Make a 15 Million Volt Bug Swatter

Intro: Make a 15 Million Volt Bug Swatter

This Instructable will show you how to convert a weak store-bought electric fly zapper into a 15 Million Volt powerhouse that can incinerate the largest of bugs!

CAUTION - this project involves extremely high voltage and should be kept away from children! Do not ever touch anyone or yourself with the electrified end!

STEP 1: Remove the Guts

For this project I used the body of a swatter I bought from Harbor Freight for $3. Remove and keep all the screw holding the zapper's black body together. (remove batteries first). Separate the body into two halves. Cut the wires that go from the switch on the side as close to the circuit board as you can to leave as much wire to the switch as possible. Cut the two wires leading from yellow swatter head as close to circuit board as possible.

STEP 2: Remove Guts From Stun Gun

I purchased this 15 Million Volt Vipertek Stun Gun from ebay for about $12 shipped. Take the small screws out and separate the housing and remove everything.

USE CAUTION HERE! KEEP EVERYTHING SEPARATED and don't touch the bare wires.

Remove the switch that came on stun gun (the switch that came on the fly swatter will be used).

Remove the wall charger parts.

Remove flashlight and led parts.

STEP 3: Modify Handle

Using a Dremel Tool, I removed plastic to allow the large transformer from the stun gun to fit into the handle. You want the transformer to be above the screw that holds body together and below the area where the yellow paddle installs.

STEP 4: Install Stun Gun Parts

Using a soldering iron and shrink tubing do the following:

Solder the switch from the handle into the stun gun circuit.

For convenience, i added a charging plug to the battery pack. This allows me to charge through my hobby charger....you can use whatever type of plug/charger combo that gets the job done.

Bonus - the battery pack that comes with the stun gun is a 6 volt 250 ma. I will probably swap this out for a 6 volt 1000+ pack for long run times and less drop when zapping large bugs.

Solder the 2 wires that come from the transformer pack to the two wires on the yellow paddle. (make sure these are as far apart as possible and insulated well so it doesn't arc in the handle before getting to the metal grids.

Using hot glue, I secured the transformer and battery pack in the handle.

Give it a quick test.

STEP 5: Close It Up and Insulate

Time to carefully close up the handle and reinstall the screws. Using electrical tape, put on several layers around the area we had to cut out for the transformer.

It's bug zappin' time!

When you press the button, you will hear a buzzing sound and will probably see some sparks on the metal grid as well around the perimeter of the swatter head. This is the spark jumping the gap and normal... When a swing it at a bug, once the bug comes into contact with the inner and outer grid at the same time, it will complete the circuit/make the shortest path for the spark to jump and will immediately zap the bug. Most stun guns tell you not to activate them for more than 5-10 seconds at a time.

Have fun and be careful!

Comments

[nflpanthersfan72705]

for one thing it could easily start something on fire.

[nflpanthersfan72705]

i don't believe that its 15 million volts, if it were, you shouldn't make it at all.

[jeanrenaud]

Ok. Everyone on Instructables must know the domain in which they produce things. The stun gun components are not producing 15 millions volts. Stun gun companies are lying.

The dielectric resistance of air is 10000 volts per centimeter. So, your stun gun can produce around 10000 volts, maybe a couple thousands more. Try spacing the electrodes and see the maximum spacing which produces sparks. Then, multiply the distance (in centimeters) by 10000.

A 15 million volts source will produce 15 meters sparks. The power needed to produce 15 million volts cannot be in a battery. The thing producing 15 million volts would need to be much bigger.

I don't now any video or picture of a 15 million volts equipment, but this Tesla Coil produces 8 million volts (26 foot long sparks). As you can see in the video, the power source is huge / Power Plant Rated (55000 watts).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30

[DIY-Guy]

If electrodes are not spaced at the maximum distance, will the sparks be larger than the distance of the electrodes?
If 15 million volts will travel 15 meter sparks as you say, what happens when the electrodes are .5 centimeter apart? Do the sparks wrap around and make giant bulges in the air around the electrodes?
Electricity follows the path of least resistance, from electrode to electrode in this case. Please explain?

[jeanrenaud]

No, the kind of spark of a stun gun will only follow the shortest path. This is especially true for pulsed high voltage (stun guns are pulsing). For continuous high voltage discharge, like Jacob ladders or high power network discharge, the arc can go up and make loops because the air is ionized (burning) a lot, and ionization makes heat, and heated air goes up, and ionized/heated air is a better conductor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXiOQCRiSp0

[jeanrenaud]

Even Power Plants do not use 15 million volts to transmit electricity on large distances. 1 million is the maximum, in Russia i think, because large distances are to be traveled by electric current. 15 million volts can be produced for "lightning resistance tests".

[DIY-Guy]

Would very much like to see bugzapping video, maybe a dangerous wasp?

[DhruvG10]

Bug swatter... more like person swatter

[DIYWEAPONS]

How many volts was the bug zapper before modifying?

I made a taser using a zapper that plugged into a socket to charge and it gave a hell of a shock

[jon.blymiller]

Ive fenced my older brothers using those fly swatters....honestly you dont need tazer level electricity to kill a bug.....flying insects dont usually get big enough to warrent that voltage

[Félixd1]

I only have one question jamiep: is the air gap between the grids big enough now that the voltage is so high? I would imagine sparks continiously going from one grid to the other, as they calculated the distance between the grids for another voltage.

[elliot5445]

could you post a video? I would love to see this work.

[Victor805]

I'll keep the plans just in case I travel in time back to the Carboniferous period.

[the ultimate smaug]

that is cool, but is that safe

[jamiep]

Safe? lol...only as safe a stun gun is... I certainly wouldn't want to touch myself or anyone else with it :)

[transistor2]

I took out the stun part of a fly swatter and hooked it up to a 9 volt, it is very powerful, you should try it