The benefit sticking them in the ground, or moist dirt, is just the they would naturally stay hydrated. -a maintenance thing. But you're right, it's a regular 'crystal battery'. It's a do-it-youself battery. Easy to make and take apart.
An earth battery works different. Your cells work but will work in a bucket as well as the ground. Earth batteries work on area of surface and orientation and take some room to seperate the cells. The railroad used a 3 foot square copper plate on one side of the tracks and a 3 foot square plate of zinc on the other side with a wire from each to the telegraph key. They produced 1.5 volts and because of the large surface area gave enough amps to run the key. Orentation: If you use a large copper plate and a large aluminum plate, say 2 foot square they should be facing north/south to get power from the magnetic lines of the earth passing through them. Your cells would have to be 12 to 15 feet apart to act as individual cells. So a 12 volt cell would take up (8 1.5 volt cells times 15 feet) 120 feet on a north south line. That battery would work until all the electrolites in that ground were used up. The bigger the plates, the more amps!! However 4 1.5 volt cells made from large plates will give you 6 volts and it ain't no step for a stepper to wind a doubling transformer to produce 12 volts ;) Your not going to weld with an earth battery but it will run 12 volt LEDs (a bunch of them) just fine or work as a trickle charger for regular lead acid batteries!!! Call it free lights and with a small inverter it would run a transister radio easy enough. If you got a running creek, why bother. You can float the raw cells in place in moving water and it will produce the same voltage!!!!! Who knew LMAO! Now if that creek is a ways from the house, well DC doesn't travel well as Edison found out ;) But AC travels just fine. 2 microwave transformers would convert 12 volt DC to about 2000 volts AC and reconvert back to DC at the house. However those lines would be dangerous and would have to be fenced off. There are ways, just keep looking!!!
LOL! I wish. But the rail road had a bit better budget than I have :) But that is the way they did it. I spent a lot of time on earth batteries. Found out a lot of ways that don't work and a few that do. Your getting there just keep after it!!! Find out why the negative goes on the south side, they work better if the positive is deeper than the negative, and what Stubblefield had to say ;) Luck!!!!
I enjoy your videos and experiments. How long in your estimate this battery can provide power up to 5V in 3 cell configuration you showed here ? is it in months or years range without any maintenance if ideal moisture level is there naturally or manually providing moisture? Also it's been 8 months since you posted this video so can you provide update on performance for this battery? Thanks.
I think it will go many years. I have had 3 functioning since I posted this video until now, running the pulse motor that I just showed in my last video. Two have developed cracks in the carbon filter, but still put out power. I think pressure builds up inside as the crystal grows. Wrapping copper wire around the outside may be a solution to that. I pulled one apart, and the magnesium rod just showed surface corrosion. Hope that helps.
You have demonstrated easy to build DIY earth batteries which works better than any other method used to make DIY earth battery. Now my question is : Are there any way to lower the cost in terms of 2 most expensive parts in your build? 1. Is there any other way of getting replacement of graphite rod you used ? 2. Is there any possibility to use carbon fabric or activated carbon powder instead of whole carbon filter itself to save cost? I am sure it will be little more difficult to build but if it can save cost it will be worth efforts. Thanks.
Woildnt it be great to put them in the ground where natural electorlytes and water is found Would that be under a certain plant or perhaps in the chicken pen or somthing . There's some natural pee electrolyte right there
Increasing the amperage for earth batteries is quite simple. A law of physics states that wiring in parallel will add the amps of two power sources. We simply wire a solar panel to the earth battery. We build the earth battery to the desired voltage in series. Earth batteries are the cheapest voltage around. Then wire a solar panel to the EB in parallel. Boom best of both worlds. Real power.
Wiring in parallel adds up amps. I built an earth battery and wired it in parallel to a small solar panel. It worked great to up the amps!
I wanted to get the volts up, so it would work with a flash light I had. Thanks for watching.
Really nice video ! Its amazing how easy it is to get power - all my life i thought u needed special scientific education and a giant power plant
At some point, if you keep improving, won't you just end up at a regular battery? What's the benefit of adding dirt?
The benefit sticking them in the ground, or moist dirt, is just the they would naturally stay hydrated. -a maintenance thing. But you're right, it's a regular 'crystal battery'. It's a do-it-youself battery. Easy to make and take apart.
An earth battery works different. Your cells work but will work in a bucket as well as the ground. Earth batteries work on area of surface and orientation and take some room to seperate the cells. The railroad used a 3 foot square copper plate on one side of the tracks and a 3 foot square plate of zinc on the other side with a wire from each to the telegraph key. They produced 1.5 volts and because of the large surface area gave enough amps to run the key. Orentation: If you use a large copper plate and a large aluminum plate, say 2 foot square they should be facing north/south to get power from the magnetic lines of the earth passing through them. Your cells would have to be 12 to 15 feet apart to act as individual cells. So a 12 volt cell would take up (8 1.5 volt cells times 15 feet) 120 feet on a north south line. That battery would work until all the electrolites in that ground were used up. The bigger the plates, the more amps!! However 4 1.5 volt cells made from large plates will give you 6 volts and it ain't no step for a stepper to wind a doubling transformer to produce 12 volts ;) Your not going to weld with an earth battery but it will run 12 volt LEDs (a bunch of them) just fine or work as a trickle charger for regular lead acid batteries!!! Call it free lights and with a small inverter it would run a transister radio easy enough. If you got a running creek, why bother. You can float the raw cells in place in moving water and it will produce the same voltage!!!!! Who knew LMAO! Now if that creek is a ways from the house, well DC doesn't travel well as Edison found out ;) But AC travels just fine. 2 microwave transformers would convert 12 volt DC to about 2000 volts AC and reconvert back to DC at the house. However those lines would be dangerous and would have to be fenced off. There are ways, just keep looking!!!
You don't happen to have some 3 foot square copper and zinc plates to give away , do you? Thanks for commenting.
LOL! I wish. But the rail road had a bit better budget than I have :) But that is the way they did it. I spent a lot of time on earth batteries. Found out a lot of ways that don't work and a few that do. Your getting there just keep after it!!! Find out why the negative goes on the south side, they work better if the positive is deeper than the negative, and what Stubblefield had to say ;) Luck!!!!
I enjoy your videos and experiments.
How long in your estimate this battery can provide power up to 5V in 3 cell configuration you showed here ? is it in months or years range without any maintenance if ideal moisture level is there naturally or manually providing moisture?
Also it's been 8 months since you posted this video so can you provide update on performance for this battery?
Thanks.
I think it will go many years. I have had 3 functioning since I posted this video until now, running the pulse motor that I just showed in my last video. Two have developed cracks in the carbon filter, but still put out power. I think pressure builds up inside as the crystal grows. Wrapping copper wire around the outside may be a solution to that. I pulled one apart, and the magnesium rod just showed surface corrosion. Hope that helps.
@@doubleMinnovations Thank you for your detailed response. It is encouraging that it can last few years if cracks are taken care of.
You have demonstrated easy to build DIY earth batteries which works better than any other method used to make DIY earth battery.
Now my question is :
Are there any way to lower the cost in terms of 2 most expensive parts in your build?
1. Is there any other way of getting replacement of graphite rod you used ?
2. Is there any possibility to use carbon fabric or activated carbon powder instead of whole carbon filter itself to save cost?
I am sure it will be little more difficult to build but if it can save cost it will be worth efforts.
Thanks.
Woildnt it be great to put them in the ground where natural electorlytes and water is found
Would that be under a certain plant or perhaps in the chicken pen or somthing . There's some natural pee electrolyte right there
Would it work better if the tyvek was inside out ? Keeping moiture in
Both sides are the same. Water vapors can pass in and out. It breathes.
Is tyvek a safe material? Really reminds me of the recent desalination breakthrough from MIT, would love to see you replicate it
Just saw it in a video from Ziroth if you wanna find it
Increasing the amperage for earth batteries is quite simple. A law of physics states that wiring in parallel will add the amps of two power sources. We simply wire a solar panel to the earth battery. We build the earth battery to the desired voltage in series. Earth batteries are the cheapest voltage around. Then wire a solar panel to the EB in parallel. Boom best of both worlds. Real power.
Waste of time in my area. There are literally millions of current bushes around.
Is that currant like the fruit?
Or are people connecting electrodes and wires to plants? I've wondered about that before.
😅thinking the same thing lol.
not much different than sticking them in a water-electrolyte solution. Over time it will corrode like other batteries.