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Registered Member #1262
Joined: Fri Jan 25 2008, 05:22AM
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 451
That’s right, resonant wall wart.
I was playing around with (full wave rectified) 220VAC from a modified wall wart for cap charging, and decided on a whim to try and get some arcs. It was pretty futile at 220VAC at first, then I started to play around with it a bit more...
I'm now using a primary rated at 12V 12VA, being fed 60hz with no ballasting. The windings are on two E type cores, both from wall warts, one 9VA, the other 15VA (the ratings with their Is). With both secondaries, the output is 415VAC with a short circuit current of 145mA, giving roughly 60W peak power. Trying to draw arcs from this alone didn't do anything yet... but...
I began trying out a few different capacitors in series with the electrodes for drawing arcs, until I found that an 800nF MOC allowed some small but hot little arcs. I was pretty shocked that this actually worked, and after a bit of number crunching I figured out the MOC would resonate at 60hz with roughly a 100mH coil. Is this roughly the inductance of two seriesed wall wart secondaries?
Anyway, the air breaks down when I bring two electrodes within around 500um of each other, and the arcs can be held for several seconds and drawn out to a couple mm.
So it would appear is if I've got a (sort of) resonant (modified) wall wart on my hands?
Here are some pics:
Red and upper yellow are 220VAC seconaries, in series. Lower yellow is the primary. Note the two E-cores.
The arc being drawn between a staple and a paper clip, both with sharpened tips.
I've also managed to weld with this a bit... sort of.
Registered Member #1262
Joined: Fri Jan 25 2008, 05:22AM
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 451
After a bit more tinkering, I've managed to squeeze 80 watts at 545VAC out of the transformer. It's still resonant and now puts out some quite fat little arcs.
New Video:
Its also enough power that when I had it hooked up to a wire several feet long, the EM spikes while trying to start an arc stopped my camera and mouse.
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Resonant... Wall Wart.
