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Jan 12, 2009. 7:52 PMits a lion
says:
I may sound stupid for asking this, but what exactly is a "15 mfd run capacitor?" I know about the farads, just wondering about the word "run." Would any 15 mfd capacitor do? Just wondering because I would like to try making this, and I found "CAP DRY FILM 15UF 250VAC WOUND" and a "CAP FILM OIL WOUND 15UF 370VAC" capacitors on digikey. Also, what's the difference between dry wound and oil wound?
Jan 8, 2009. 11:00 AMrobot797
says:
the power were i live is 230 V AC what must i do to mae it work here?
it will work on 230 volt also no change needed. Just run in spurts of about 3 or 4 seconds 5 max
Jan 5, 2009. 7:58 PMmybootsonfire
says:
I just finished making this and it worked great. It cost me all of about 5 dollars because i had to buy the dimmer switch but i can't believe how simple all this was. Great instructable. The only problem i've had is i burned up my first coil. Did i just leave it on too long? Maybe it was because the first coil i used was an old one in suspect condition anyways.
Jan 1, 2009. 12:25 PMmixadj
says:
So is the silver thing the cap, and the Black transformer looking thing the ignition coil? Could you possibly label the pictures? Do the wires that actually form the ladder have to be a certain gauge, and what are they/should they be made out of? Thanks for the Instructible, I think i might try this....
the things are coat hangers and the capacitor is the silver thing and yes the black thing is the coil.
Very nice! I have to get around to building one someday
Thank you very much, if you have any questions just let me know i'll be glad to assist you. Joe
Jan 1, 2009. 8:46 PMdunedevil
says:
Looks like a fun project! What is the purpose of the cap in the circuit? I know the cap should cause the AC voltage to lag, but why is this helpful in this specific circuit?
Dec 30, 2008. 7:17 PMeskimojo
says:
If that doesn't fully answer your question I'm going to go overboard a bit because I'm bored and I can actually kinda answer this. In an internal combustion engine you need three things in order to keep the machine turning. You need Fresh Air, Fuel, and Spark. Those three magic items keep your RPM's rolling. The automotive coil takes provided electricity(from the alternator) and applies that to your spark plugs(or in older vehicles to the distributor cap->spark plugs). The ignition coil provides the electricity in an organized manner for spark, thus keeping things going, and the vehicle uses quite a nice jolt. Good Idea by the way jandgse812, I never would have thought of using one of those to make a Jacob's ladder, but I'm not much of a tinkerer when it comes to those sorts of things.
Jan 1, 2009. 11:13 PMtechnodude92
says:
Or, to go deeper, because its 2am local time and I have nothing better to do...
The alternator is basically a generator, it puts out about 12 volts DC. Now, for a spark to jump the gap in a spark plug it needs to be a few thousand volts.
The Ignition coil is a transformer, or , more precisely, an autotransformer, that converts 12 volts from the alternator to 12kv for the spark plugs. As most people know, transformers don't work with DC, they Need AC or, in this case, pulsed DC.
Enter the distributor
When 12 volts are first applied to the transformer, a magnetic field is formed in the transformers core. This field stores the energy and when the distributor momentarily connects the ignition coil to the spark plug, The magnetic field collapses dumping all of that stored energy into the spark plug. Shortly after, the continuous supply of 12 volts rebuilds the magnetic field and the transformer is ready to deliver another spark. The distributor's job is to route the output lead from the transformer to the appropriate spark plug.
So, to re cap, 12 volts flows from the alternator, to the ignition coil, a magnetic field is built, the distributor connects the ignition coil to the appropriate spark plug, the 12kv flows from the coil, through the distributor, to the spark plug, jumps the gap and ignites the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder. repeat about 1000 times a minute and you have an idling car engine! Have fun!
The alternator is basically a generator, it puts out about 12 volts DC. Now, for a spark to jump the gap in a spark plug it needs to be a few thousand volts.
The Ignition coil is a transformer, or , more precisely, an autotransformer, that converts 12 volts from the alternator to 12kv for the spark plugs. As most people know, transformers don't work with DC, they Need AC or, in this case, pulsed DC.
Enter the distributor
When 12 volts are first applied to the transformer, a magnetic field is formed in the transformers core. This field stores the energy and when the distributor momentarily connects the ignition coil to the spark plug, The magnetic field collapses dumping all of that stored energy into the spark plug. Shortly after, the continuous supply of 12 volts rebuilds the magnetic field and the transformer is ready to deliver another spark. The distributor's job is to route the output lead from the transformer to the appropriate spark plug.
So, to re cap, 12 volts flows from the alternator, to the ignition coil, a magnetic field is built, the distributor connects the ignition coil to the appropriate spark plug, the 12kv flows from the coil, through the distributor, to the spark plug, jumps the gap and ignites the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder. repeat about 1000 times a minute and you have an idling car engine! Have fun!
Dec 30, 2008. 11:19 PMstatic
says:
I had thought of using an ignition coil to make a Jacobs ladder. But I was way over thinking it and, would have made it much more complicated than need be.
Well thank you for the input. I also use this type of coil in my homemade plasma cutter for my arc start system.
Dec 31, 2008. 6:16 AMnewbie2cnc
says:
Are you actually running 110 VAC into an Ignition coil that is designed for 12VDC? I have read this a couple of time and don’t see what the power source is. I have wanted to build a Jacobs Ladder for quite a long time and this looks good just worried about the power source.
One other thing, the coil never runs on pure dc, it cant, it runs on dc pulse tricking it into think its running on ac but its just pulsed dc.
Yep, 120 volt, it actually can handle up to 240 volt but 120 works just fine. The triac and diac in the dimmer can handle this voltage, and the coil is not pulling a large amp load so its basically a transformer.
Dec 30, 2008. 6:06 PMfroggyman
says:
yeah, One suggestion put the intructions on the instructables, its easier to look at and makes it easier to those who dont use microsoft products(such as microsoft office)
I see what you mean now, hope that is better for ya:)
Dec 30, 2008. 7:42 PMfroggyman
says:
Thanks, I really like this instructable, what grades do you teach then?
Im just a custodian, but The kids love my projects. I brought this one for them on holloween and they loved it, for the sparks and sound when it is in the tube going up to top.
Dec 30, 2008. 5:15 PMmynameisjonas
says:
great instructable, but I think that instead of using a separate file you should put the instructions and parts list into the instructable.
The Jacob's chuck was invented by A. I. Jacobs about 1900, but the Jacob's ladder is named after the biblical story of Jacob's vision in which he saw a ladder (or a stairway) going up into heaven. Jesus makes an oblique reference to it in John 1:51. It is an example of another reference to the Bible that has crept into our everyday language. When the PC police take over fully, they will have a big job to do in order to find and eradicate all of these allusions to the Bible. Anyway, nice job on your Instructable.
thank you for that great information, I can use that at my school for the kids.
Dec 30, 2008. 10:03 AMScott_Tx
says:
Looks easy to build. Be nice to have more construction pics and directions instead of a seperate doc file though.
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