Marks256

I said bad things MAY happen. I don't know. Possible overheating, shorting out. You should be pretty safe at about 44volts. However, i wouldn't tempt fate with anything higher.

Overclocked

Ive read people used 120V with a rectifier(169V pk), but its only good for 1Amp....But Im not about to test the limits-Yet.

Marks256

Hmm, ok, try it. It is worth a shot. I have a question, if you run 120vac into a rectifier, will you get 120vdc out, or 60vdc out?

Oznog

Electrolysis requires only 1.2v. If the resistance of your system- only salt water electrolyte and stainless electrodes- the current will be low. Basically I=(Vin-1.2v)/R. The rest is dissipated as heat. If you're using more than 5v, there's a whole lot of heat being generated!

__________________
I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes.

Overclocked

No, 120V is RMS, Peak voltage is 169V. WHen you rectify it you will get 169V Peak, Its DC but its pulses.

Marks256

What is RMS?

Overclocked

Root Mean Square, Also known as the Average Voltage. To get Peak voltage divide RMS voltage by .707 or multiply by 1.414.

Marks256

Ok, i don't get it, so i am just going to leave it alone. Ahh. Ahh, ok, i must know! How do you find the RMS voltage?

Overclocked

Well, 120V (if you live in the US) Is Already in RMS. Most AC voltage meters Read RMS. Go ahead, put your meter in the wall socket on the AC volts setting, BUT BECAREFUL!!!. Transformers also put out RMS voltage, they are also rated in RMS (you might want to do that, its safer). Peak voltage comes into play when designing Power Supplies. For example, 12V RMS is 16.9V Peak. That means after it gets rectified, you will have 16.9V, If you pass it through a Capacitor Filter, you will have 16.9V V. This 16.9V also means your caps have to be able to handle atleast twice that voltage, 32V or greater would be good, but always allow a bit of more for spikes and such.

Pass it through a regulator and you can end up with anything from 1V to 16.9V (if you have a low voltage drop out regulator- meaning the regulator does drop alot of voltage- for example, a Diode drops .7V.)

So If you have Peak voltage (which you rarely have, but it comes in handy when your talking power) and you want RMS, Divide Peak Voltage by 1.414 or Multiply by .707 Just a note, Power, Voltage and current can all be applied to this. For example, your speaker may put out 50W RMS, that would be 70.7W Peak.

As Ive said before, .707 and 1.414 are the Average Voltage over a period of time.

Marks256

Oh, ok, i see. Thanks.

Nigel Goodwin

Actually NOT very true at all, VERY few meters read RMS, the vast majority read 'average', and are scaled to read RMS - but ONLY for a sinewave!.

True RMS meters are available, but are much more expensive. Also, old moving iron meters read RMS - due to the different way they work.

RMS is really VERY simple, it's the AC voltage that gives the same heating effect as the same DC voltage. So 120V RMS to your electric heater will make it exactly the same heat as 120V DC.

__________________
PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

HarveyH42

Few questions about the gases collected...

First, how would one fill a balloon with the combined gases. Electrolysis seperates, but doesn't build any pressure, atleast not enough to inflate a balloon.

Second, once the balloon is filled, how bouyent will it be? I know that hydrogen is lighter than helium, and will float well, but oxygen is heavier. So how much weight will this balloon lift? Enough for a timer, battery, and ignition circuit?

Overclocked

Im guessing because of the Oxygen and the Hydrogen, it will be Neutrally buoyant. Ive seen people fill them a bit, I dont know how they did it. You could always put the gases in the balloon, and fill it with Helium too. Helium wont explode, since its a noble gas.

Trying to recreate the hindenburg I see.

HarveyH42

Just a childish curiosity. Remembered a few stories about welding gases and lighting a string on fire...

Marks256

No no no. See, the hydrogen and the oxygen will be produced at two separate locations. It is 100% possible to harvest just hydrogen.

This is what you do;

1. Take a glass jar (yes it MUST be glass, so you can see all the cool things happening),
2. Find a lid for your glass jar.
3. Drill two holes in the top, both about .5" in diameter.
4. Stick a pipe trough each of the holes(make sure they fit sort of loose, but not too loose!)
5. Run a wire down the side of the pipe, through the hole, and into the jar.
6. Stick a conductive plate on the end of the wire.
7. Seal the hole with some type of putty.(make sure it is REALLY sealed tight!)
8. Put the lid on the jar(you know, the lid with the holes, the pipe, and the wire.)
9. Fill the jar with water. Yes, through one of the pipes, and make sure the water is also all the way up both pipes.
10. Put each balloon on each pipe. MAKE SURE NO AIR GETS INTO THE DEVICE! Air will wreck dilute the elements!
11. Check for leaks, and deal with them.
12. Apply power to each of the wires.
13. Let it run for a while, or until each balloon is to the desired limit.
14. CARFULLY take each balloon off the machine, and seal them. WITHOUT letting any air in!

Explanation: The water in the balloons will act as a seal for the hydrogen and oxygen. It also acts as a pressurizer. So, when the hydrogen and oxygen are made, then it will fill the balloons. If you would like, i will draw a few diagrams for you.