Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Electricity

Electricity

khlor - 4-1-2014 at 20:44

Hello everyone, I'm new here. so, sorry if this topic is in the worng place or even in the wrong forum but any way, let's get started.

I was wondering if there is a cheap way to get usable electricity from galvanic cells, air batteries or thermocouples/thermopiles to make electrolysis. I just do want to know if is it possible and/or how. if you know any other way please tell me or if you know something about what I said above please say.

note: I made a little search and wikipedia just dont provide the information I can use.

DraconicAcid - 4-1-2014 at 20:51

When I was young, I found the best way to do electrolysis was to use the transformer that came with my train set.

24V transformer and a variac

quantumchromodynamics - 5-1-2014 at 00:00

Get a honker 24V 10A transformer and a smallish 300 Watt variac off ebay. Use the variac to control the input voltage to the transformer. Use a 10A bridge rectifier to get pseudo DC from the transformer output.

Variac -> Transformer -> DC Bridge Rectifier

You can build a very strong supply for < $60 bucks.

approx costs:

Variac -- $30
Transfomer -- $20
Bridge -- $10

khlor - 26-1-2014 at 03:42

good. but I was asking for some sort of generator

car battery

quantumchromodynamics - 26-1-2014 at 04:15

A cheap voltaic pile? How about a car battery and an assortment of hi watt low ohm resistors? For that matter, maybe you could make electrolysis work with a massive potato battery network! In that case lots of experiments with series and parallel potatoes will be necessary in order to adjust the current and voltage. Wind power? How about an airplane blade attached to an old car alternator. Old alternators have magnetic stater, with the coils on the commutator, as opposed to the modern ones that have coils on the stater as well. To make a generator out of a motor you really want a permanent magnetic stater. You could go Tesla style. Are you near Niagra falls? How about the big chunk of plutonium attached to the last mars rover?

[Edited on 26-1-2014 by quantumchromodynamics]

vmelkon - 27-1-2014 at 04:36

If you want galvanic cells, I agree, a car battery is a good source. It gives 12 to 14 V. Just make sure you don't fully discharge it since it isn't good.
Or, get a car battery charger which is what I have. It has switches. It can give 6 V, 10 V, 13 V.

Thermopiles aren't efficient. You can make one from many copper and iron connections and light a LED as one guy did on Youtube.

Perhaps you can get a solar cell. You are in brazil, so you have lots of sun. I would not go this route either. Can't get a lot of amps from solar.

An old computer ATX power supply can be converted easily to a normal power supply.

khlor - 27-1-2014 at 05:21

Quote: Originally posted by vmelkon

If you want galvanic cells, I agree, a car battery is a good source. It gives 12 to 14 V. Just make sure you don't fully discharge it since it isn't good.
Or, get a car battery charger which is what I have. It has switches. It can give 6 V, 10 V, 13 V.

Thermopiles aren't efficient. You can make one from many copper and iron connections and light a LED as one guy did on Youtube.

Perhaps you can get a solar cell. You are in brazil, so you have lots of sun. I would not go this route either. Can't get a lot of amps from solar.

An old computer ATX power supply can be converted easily to a normal power supply.

I like the idea of thermopile, for some time I was searching for it. once I found that a huge thermopile could give me the ampers I want. but still isn't efficient. and about solar cells, yes, the idea is interesting because here there is lots of sun. and the hours of sun per day is a good deal. but the process is very slow, because as you said don't give me many ampers. and about a car battery is interesting. I'm thinking in go for it. but this just store power, I wanna a way to produce it. I was thinking about the idea of a cheap voltaic pile. or others soucers to recharge the car battery since I can charge it in many ways, some ways just take a long time to charge. but the output is good. as by now I'm low on money I would like something inexpensive to run my experimentations.