I pulled about 15 used D batteries out of the trash can to do some experiments and learned I can more than double the life my 1.5 v batteries and use them all the way down to 0 volts.
2 LED flasher circuit needs 2 D batteries in series = 3.3v when voltage gets below 2.8v this circuit stops working. This circuit will run 1 year on 2 new D batteries.
1 LED flasher needs 3 D batteries in series = 4.8v when voltage drops below 3.3v it stops working. This circuit 3 new batteries last about 7 months. This would be a better circuit if it did not use more power power than the 2 LED circuit & only needed 2 batteries.
Joule Thief circuit will run on 1 new D battery 4 months with no LDR circuit and 8 months with the LDR circuit. With no LDR circuit stops working at .9v. With LDR circuit stops at 1v.
I started using 3 used batteries in series to run the 2 LED flasher & 1 used battery on the Joule thief. As voltage drops lower & lower when LED flasher stops working I add 1 more battery in series the circuit runs for several more months. I keep adding more batteries in series the flashers keep running several more months.
If joule thief runs on 1v why won't the other circuits run on 1v too they use the same transistors & LEDs ?
I have been using only the 2 LED circuit then throwing batteries in the trash when total voltage dropped below 2.8v but now I am reusing all the old batteries until they are all 0v.
It was very helpful to put variable resistors in the LDR circuit so I can fine tune when the LEDs come on according to how dark it is when sun goes down. Also when batteries get too low to work I can turn the variable resistor ohms down to make the circuit work again & get more life out of the same batteries.
Red LED is 2.1v and Blue LED is 3.4v I can probably make joule thief battery last a tiny bit longer by lowering the output voltage then use a Red LED..
I also learned if the discharge capacitor is smaller than 100uf LED flash is not bright enough to be seen 200 ft away outside after dark.
Joule thief R2 50K variable resistor is turned down very low in the 400 ohms range with a AA 1v battery it works good & blue LED is bright. I need to change 50K to something smaller maybe 1K and change to Red LED..
It is a bit funny, I sure am getting my moneys worth from these batteries I wish I still had the $50 worth of used batteries I threw away a year ago.
2 LED flasher circuit needs 2 D batteries in series = 3.3v when voltage gets below 2.8v this circuit stops working. This circuit will run 1 year on 2 new D batteries.
1 LED flasher needs 3 D batteries in series = 4.8v when voltage drops below 3.3v it stops working. This circuit 3 new batteries last about 7 months. This would be a better circuit if it did not use more power power than the 2 LED circuit & only needed 2 batteries.
Joule Thief circuit will run on 1 new D battery 4 months with no LDR circuit and 8 months with the LDR circuit. With no LDR circuit stops working at .9v. With LDR circuit stops at 1v.
I started using 3 used batteries in series to run the 2 LED flasher & 1 used battery on the Joule thief. As voltage drops lower & lower when LED flasher stops working I add 1 more battery in series the circuit runs for several more months. I keep adding more batteries in series the flashers keep running several more months.
If joule thief runs on 1v why won't the other circuits run on 1v too they use the same transistors & LEDs ?
I have been using only the 2 LED circuit then throwing batteries in the trash when total voltage dropped below 2.8v but now I am reusing all the old batteries until they are all 0v.
It was very helpful to put variable resistors in the LDR circuit so I can fine tune when the LEDs come on according to how dark it is when sun goes down. Also when batteries get too low to work I can turn the variable resistor ohms down to make the circuit work again & get more life out of the same batteries.
Red LED is 2.1v and Blue LED is 3.4v I can probably make joule thief battery last a tiny bit longer by lowering the output voltage then use a Red LED..
I also learned if the discharge capacitor is smaller than 100uf LED flash is not bright enough to be seen 200 ft away outside after dark.
Joule thief R2 50K variable resistor is turned down very low in the 400 ohms range with a AA 1v battery it works good & blue LED is bright. I need to change 50K to something smaller maybe 1K and change to Red LED..
It is a bit funny, I sure am getting my moneys worth from these batteries I wish I still had the $50 worth of used batteries I threw away a year ago.