR between 40-100 Ohm, an unusually high value one would not think of.

Gyula

The more you parallel the less resistance as you say. It makes perfect sense. The problem is why use super caps when the normal electrolytic caps work so well. Cost wise it makes better sense to use the normal caps.

@ LaserSaber... When are you gonna share your circuit with us.. I am so ready to replicate this lol..

[LaserSaber]

my thinking is that with 6 or 7 x 10,000uF caps in parallel, thats a very large capacitance capable of storing a lot of energy and which via the right circuit could be made to light a cfl for a long time without anything "exotic" going on.

You may be right, but in my experience prior this I have never been able find the "right" circuit that could light a CFL like this. In fact I could never get a CFL to light for more than a couple seconds on one 10,000uf 10v capacitor. With this circuit I can easily light one for over 1 minute on a 10V 10,000uf cap.