Can I use a IRLB3034 mosfet with 5v?

[gandymarsh]

I hope someone can tell me if a IRLB3034 mosfet can be used with 5 volts.

I want to build another passthrough using a 5v 4 amp AC adapter. The one I use now is using a 5v 2 amp AC adapter. The switch is a cheap 2 or 3 amp from madvapes. It has been working great for 6 months or so. I've been building my coils at about 2.5 ohms but I want to go lower.

I'm worried that 4 amps might be too much for this type of switch so I'm thinking of using a mosfet.

 

[Mooch]

You can use an IRLB3034 MOSFET at 4A with no probems with a gate voltage of 5V. In fact, you can do 20A with that gate voltage. Just be sure to include the gate-to-source resistor.

Yea, if that switch is rated 2A-3A it probably won't last very long switching 4A. A MOSFET is a good idea.

 

[gandymarsh]

Thanks much Mooch!

I looked at the spec chart for that mosfet but didn't understand much of it. I have built one mod with one of these mosfets and it works perfectly.

 

[Mooch]

If you ever feel like frying some neurons, check out Figure 1, Typical Output Characteristics. Each plot line is for a different gate voltage. If you follow them up you can see that using 5V lets you pass a lot of current. Anything higher than about 25A is for microsecond to millisecond pulses though.

Or you can use the Gate Threshold Voltage specification (near the top of page 2). For the IRLB3034 it's 2.5V, worst case. That's only for a small amount of current though, 250 microamps. You're at much higher than 2.5V though so you can pass a lot more than the 250 microamps that can only pass at 2.5V.

 

[gandymarsh]

Just looking at those charts fries my neurons I have no background in electronics except for a Electronics 101 course back in high school.

 

[Mooch]

Yea, those datasheets can get pretty ugly, pretty quick.