voltage.....

[bishop]

I am by no means an engineer or electrician ,,,, so I figured I would ask a fwe noobish quiestions


Ive read alot of the mod forums and I can see that we really dont want to push over 6v thru these atomizers..


that being said...is there a way to reduce the current from a 9v battery to make a small box mod?

Ive found several things that have 9v supplys and a button already built in that I could use as a switch, but I dont want to fry it right on the first button push.

 

[opusMorian]

There is a way to use a LT1173 DC to DC step down chip that converts 9v to a constant 5v. It is probably not the easier circuit to build if you have no electronic knowledge whatsoever, but it can be fun to start learning. This is by no means the only way to do it. If you google "DC to DC step down" you might find some easier schematics that uses other chips or maybe a pre-build kits. I have some pre-build circuit on ebay from China that will the same. Hope that helps.

*can't post links yet*

 

[sL1k]

i looked around a little bit and found this, it should work
www radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062599
(i have never used this before and im sure someone else could chime in on the best way to hook it up)

 

[sL1k]

nevermind looked it up, first pin would be voltage in middle pin is ground third pin is the voltage out.

 

[Programmer]

Ive read alot of the mod forums and I can see that we really dont want to push over 6v thru these atomizers..

that being said...is there a way to reduce the current from a 9v battery to make a small box mod?

Reduce current or voltage? (Sorry, had to.)

There are _plenty_ of voltage regulator ICs you can buy, especially for 5V. If you have a non-nerfed Radio Shack in your area you can probably get one for around $2. Nice big leads too, so you can really abuse them, or do plenty of nonstandard mountings.

 

[opusMorian]

Good find sL1k, I found a simple schematic for the 7805. Search for "7805 schematic 9v to 5v" on google, then look for "How to build a +5V regulator using 78L05 / 7805". I have used this regulator before on a 12v DC input, the only problem I had with this is that it produces more heat then I would like. It would be pretty hot to the touch, so just be careful. They do have heatsink packages that you can mount the 78xx, FYI.

 

[Programmer]

Hehehe I'm sure this has occurred to everyone already, but every bit of heat you have to heatsink away is wasted energy that should have gone to your atomizer instead. (Battery life, anyone?)

I instinctively made that post about the voltage regulator but obviously that's not what you want to do here. We're not powering a sensitive IC... it's a darn resistor. Since the load is known a simple voltage divider would suffice.

 

[UkUsa]

Bishop - Not sure if this would work, would all depend on the size of the battery compartment. If it would physically fit you could use two 14500 Li-Ions.

2 “AA” Battery Holder - RadioShack.com

 

[bishop]

lots of great replies and info thanks!

Im going to try a few and ill post my new creation when im done

 

[vslim]

Good find sL1k, I found a simple schematic for the 7805. Search for "7805 schematic 9v to 5v" on google, then look for "How to build a +5V regulator using 78L05 / 7805". I have used this regulator before on a 12v DC input, the only problem I had with this is that it produces more heat then I would like. It would be pretty hot to the touch, so just be careful. They do have heatsink packages that you can mount the 78xx, FYI.

You want to get a switching regulator, which is supposed to be 94% efficient, so look for a 7805sr. Mouser.com has one.

 

[opusMorian]

I love mouser (Austin I believe). Buying from Houston you practically get your parts the next day .

 

[kinabaloo]

You mentioned a 9v battery - note that these are seldom powerful; batteries like the pp3 can only provide about 50mA ! They are typically just a series of small (hence low capacity) 1.2/1.5 cells.

 

[howdoesthatworkthen]

While on the subject, and as I am struggling to get my head round all this, what does a zener diode do? Say radio shack catalogue number 276-565. I've done the read wiki stuff but where would you use it? Preferably a very very simple example to match my intelligence!

 

[jenntek]

While on the subject, and as I am struggling to get my head round all this, what does a zener diode do? Say radio shack catalogue number 276-565. I've done the read wiki stuff but where would you use it? Preferably a very very simple example to match my intelligence!

Sorry to revive an old thread, but, I thought I'd read this once before,
and I stumbled upon your answer:
How Zener Diodes Work:
Zener diodes are just like normal diodes except with one difference. Their breakdown voltages. The breakdown voltage of a diode is the voltage it takes to pass a current backwards through a diode. The problem with normal diodes is that this voltage is very high, and when you reach it, it damages the diode. Zener diodes are specially made to have low breakdown voltages, like 5.1v or 3.3v, and they are not harmed when you reach it. So say you have a 5.1v zener diode. To pass a current backwards through it, you would need at least 5.2v.

 

[airpoff]

be aware that if you up the voltage on anything that is designed for a specific voltage it will shorten its life span. There is a reason the factory designed your e-cig for the voltage it came with. I have been working in the electrical field for 27 years.

 

[j0ker]

Please don't revive old threads. More recent and better information is available. Thread closed.