what kind of diode do I need to lower voltage???
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I know it's a lot, but it looks like the simplest option, I always have a few spare batteries with me, I do use CR2s. I dont think I want to build anything bigger that takes 2 cr123, I didn' have much luck with flashlight mods. I'd rather have the voltage drop than burn through 2 atomizers a day which is what happened yesterday. The chip is a good idea, but if my voltage drops too low it won't work at all. If only they made 3.7v CR2s I'd be happy. I'm gonna try the IN4004 and IN4001 diodes and see what happens.
Thanks for that, I think this setup is a little advanced for my little battery box mods, I'm going to pick up some IN4004s and see how it works, If I can keep my attys from burning up on 6+v by dropping it a bit I'll be happy, I'm too used to the extra volts, standard 3.7v ecigs just won't do it for me anymore.
A zener diode is used to provide a reference voltage. It cannot be used by iself as a voltage reducing power supply!
Using a zener dode
A zener diode provides a good way to achieve a stable lowered voltage but requires a power tansistor or mosfet to handle the load current. The zener diode is used in reverse; it has a specific voltage drop used this way (forwards it works like a normal diode).
Basically the zener sets the base voltage of the transistor and there will be a further drop of about 0.6V through the transistor, so to get say 4.5V out the zener required qould be 4.5+0.6 = 5.1V (some transistors have a lower forward drop than 0.6v);
Example circuit using a power zener diode with a power transistor:
AN007 - High Power Zener Diode
See also:
Lecture 27
Using power diodes (easy solution)
Modern power diodes have a 0.35V forward drop (some versions might be 0.7v). Such as the 1N4001. Just connect these in series to drop the voltage the required amount (3 of them to drop by just over 1V). These diodes are robust - no danger from connecting the wrong way, simply no current flow.
Using a voltage regulator (fairly easy solution)
Input voltage needs to be about 1.5V higher than the output (check specifications). Contains a zener and power transistor in one easy-to-use 3 pin package (and perhaps output sensing and comparator for extra stability).
Example:
high current power supply circuit. - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free
(see also the notes below that post)
I only have a very limited understanding of electronics and there is some sort of computer chip in this 'cold heat soldering Iron' that I turned into an e-cig (which I left in the wiring)...would that be something to do with controlling the voltage or current? because I don't seem to get any drop off in performance at all until the batteries are nearly flat and at exactly the same as that happens the LED also suddenly gets very noticably dimmer.
That;s probably right Pete. It makes sense do do that.
ps How's your atty doing ?
Hi Kinaba....two weeks today and still going as good as new!!..I am just happily vaping away here and quietly following all your latest ideas!
Wiring the chip is not going to be any harder than wiring the diode. The chip has three leads. Vin, Ground, and Vout. CR123'a are not much biggeer than CR2's. Something like 1mm larger diameter and 8mm longer in length. If you are not using a flashlight mod, what are you using to hold the CR2's?
Without the chip and using unprotected cells, you can ruin the batteries by draining them to too low of a voltage. If they are protected, then the batteries will cut out before the chip does.
This is what I use. Just a 2AA holder modified by hand to accept 2 CR2s. It vapes AWESOME, but I've blown out 2 atomizers in 24 hours....I really do think the quality of RN4075s has gone way down, they don't last long.
I'm sure the chip is easy to do, but how big is it?? I've been using mods like these w/ same batteries for a couple months, and have never ruined them. They don't apear to be protected (I took the wrapper off one of them) but they do behave like they are....vape vape vape vape for 4-5 hours, then all of a sudden..no power, and they still read close to 3v each on the multimeter. They charge right up and are fine.
I'm gonna do the diode and see what happens. Once I'm out of RN4075s I think I'm going to switch to Joye510s instread, I've tried one and love it, but they don't like 6V...killed one atty in less than 2 hours.
youfill ...
do you have a meter? i ask, because if you are using 2 RCR123's in succession rated at 3.0v each, chances are you are probably closer to 7v than 6v. You may want to get a couple of them and test them!
Just my $.02 cents
I would agree with that but I'm curious about voltage dropping after use.
Does the voltage stay constant at 6 V, or will it drop after discharge or use?
Hi Kinaba....two weeks today and still going as good as new!!..I am just happily vaping away here and quietly following all your latest ideas!
Sometimes life's a peach ...
When using the regulator chip, what do you wire in for the ground? Sorry, my husband wants more power and I"m going about it a funny way because we have all the parts locally for my way...and I don't want to wait three weeks (I'm so VERY impatient).
Okay, the diode worked! I added an IN4007 to my two main units, and noticed right away a slight decline in power. I tired 2 in series but that was too much of a drop, and the wires and diodes get quite warm with heavy use, so I'll stick with one each and see what happens. I really want this to work with 510 atomizers, a straight 6+ volts is too much for those.
I'm sure that Texas instruments chip would work great on 2 3.7 volt batts, I have a feeling my 2 3v setup might prematurely drop below the 5.5 minimum input they require.....I'm getting a mini pipe set soon to try out, and they take 1/2AA 3.7v size batts, so two of those plus chip would be a nice steady 5v all the time. they might not last long between charges, but it better than killing off all my attys for the sake of more power.
I'm sure that Texas instruments chip would work great on 2 3.7 volt batts, I have a feeling my 2 3v setup might prematurely drop below the 5.5 minimum input they require.....I'm getting a mini pipe set soon to try out, and they take 1/2AA 3.7v size batts, so two of those plus chip would be a nice steady 5v all the time. they might not last long between charges, but it better than killing off all my attys for the sake of more power.
Yup, as soon as I saw there was no negative, I realize that I was to attach negative to the ground. I only used one of the grounds, it works fabulously. now have a perfect 5v going to my atomzier! Aweomse thing is I could literally use that regulator to make a plug-in mode- wait a tic, that's fantastic. LOL....make a plug in for the house and put a regulator on it! LOL.
I tested it by hooking up a 9v. Works fabulously. I think I will keep the 9v for now, even though the mah is so low. When I get tired of it, I'll get the harness for 2AAs to hook them (the 3.7v batteries from DX) up to a 9v clip. Will be perfect then!
My question was what to hook to the ground, since there would be no way to ground the box I was making. Hooked up the negative though. I don't know if that's proper I suppose...but that's what I did.
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