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Thank you for the link to this site. Quote form the site - "Test units worked uninterrupted for more than a decade, powering LCD clocks and a tabletop fan in a room-temperature environment."
This site gives the patents for these cells and seems easy enough to replicate with a wide latitude of elements to experiment with. Certainly worth exploring. I envision a Bedini type voltaic battery using this cell structure.
Will study the patents a little more and then try to replicate - looks like fun.
Brad
This monothermal cell definitely needs to be looked at further. I put together two experimental cells that, early results seem to work as advertised. The cells that I have made in the past usually start out fairly strong and weaken very quickly. The two cells made using the monothermal method have not dropped at all in the first 12 hours. They do seem to react to temp and I will test that further. My work area was very warm when I made the cells and the beginning voltage connecting the 2 cells and powering a red LED was 1.77V. Short circuit they measured 2.75V. Very early in the morning when the work area was cooler the voltage dropped to 1.71V, but has gotten back to the 1.77V as the room warmed up. I am attaching a work sheet of information from the patents on these cells.
My two test cells were made as follows:
1ST outer layer is copper foil. For the 1ST intermediate layer I used magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt) using a 2:1 mix of Polyvinyl Acetate (white, yellow, wood glue) and the Epsom Salt. 2 tablespoons glue and 1 tablespoon Epsom Salt. This was enough for both cells. For the 2ND intermediate layer I used powdered carbon (activated carbon for aquariums powdered in a coffee grinder) and Polyvinyl Acetate. Again 2 tablespoons glue and 1 tablespoon carbon for both cells. The 2ND outer layer I used magnesium (Harbor Freight fire starter). I had an old fire starter that was fairly well consumed by strong electrolytes in previous experiments. I took my jig saw with a medium cutting blade and sliced the magnesium to make two slabs approx 3” long x 1” wide x 1/8” tall. After putting the cell together, I used electrical tape to hold the cell together. The intermediate layers ball up and harden very quickly, requiring you to work fast.
It seems that lidmotor, ibpointless, nickz, and others were all over this when experimenting with glue and gelatin. This appears to take that work a step further. I also see resemblance to the Bedini voltaic cell when binding the layers together. I hope others are having as much fun with this as I am.
This is really great news,
My first thought was that Walter lovell etched the copper in phosphoric acid
and the magnesium/aluminum in chromic acid and laminated them with poly
vinyl chromic oxide, heat pressing them.
I like your ideas with your own changes to the thermal cells. I think
your cell is a great addition to true energy harvesting.
Being able to utilize excess heat without paying for expensive peltier cells
you have opened another door, Thankyou for your contribution.
I think your idea about layers is correct and that the glue and aluminum
gelatin or gummy bears were'nt that far out there because it all has to start
somewhere.
The plaster of paris and alum cell I made are still working but the voltage just under a
volt. I used a razor blade for electrode (not a good choice, it rusted right away)
When it dries out I can put water and in 5 minets it comes right back !
The idea that a more porus cement improves the re-hydrating.
I used 2 teaspoons plaster of paris
small paper cup
1/2 teaspoon alum ( it fizzles )
pour into plastic ice cube tray.
support the electrodes with tape and sticks
20 minets the plaster drys.
Speaking of layers.
I made a small thin slurry with copper ions dried on copper forms a
strong durable junction, I sat a plaster cell on it resulted increase .2 volts.
If I place the plaster cell on shiny copper the results is repeatably less energy.
it is not conclusive that it is a pn junction more testing needs to be done.
@ All:
I'm still working on the cement cells. I've connected several of them together to see what would happen. What I found is that I can not gain any mAs by connecting them in parallel. But is series they have gotten up to 10 volts, so far by using 8 cells. So, the volts can be summed up, but not the current. If anybody has any ideas as to how to get the current up, please let me know. I think that the best investment on my time is just to make more cells and to connect together until I have enough voltage to work with.
Each cell produces 1.2 volts and 65 mAs. And just like solar cells, they will charge up any regular battery that is connected to them, up to their same voltage, and current levels. And those batteries will last longer than when charged with a regular charge.
The right Hartley oscillator or Backwards Jt is still needed to connect to these low current sources. I just got some new components and will continue with the combination of the cells connected to the backwards Jt circuits, next.
I'm building 24 ( a case) of cement beach sand battery cells, all connected in series, now. New pictures in a day or two.
NickZ
@NickZ,
1.2V and 65ma seems pretty impressive IMHO. I also have used two copper/glue/alum/sand/magnesium cells to charge AA Batteries. It takes 2 or 3 days to hit 1.26V and will not go any higher (my current is very low on these cells). I wonder if I added a third cell if I might get a full recharge? They do seem to hold up well to the charge, cannot say for certain if it is better than a normal recharge. In regular galvanic cells I have not encountered the problem you are having with increasing amperage; do not know what might be going on there. Looking forward to your pictures.
Good news on the Monothermal replication:
After a full 36 hours, the cell has not weakened. The voltage is setting on 1.78V this morning. After I built 2 more pairs of cells (more in a moment) I tested these original cells for heat. I placed them into a toaster oven @150F for a couple of minutes and the voltage increased to 1.80V. I removed them quickly, due to smoke coming out of the toaster. They held the 1.8V at least 2 hours after removing them from the oven.
2 new builds:
Excited about the performance of the first set of cells, I made 2 pair of new cells.
This first build sounds kind of corny I know, but fun anyway. First pair of cells – copper foil / powdered carbon / powdered lawn fertilizer / magnesium. Active ingredients in the fertilizer are; Nitrogen 4%, Phosphates 3%, Potash 3%, Calcium 4%, Magnesium 1%, and Sulfur 2% (83% ?). This pair connected and powering a red LED started at 1.74V and 12 hours later is 1.8V.
Second pair of cells built as follows – copper foil / powdered carbon / powdered chlorinating tablet / magnesium. I used “aqua chem.” OPTIMUM 3” Dual Layer Chlorinating Tabs, used in pools and spas for keeping the water clean. The package label claims the available Chlorine is 74%. This pair connected and powering a red LED started at 1.84V and 12 hours later is 1.84V. This is the most powerful set of the three that I have built and they smell pretty good too!
I will report back in ten years and let you know if these cells are still working (yuk yuk).
b_rads
Sounds interesting with your heat cells... How many mA per cell???
Can you connect the 4 in parallel and get 4 times the current?
NZ
NZ,
Shop temperature nearly 90F.
The Epsom Salt Cells (approx. 48hrs old) 2 cells in series under LED load. 1.8V and 1.55ma.
Fertilizer Cells (approx. 24 hours old) 2 cells in series under LED load. 1.77V and 1.5ma.
Chlorine Cells (approx. 24 hours old) 2 cells in series under LED load. 1.85V and 3.3ma.
Connecting the three groups in parallel I get 1.86V and 4.38ma under LED load.
Typically the weakest cells will pull down the combined power of all the cells connected parrallel.
Remember, my results are with 3sq. inches of anode material. If you are using a soda can type container you probably have around 39sq. inches not counting the bottom of the can. I have seen pictures of your cathode and with the stranded copper, you have a lot of surface area there. Normally the more surface area of the anode, the higher the current. Just an idea, I saw some stranded galvanized wire used for hanging pictures in the hardware store the other day. If you could stick some of that in your cement battery, grounded to the container, your amperage should increase. Like I said earlier, your numbers already have me impressed.
b_rads:
Thanks for your reply. Your total output in mA should have been 6.35, instead you got less, so somewhere you are losing some current or it also won't add up, as you lost almost 2 mA out of 6.
By joining 8 of my cell together I should get 65 mA times 8 = 520 mA,
but, I only get it 65 mAs. I still don't know why that is.
The point of making the cells with all that copper was to increase the current, and although it does increase it, I still can't increase the combined total current of all the cells, any higher than my weakest cell.
So, I'm going the series route for now, until I resolve that issue.
I've bought several new trim pots to see it the light intensity can be maintained from dropping when using more that one led, but I don't really see much advantage by trying to tune the output of the Jtc or the cells that way. As the leds can be dimmed but not brightened. I do see the voltage rise as I increase the resistance though, but not the light intensity by that much.
I also made a backwards Jt today, a replication of Kooler's tiny circuit,
but I don't see any advantage over connecting a regular type of Jt to the cells, yet. Regular Jtc are real joule hogs when connected to these cells, and it may just be better to connect the leds direct to the cells.
I may also need to fine tune the new backward Jt to my type of cells for better performance, as I started with a 2 k resistor, and 103 cap, and they may not be letting enough juice through the circuit, for this setup. I have not tried tuning it with the new pots on it yet.
@ Ib and All:
I don't know if these cement cells using beach sand are galvanic or not, but they are working to produce free led lights.
The pictures below are of the cells that were made just yesterday, using as much copper wound into a spiral and inverted through itself as I could fit inside of the cans. Some baking powder was also added
The last picture is of a cell made using a capacitor can. All these cells have between 55 and 70 mA., and about 1.2 volts, or so. I have gotten 7 volts by combining several cans, so far.
I've made a video which shows the leds lighting up without the flash affecting the picture. But I haven't uploaded it yet. In any case the leds are fairly bright, and are connected direct to the three aluminum cells in the picture. The single capacitor can does have a small Jt connected on it.
My goal is to have them produce at least 12 volts... and some amps too.
I'm getting there...
Very nice work NickZ!!
Please tell me the ratio of beach-sand/cement/baking soda, I want to give it a try these days.
Thanks a lot!
Ovidonster:
The ratio of beach sand to cement is about 3 or 4 to 1, and baking powder is about 3 or 4 tablespoons or more per can. A dry mix (with no excess water) firmly packed into the can is best. The more thick copper wire is used, the higher the current. Inverting the copper coil through itself is also important to obtain the higher current, but don't let the coil touch the can. Sand the inside of each can with rough sandpaper to remove the plastic on the first couple of inches. Sanding is very important. Wash the salt out of the beach sand first, or the salt will ruin the cell in time. It's best to use the taller aluminum cans connected in series to obtain the needed voltage, minimum 2 cans, but 4 or 5 cans or more is better. Let us know how it went.
If you have questions, just let me know. Good luck.
NickZ
Hi everyone,thanks so much to share with me regarding to renewable energy.I'm very grateful to you for this post because I was not aware of it before..
The thanks goes to John Bedini , the Energetic Forum, all John's crew and these incredible guys that made all this effort.
To NickZ that is correct parallel does'nt work but series does with these type cell.
Volume of active material and copper surface area must matter for 12 ounce (355 mL) 60mA is excellant
The thanks goes to John Bedini , the Energetic Forum, all John's crew and these incredible guys that made all this effort.
I concur with you!
NZ,
I do not think this relates to the problem you are having based on the description you provided, however this is relevant to anyone connecting batteries in parallel. If the amperage is not matched up with cells, the total output is sacrificed. I believe that is why you noticed my cells did not add up correctly.
The attached image is from batteryuniversity, an excellent site for general battery information.
In case you have not tried, select 2 cells that most closely matches for voltage and amperage and connect parallel and see if the amperage increases. Again, this does not sound like the solution you are looking for but might be worth a try just to eliminate this as a possible reason.
Brad:
I have tried two or more of the exact same type cells in parallel and they don't gain in mAs, at all.
The leds will dim after a while even if there is enough current and voltage in the cells for them to be bright. Either in series or placed in parallel the leds get dim, even when adjusting or tuning with a pot. The Kooler type of Hartley oscillator circuit has not been of much, so far. It works but no better than connecting the leds direct to the cells. I'll try different coils on the backwards Jt and see if that helps.
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