Solid state USB rechargeable air freshener.
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- This style of unit isn't new, but this is one of the neatest implementations I've see.
It's an air steriliser for small areas like cupboards and fridges (but not freezers).
It works by generating a high voltage inside in a well potted module that is probably a classic Royer oscillator, step up transformer and probably a voltage multiplier too based on external test results.
It applies the high voltage to a sharp spike like an ioniser, but instead of imparting a charge into the room it has a metal ring in front of it at the opposite polarity that attracts the emitted ions so vigorously that it creates a small corona discharge at the tip of the spike. The high flow of electrons also causes a movement of the air in the vicinity causing a noticeable draught from the front of the unit with no moving parts.
As the air passes through the corona discharge oxygen molecules (O2 = 2 atoms of oxygen) are split apart into individual oxygen atoms that recombine randomly, producing a small quantity of ozone (O3 = three atoms of oxygen). Since ozone is an unstable form of oxygen the molecules try and get rid of the third atom of oxygen onto anything it touches, oxidising it in the process.
This has the effect of a gaseous form of bleach which can get rid of organic smells while also damaging mold spores, bacteria and viruses. When placed in a fridge the unit will neutralise odours and help keep food fresh for longer.
This unit has a 500mAh lithium cell that can be recharged using a standard micro USB connector. When in use the unit runs continuously for 30 minutes to give a strong initial sterilisation, but then goes into a top-up mode where it runs for 5 minutes every hour.
The construction of this gadget is surprisingly good. It's got a very nice case and everything is laid out sensibly inside with proper support for an easily removed lithium cell, and plugs for the PSU, cell and front panel button. The circuitry is fairly sensible and the actual operation in my fridge immediately neutralised the smell of strong out of date cheese.
Based on the operating current and near zero current in its off-state I initially estimated the run time to be over a week on a charge. Unfortunately the software is not putting the processor to sleep during standby, so the quiescent current between the hourly bursts of ozone is around 2mA. That might not sound much, but it almost doubles the daily power use and means the run time is going to be nearly half of what it could have been. If the processor has an internal wake timer then it could have woken every second or two, pulsed the LED and then gone back to sleep again, doubling the operational time per charge.
The ozone output will also fall as the lithium cell discharges and its voltage drops. So the main clue that it's time for a recharge could be the natural aroma of a fridge.
It's notable that the unit will not run while plugged in to recharge. That seems a strange thing to do, since they actually added extra components to detect that, and it could have been useful to have it running 24/7 in a larder. But it can be hacked.... Even solar-charged if the sense circuit has the 10K resistor removed.
You can find these on eBay if you search for - USB rechargeable ozone . But be aware that there are still a lot of pandemic price gougers around, so the target price is $20 or less. If you can't find it near that then leave it for a while until prices return to normal.
Sharp use the same technology to produce very small levels of ozone in their plasmacluster products, which they then mix into the air with a quiet but powerful fan. (They specifically avoid mentioning that their units create trace ozone.) Since the Sharp units are designed for long operation in large areas they have replaceable cartridges with new power supplies and emitters in them, as the tips of the spikes can be blunted over time by the action of the corona discharge.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:-
www.bigclive.co...
This also keeps the channel independent of RUclips's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
Nice to see a product that doesn't disappoint.
That's what she said
Not all Big Clive's projects which 'Doesn't disappoint' are good! 😂
@@BrazzaB1 His teardown of NiMH cells immediately come to mind, with all the pinging cell innards causing random fires.
the newer version, with a board "Dwo04" don't work!
1:22 sweet, a zone generator? I've always needed one of those, now I can create more space.
Physicists HATE this!
Unfortunately, in order to keep it consistent with the game physics, it may only divide existing zones, so as to not decrease entropy.
@@BloodAsp Entropy would be a keen band name.
@@jamesplotkin4674 www.metal-archives.com/search?searchString=entropy&type=band_name We've been beaten to it. ...a few times over. XD
It's a mistake, it should read "0 zone generator" - clarifying it makes zero zones at all.
i just received mine in the mail. indeed, if you snip pin 5 from the micro, this will charge and run simultaneously. There is a small board with what looks like a protection chip built into the battery so this should be fine.
In his picture which pin is 5? (top or bottom and left or right)
or desolder the upper resistor of the devider?
I would like to see something like this integrated into the lid of a wheelie bin, with a solar panel on top. It should be able to run for a few minutes per hour and generate ozone to help combat the insects and other nasties within the bin. The bin is a small enclosed space and the ozone should be contained within it to do its magic.
Interesting!
I'm stealing that idea... See you in the Bahamas next year 😂👍
will it get too hot for a lithium battery? say ~110F in the enclosed space with all the moisture.. if not I will want to try it out
@@darer13 you have a solar cell and a constant power source, batteries are not required. Lithium's most valuable as a power dense, weight efficient source. Given the expected # of charge cycles, NiMH is the chemistry to use.
I needed something like this to finish getting rid of a moldy smell from an old mini fridge at my parents house in the upstairs game room. Sister forgot some grapes and such when she moved out. Washed it down with lots of bleach back in March but still faint smell. I've been using the fridge anyway with a pile of baking soda on a small paper plate on the bottom shelf. This is perfect. Ordered a black one from a different seller for $9, free shipping before I even finished the video (I skimmed through the comments). Glad it's Clive approved!
Coffee (powder) works very well at overpowering any nasty smells.
Though you could just blast it with febreeze or one of the other cyclodextrin deodorants.
I think this is the least destructive tear down I've seen in a while
The Vise of Knowledge is not happy.
Hong Kong dollars? Still too much though.
Clive: ...corona discharge generator...
RUclips: *confuzed screaming*
Wait until the science-adverse idiots read about the sun's corona, how it relates to the Northern lights and get *very* worried as their little minds leap to all sort of nonsense :-D
It's not 5G that causes corona, it's coming from the sun and falls out the sky over Norway...
oh no...you let the genie out of the bottle.
In the US I got the identical unit for $10.49 under the title: "Air Purifier Ozone Generator Ionizer Smoke Remover Cleaner Room Sterilization" If you paste that in the search bar & sort by "lowest price first" they pop up for that price.
And of course, with the 'Big Clive effect' the price has gone up.
A good review from Clive and suddenly they go up in price. Fleabay's cheapest that I've found £30.34 plus postage and taxes.
@@aspudkicker When Fleabay fails mr. AliEx wins
@@aspudkicker 32.65 EUR plus 53.57 EUR shipping, for me!
Can you hear it?
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Me: "AAAARGH."
I have a arc lighter and it's funny watching the dogs react to it. I can't hear a thing.
Apparently my speakers are incapable of reproducing the noise.
I regret using my headphones to check though. The video if full of high pitched noises.
Me: YES. YES WE CAN HEAR IT.
Those tiny high voltage step up modules HAVE to be potted in resin. In this case, it has nothing to do with secret protection, but rather, everything is packed so close that without the resin it would be arcing and destroy itself xD
Nah, without the potting it could probably still last long enough for buyers to leave positive feedback. Who cares if it blows up as long as they've gotten paid?
@@eDoc2020 meh, I buy with PayPal, and if things break down too soon, I put the wrath of PP on 'em
A product that actually gets the 'Big Clive' seal of approval - Quite a rare accolade. Which is nice!
Ah the irony of corona discharge fighting corona virus.
@@memberwhen22 co-anal discharge*
@@Francois_Dupont You can get some, if you want OwO
@@Francois_Dupont Mmm, spicy.
This has to be pinned. Clive jump onto it 😛
@PERIZ99 drink more than a few Corona and you too will have a discharge
That actually seems surprisingly well built, even having the firmware label on the MCU.
Half listening over breakfast and I hear "foot and vegetable cleaner"... Thought for a second that Clive was being extra naughty, until the mental slap could be administered.
I actually bought this product and am pleased to say it works and gets rid of the smells
What a nice little device :-D
Neat and no nasty cost cutting.
Like the end product is gonna change ya life or have any effect in rooms cus it so small .....put it in ya kitchen cupboard prob all it good for
A nice little mod would be to affix a solar cell on top so it could charge up and use in the Fridge, because we know that lamp really doesn't go off when the door is closed ;-)
Clive, I didn't take it to bits. I ordered one and got it two days later. I turned it on and and put in my front load clothes washer. I had done the wash for a week ahead. This device is still going after one week. 8 days, I am not saying you are wrong on the amperage draw or how long it should last (I think it is close to needing a recharge), but it is still hanging in there. It is also cute!! As far as performance, yet to be smelled. So far, so good.
When you first took it apart, I quite liked the design, the plugs to remove the button, battery, module, the slot for the battery, and the nifty components, pretty neat little home poison device!!!
Edit, the only thing that I would have liked is for the case to be attached via a machine bolt instead of brittle plastic clips, in addition to the changes you mention.
I imagine the brittle clips will be more so after ozone has its way
@Chris Soo they come in very fine pitch and diameter, ie 'mother board screws' they are 1000x nicer to deal with than self taping screws into plastic.
These are handy and I use one. But we need to remember that bigger is not always better and that ozone can degrade plastics, soften wood, and corrode metal inside the fridge. Some foods can also be left flavorless if not well-wrapped.
Clive - I bought a branded version of this unit about a year ago and suspect that the reason these are so well designed is because they're clones of a product that actually went through qc and independent certification.
Thanks Clive, I saw this & sent for one. It arrived this morning. I'm vulnerable to covid19 (previous sepsis, kidney damage, heart problems) so I've been wiping stuff down assiduously after shopping before putting it in my fridge.
No longer! I can bung this little device in my fridge & it should wipe out anything nasty on the packaging. Say, if somebody had sneezed in the chiller at Sainsbury's...
I run mine in our fridge and get a bit more than a week between charges. Thanks for doing this; now I don't hafta tear mine down!
"Ill probably have the shits later on" You always sneak in those one liners that crack me up.
The Principle of Zone. That’s a great title for a book.
Maybe the micro doesn’t have an rtc so it has to keep a timer running to wake its self up. It can sleep fully on the button press because it provides an external interrupt so no need for the timer.
What a wonderfully constructed modular unit.
Just got one in the mail today. That "ion wind" is quite dramatic. I held it in front of my face just to check out that "ozone smell". I was actually surprised I felt a very noticeable air flow on my lips.
I mean it´s kinda spooky... That thing is moving air, causing a breeze without any moving parts!
Also it is worth mentioning I got an upgraded version with holes on the top and bottom just around the tip / metal plate assembly, probably to help airflow.
After watching this video, I ordered one up in lime green. Same design. It seems to be working fantastic. That ozone smell. I have a particular cupboard that the previous owner put perfume in and I'm hoping this will take care of the smell.
A842 on the chip is probably a sumcheck for the code in the chip
Was about to say the same but you beat me to it hehe - we used to do that all the time on masked or at-production programmed chips
Yow. A year later I got one of these and I have to say I'm happy with the results in my fridge. There is really no fridge odor, not that it was nasty before but instead of a scent of the stuff in there, like veggies as you might smell them freshly in your hand, there is nothing and no ozone scent I can discern either.
I have a high power unit (banned in California and probably a good thing) that produces very strong ozone even on the lowest setting. You just turn it on, leave the closed room and anything unpleasant is gone an hour later - of course I come back in and ventilate the place then leave until the very strong O3 is gone. So the big unit is really not that practical for every day use.
I just got a couple more of these triangle shaped Fridge unites and have placed one in the living room and another in the bedroom. I'm really not noticing an O3 odor but I am thinking this slight addition to the inside air might just be a good environmental addition.
It seems like most of the units you can get are a little strong on the O3 bit. I figure if I can really smell it, then it's too much.
I got a unit and took it to bits and have to say the circuitry was impressive and cool. But the cycle of 40 minutes on and 20 off is too much.
Hope I can post a link.
www.ebay.com/itm/294292199358
Oh wow, my partner just bought a similar one of these off Amazon earlier today before this vid went public
It was super stinky!
I ate some thank you!
It was great!
I will probably have the shits later!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Where screws are covered by labels, I've come to the conclusion you cause less damage by mining through the label with the screwdriver than by peeling the label. Peeled labels never seem to stick back down satisfactorily.
Loving the pink calculator Clive! Really interesting design though, I do like the way you reverse engineer things!
Great video. The outside design is slick. Nice call on the standby mistake. I don't want ozone killing the rubber gaskets and plastics in my fridge, however.
I recently blasted a mask with ozone and in one treatment it destroyed the rubber in the straps.
A nice little device. Thank you Clive for showing us.
I got one of there just over a year ago and it still working fine, I did pull mine apart to see what was inside too. I guess once the batter fails I could just fit a bigger one on the outside.
Nice to see a product that dosen't disappoint
0:45 - I would say that the lithium cell in there is _always_ literally flat.
i like it probably pretty decent at taking cooking odors out
My buddy who works at a cheese factory brought me 30 year old white cheddar. It was the best cheese I have ever eaten.
Was it meant up be 30 year old vintage, or was it just in the back of a cupboard? :-)
@@Richardincancale yes it was meant to be....lol
We need a lot of these devices down here in the southern hemisphere, because we have a hole in the Ozone that needs to be filled.
Not so much anymore; it's actually been recovering quite well since the CFC ban.
Neat, looks like you could even bypass the battery with a small power supply & run it as long as you want(given the power supply isn't interrupted that is)
Clive unsolder that 10k and plug in your big battery pack and you've got days and days of O3.
I have just ordered one from Amazon (UK), £15.99. Thanks for the review, as ever, very entertaining.
I love the super-low budget GkUVC.com advert that came with this vid.
It has no hot glue, has actual screwes and a properly designed case.
Wonder why couldn't they all be putting a little bit more effort in to their products?
I might buy 2. One for each shoe.
You do get shoe deodorizers. But also check out my video called "how to fix your feet" for proper odour termination.
Wow, it's Clive approved!
bigclivedotcom - Do you ever get any feedback from the manufacturers saying that they appreciate (or whatever) regarding your reviews and/or remarks on design remarks? Great viseo as always, BTW. :^)
I sometimes get messages from the designers of products I'm enthusiastic about.
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g Cool!!
Apparently, there is a newer version that can run while charging. I just got one of these in the mail. It also has slightly different specs: Ozone output is listed as 8 mg/h instead of 2 mg/h, it has a 600 mAh battery instead of 500 mAh, and it runs for 10 minutes per hour instead of 5 minutes per hour (according to the manual).
o) If you remove one resistor you can leave it plugged in and working.
o) I'd rather have a box of baking soda.
o) Sharper Image rocked. Their ad/articles were a joy to read. Anyone else remember the whole house subwoofer offering down-to-DC response and made of variable pitch fan blades between the living space and the attic? Awesome idea.
I like the construction of this one.
I'm joining the patron on Friday.
I first thought it's a USB-powered essential oil diffuser. Would look really nice on a table or shelf.
It's small, rechargeable, well designed, high voltage, and contains LEDs.
I approve, now make it more powerful by placing a little step up boost drive in between the control board and the module :P
Reminds me of an old tube tv noise, I seem to be one of the few people I know who can hear that quite clearly haha Glad that's a thing of the past I could tell if the TV was on in the next room even on AV input with no audio just from the humming
What about bats?
Yea bloody awful noise
I used to stump my boss by telling him (right outside) that a security office or server room had a CRT running inside. He never figured out how I knew.
Why does your comment say that it was posted 1 week ago
@@TeriWilde He stands outside the RUclips server farm offices and data mines passwords using his highly attuned bat hearing, he's in like Flynn with passwords that grant him access to do tricky things like change times and dates, make the vending machine carousel move anticlockwise, make the reel to reel tapes go haywire and other general tomfoolery.
Use to be black blob chips that were garenteeed back in the day. Glad you see less of them these days.
Pink calculator is such a passive aggressive giveaway.
I approve.
I hope you are doing well Clive. Stay safe friend.
Surely the domestic appliance manufacturers could learn something from this kind of device and incorporate this kind of product into the fridge itself. Some kind of timer or say every time the door was opened it ran for a period of time. Make it switchable even for those that think we might die from it! You can thank me later Hotpoint!
It has Conformal coating !
for a unit that goes in and out of fridge. I think it deserved mentioning. specially a Chinese product .
Nice! I'd like something like this for my freezer, I guess I'll have to do something else to remove the smell, maybe try baking soda.
Answered my question without asking! thanks.
Electronics, Cheese n' Shit. New tagline for the channel.
I bet it was Wensleydale cheese -- the choice of all mad inventors.
A842 is probably the SUM16 of the program inside the device.
Excellent, I was looking for something just like this, thanks!
eBay prices have predictably risen to about $26. However there appears to be two versions on Ali. One just like this, and a round one with a round removable port on top right over where the generator would be. About $12/13 each. May buy one of each and check the differences. With all the wasted space I wonder if a second 500mAh battery could be wired in parallel for double run time?
Why does everyone keep repeating that corona discharge puts out Ozone? It merely does; what it mostly puts out is Nitric Acid. Anyway, dice videos Clive, always enjoy when you take things to bits. :)
Clive, is the Ozone generator producing enough trace ozone to freshen up my room to mimic the amount of trace ozone outdoor? Can I just leave it running in my room?
Ozone is carcinogenic so please don’t do that
Yes, it could be used in a room as the output is at an ambient level.
@@timoschwaak9143 EVERYTHING IS CARCINOGENIC EVEN GRAPES
Someone Else Everything causes cancer in California.
I'm sure a lot of guys did the corona discharge during the lockdown muahahahaha!
There is a way to soup this up , from another Clive video !
You could connect the LED to the power mosfet to reduce a bit the power consumption in standby and still get an indication that is running
Having worked with corona discharge in a scientific device to ionize gasses, I recall the sharp point wearing down over time. So the question is... how long will it last before the corona won't start?
There will be a finite life, but at low level it should last a decent length of time. The Sharp plasmacluster units have complete replaceable modules for that reason. Some ionisers have a small socket for the needle.
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g I think we were generating much stronger coronas and had to design it with specially manufactured replaceable pins for military use. We also used a bulb with special gas that causes ionization at a particular frequency - a pain to "light". Slightly above my science education, but fascinating to an engineer.
At least something is doing what it's job is this year.
reminds me of an electron microscope filament. Cockroft Generator produces the high tension.
It does look like the ozone module manufacturer (Dongguan Nanbai Electronic Technology Co. LTD) offers the modules with the emitters (the "NB" in the part number is apparently for "Nanbai").
Your right. It does look like the module.
www.dgnanbai.com/Item/en_Show.asp?m=105&d=97
Look quite decent device. Shockingly good for an eBay Chinese low price gadget I 'd say.
I looked around the internet for a way to cheaply confirm that my ozone generator actually makes ozone. Turns out ozone absorbs or blocks UVC. So I can use the UV detector board you made a video of recently. If the voltage from a real UVC lamp drops from the board when the ozone generator is activated, then it really is making ozone. Anyway, I thought that was neat.
Smell is the best way. It has a strong bleach-like odour.
I seem to have a hard time smelling it until there's a ton of it in the air. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope to be able to detect it before it reaches a high concentration.
@@MikeGrayM70 Are you able to see any coronal discharge?
Not yet. It's all enclosed. I may have a look inside at some point though.
If the sniff test isn't working for you then I think you'd need a very accurate uvc meter to give a reliable reading at low concentration. Nice thinking, but maybe requires expensive equipment. A bio test would be cheaper. Just set up two petri dishes inoculated with, say, cholera, e.coli or black plague and expose one to ozone. Risky? OK, how about bakers yeast? Single celled and I'd expect a smear of that to be killed by modest concentrations of ozone. Worth a try anyway.
The discharge "needle" is likely NOT stainless steel, as the leads are soldered. You can't easily solder to stainless.
You wouldn't happen to know the output voltage of the high voltage module?
My question exactly!
Love your videos!
Mine works very well.
4:36 The UFO has appeared :D
Came for the electronics content, stayed for the cheese comment.
I want one of these just for the way the placed the LEDs and the usb plug.
It looks like a cute face. xD
Clive's Beard must be Cleanest in the land after all that O-Zone...that standby current bit ott..
good job. Liked Would you be interested in doing an episode about using Ultrasonic microphones to detect the corona effect?
I have bought one too (or at least similar looking), and mine is able to charge and produce ozone at the same time. Perhaps they have learned, or they are of different manufacturers.
Edit Aug 2021: Mine went defect, so I opened it to see what's wrong. The circuit is almost the same, except pin 5 of the MCU is not connected. Therefore it could charge and produce ozone at the same time. It turned out that the dual mosfet is defect. The gate is still switched, but the mosfet does not start to conduct.
Also mine had three spikes/holes at the front. So although it looked the same, internal there were differences.
I've had a bright green one of these for about a year now. Original got it because it was cheap and thought it might help with some stinky shoes.
If it didn't help with the shoes, try this video.
ruclips.net/video/wPLwczrGikM/видео.html
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g Cheers Clive!
Just bought one
I wonder what would happen to it if it ran when it was wet with condensation?
Fridges are usually very dry as the moisture condenses on the evaporator panels.
perfect
Surely powering a FET gate directly from an MCU would be a bad idea current-wise? I believe the PIC12F is rated around 20mA source/sink and a FET gate can draw several Amp. From the datasheet, the gate voltage can be comfortably driven at 5V, which is nice.
I use a resistor myself. Others rely on the output impedance. The FET having a capacitive gate means it's just a short pulse of current.
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g I suppose it depends what the gate ESR is as well. The gate drivers I'm using are rated 6A and FET gate is rated around 2 Ohm. So in theory, at 5V, that's around 2.5A? I thought MCU have negligible output impedance, but would have to check the datasheet.
Delightful!
Good video, thx Clive.
To stop the annoying not working whilst plugged in, could you just remove that 10K resistor to USB+?
Yes. (I mentioned that in the description.) But I wonder why they did it.
The only things that come to mind are a worry about overcharging the cell if the charge chip leaks current, or if they are concerned about a situation that happens with ionisers where a high voltage differential is created with respect to ground and it can stress the insulation of power supplies.
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g ah my bad for not reading. It's definitely an odd choice. I had one of these a few years ago and it was significantly different inside. Pouch cell was flat on top of a big circuit board with a transformer on it. The ozone generator part was the same and the USB connector stuck out of the edge of the PCB, which eventually snapped off. I remember the case being a pain to open (I didn't have a spider back then) and refused to go back together
@@user-gx6jb6wc5g Probably because the same company makes dodgy USB chargers so they're trying to protect themselves from people running a USB cable into the fridge to charge and disinfect at the same time - not sure how that would go down in the damp atmosphere normally found in fridges! :-)
@10:00 - They probably don't want it being used during charge due to lithium batteries' poor reaction to cold, since it's made for a refrigerator. And by that I mean the USB battery you'd use to charge it.