Joule thief Night light

Well, since everyone is raving about the joule thief, I though I would hop on the band wagon and give it a shot. I ended up building a little night light for my little brother. and making a very big mess later for me to clean up : )

In the End I am very happy with the outcome. I am giving it to the little bugger soon. hope he like it.

JUST A heads up, i am starting the project with an already built joule thief. I could just copy a link from another instructible but that would be too easy...

Also this is my first instructible hope you all like it.....

Step 1 Set up/ What you will need

For the Joule Thief Night Light you will need......

-1 joule thief circuit ALREADY BUILT!
-some type of craft wood
-old light bulb (preferable already burnt out-more green that way)
-some type of switch
-table saw/hand saw
-wood screws/glue
-ruler
-battery holder AA
-HOT GLUE!!
-goggles (safety First)
-light bulb holder (where you screw it in)
-electrical tape/liquid tape/hot glue
-hinge ( with screws)

EXTRA
-paint
-music for motivaton
-medical attention standing by (MOTHERS OR WIVES!!)
-refreshments

Total Cost<10 dollars.
switch-.45 cents
old light bulb- free
leds- 50 cents (25c/1)
wood- free for me, maybe 6.00??
light base- 3.05
screws- free

TOTAL COST =10 dollars or less

Comments

[rayfalcon]

hey email me i need to know how to make the joule thief every one elses pic arent that good [e-mail]

[tdobbins1]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Joule-Thief/

[Yerboogieman]

When it took a nasty spill down the stairs, did it subject itself to further school absences?

[GreyGhost2]

Well Done! Tidy Job. Like you say, you are not a cabnet maker. Your kid brother is lucky to have you. My son tries to get his kid brother to try nine volt batteries on his tongue!

[kingofrandom92]

nice. i have tried that before but then i couldnt taste anything for a few minutes. thats why one should always have a 9v with them just in case mom or wives think they want to create something new in the kitchen. just make sure you eat it up in the first few minutes. . ..

[knektek]

i tried it with 2 9v batteries OUCH! it killed. alot...

[Icarryacameraandaglock45]

LMAO - YOU ARE FUNNY DUDE - I love the medical attention standing by comment and of course the wood comment. that was a good one. I want to make one, but im fairly 'special' and don't know how to do junk like this. Looks like heeckkkkka fun though. Thanks for the instructoid :) keep up the good work.

[kingofrandom92]

as for the c/d cell I dont have anything that runs on those but I am sure it will work with those battery's as well but just make sure you are getting out the correct voltage for what you want to be running.

[mathman47]

How long, in hours, does a dead battery last? Have you tried a C or D cell?

[kingofrandom92]

I am not totally sure about the length. i guess it would depend on how charged your "dead" battery is and how well you wound your coil. but i would probably say a week maybe more. I will have to test it out to see.

[tim_n]

Rough and ready instructable, does exactly what it says on the Tin. I didn't know what a joule thief was (or even thought about it) so well done for the inspiration. Might be a good idea to mention what one is - for those who don't, it seems to be a way of squeezing the last dregs of your battery. Very eco friendly (but you should use rechargeables for all your battery needs and you can't use rechargeables in Joule thief projects because mostly they can't be completely discharged without damaging them...)

[askjerry]

I just had to go online and look up what a Joule Thief was... and since I did... I posted the result here:

http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

So now you don't have to look it up... just click on it.
Simple huh? (grin)
Jerry

[stephenniall]

umm Why dont u Mitre the box edges No offense but it looks petty Scrappy the box If you mitered the edges and dowelled jonted it it would look good N anyone can do it Im only 12 and i can do it

[Housedog]

Maybe I missed something but what is the power source?

[ReCreate]

The battery,What else?

[mc_nebula]

The joule theif is the current source, via a "dead" battery. google it.

[ReCreate]

No,The Joule theif Is what pumps up the voltage so that the LED lights up

[mc_nebula]

So, pretty much exactly what I just said then... I will repeat it for you: The joule theif is the current source, via a "dead" battery. google it. In other words, the joule thief is the facilitator for the current to flow, from a source which otherwise would not provide enough power. I did however get current and power/voltage mixed up. Sorry. It should read "is the power source"

[ReCreate]

No you said that the joule thief was the power source,The power source is the Battery,Then it goes though the joule theif,The joule theif has nothing to do with the power source

[weirdo557]

the joule theif is part of the power supply. no need to get all picky about it

[ReCreate]

I was not getting picky about it.

[davidprosser]

u kind of were...

[ReCreate]

[raykholo]

the fact that u used an actual light bulb says that this circuit is very capable and can meet high power demands. Personally though, i would recommend using leds, but it would nice to c a variation where it combines the bulb and led (maybe an led bulb)...

[kingofrandom92]

thats is what i used, I drilled out the light bulb and added the leds inside powered by a joule thief

[Gonazar]

I don't think you read and/or looked at the pictures properly. it IS an LED and just one at that. nice work kingofrandom92! btw it would be convenient if you linked the joule thief instructions somewhere

[kingofrandom92]

you think I should?? i thought it was better not too because then people choose the one with the coolest picture but if you think so i can totally throw the one from oneup I think his name is called, on the 1 or second page

[raykholo]

oh my bad, i just skimmed through the top part of the instructable and jumped to conclusions i guess anyway, then it pretty much hits my idea right on the money and nice catch... :)

[vince 09]

a suggestion is to take the white stuff out of the bulb. you can do this with sand just put it in the bulb and shake it a bit, it may make it brighter. but other than that that is pretty cool

[kingofrandom92]

also when i gave him that box his first words were, " what is that???" i though it was funny but i explained it to him and then his next words were "awesome"

[kingofrandom92]

thanks for the comments, yeah the box is a little rough but the important thing is that when the flip is switched the light turns on. as mc_nebula already said it was achieved through the joule thief circuit that runs off a "dead" AA battery

[revhead]

nice instructable, the box was a little rough but still good. I love making things myself, its much more satisfying and fun than going out to the shops and buying it, don't you think? I think the joule thief circuit is great and am always trying to think of different applications for such a circuit. if you come up with any interesting ideas I would like to hear them. CHEERS!!

[lebowski]

Your brother must be excited.