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Registered Member #179
Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:08AM
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland - Close to Prime Outlets
Posts: 287
Success!!...I built a giant knife switch to completely isolate the charger from the bank before discharge....problem solved!!! So I began having some fun at lower energies of around 5kj last night. First I fired an induction coil with a harddrive platter into a 5gal plastic bucket, which left a clear indentation of the platter in the bottom of the bucket. Cool I said, so I connected the outputs to a CD-R. KaaaaaaaaaBAMMMMMMM it went....the shockwave was immense, I felt it across the room...the foil detonated with a ferocity I've never seen, and the smell of burnt plastic filled the air as the disc got so hot it warped. I do plan to detonate a CD-R at 24kj eventually I need to build some rather large induction coils to handle the full energy too, so that I can launch some rather large "rockets", since that's what I most enjoy doing with these things. Large thermo-cannons would be fun as well if I can ever have one fabricated strong enough to withstand the pressures.
Registered Member #179
Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:08AM
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland - Close to Prime Outlets
Posts: 287
Pics and video will be forthcoming soon I've just built a rolling cart for the cap bank to make it more mobile, as it takes my entire workbench up at the moment. I'm going to enclose the base of the cart to make it a cabinet as well to store all the components together, such as charger, gap, cables, etc.
Registered Member #10
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424
I am late to find this thread. Nice stuff. A few comments. You are likely to blow your electrolytics with ringing if you are feeding into a coil. On can crushing I was getting 60 - 80% ringing. I doubt that your electrolytics will like that reverse voltage and (16kJ coming in backwards). I used token big diodes and a heavy resistor for my small 1.5kJ bank to catch the reverse ringing but I cannot stop the energy of my big bank.
I suggest you try this lots of times with 1 cap and equivalent proportional load. Preferably look at the waveform with a CRO.
That's why pulse caps are used for this sort of stuff not electrolytics and even they have a limited reverse rating too which is 20% reversal for my Aerovox caps and 80% for my Maxwell.
My suggestion is enjoy blowing things up with resistive loads. You can get great pics and a fair life for your cap until one fails and explodes and takes out the ones within a couple of feet of it. This is likely to happen very soon if you have an inductive load.
Registered Member #1208
Joined: Thu Jan 03 2008, 05:30PM
Location: Chesterland, OH
Posts: 154
but inductive loads are so much fun... the best thing i can think of is some way to blow the wire when V ~0 and then extinguish the arc somehow (like a massive electromagnet and fans). good luck!
Registered Member #10
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424
Inductive loads are fun but remember that everything has an inductance, from the caps to the busbars and this is the dominant load often in my case even though the circuit path is 24 inches. Dont think that you can simply turn off a huge magnetic field easily. Huge voltages will develop and the spark will jump across the developing gap of your switch.
Although I haven't documented a lot, My pictures of exploding wire current draw still had ringing not that dissimilar to can crushing. So even a "resistive" load may be primarily inductive.
Registered Member #179
Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:08AM
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland - Close to Prime Outlets
Posts: 287
Hey guys - I'm still around! Didn't blow up or anything :-o I'm actually moving to a new place....I just plain am out of space....and this project is to blame for a lot of that!! It's HUGE. So I'll be out of action for a couple of months, but once my new, vastly expanded shop is done, I'll be able to resume immediately in Spring
Registered Member #179
Joined: Thu Feb 16 2006, 02:08AM
Location: Hagerstown, Maryland - Close to Prime Outlets
Posts: 287
My electrical experimentation last night ended with the cops showing up....apparently, the neighbors thought a 14,000j discharge into a pickle was too noisy :-o I'll have tons of pictures and new youtube productions soon!
I launched electromagnetic induction rockets, accidentally detonated a coilgun with too much energy and laughed uncontrollably as pickles exploded with incredible ferocity The coilgun was so powerful at 3.8kj that it shot a slug through both sides of a 5-gal pale and almost through sheet metal behind it!!! So I decided to try 5kj...and this happened:
My capacitor bank is 24,000j fully charged....I've only gone up to 14,000 so far....this sucker is insane!!
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[moved] 24,000j Capacitor Bank (Now Complete)
I need to build some rather large induction coils to handle the full energy too, so that I can launch some rather large "rockets", since that's what I most enjoy doing with these things. Large thermo-cannons would be fun as well if I can ever have one fabricated strong enough to withstand the pressures.
I've just built a rolling cart for the cap bank to make it more mobile, as it takes my entire workbench up at the moment. I'm going to enclose the base of the cart to make it a cabinet as well to store all the components together, such as charger, gap, cables, etc.
