van de Graaff explained

[tikifish28]

yes I am using the same stuff I was asking how you were putting it on the globe, did you just cut it and put it on to the globe or did you cut the foil in a specific design to get it to go on easier?

[blindbrick]

@tikifish28

No, no specific design. The tape is 2 inches wide and I taped it all the way from the north pole to the hole on the south pole, and folded it inside the ball. You must avoid sharp edges.

[cocy3000]

@tikifish28 I have the same question. I use that tape for my generators, but probably the tape he is using its thinner than mine. Loock at diferent brands, maybe that makes the diference

[tikifish28]

Hey, me again,

Just wondering about the dome, I have a old globe that i believe is thin wood material that i would be able to just drill a hole in and cover with aluminum duck tape like you did, only problem is that i experimented with a smaller globe and could not get the foil to go on smooth and wrinkle free, it leaked a lot of corona, any advice?

[blindbrick]

@tikifish28

I don't know what tape you used but the tape I used is made of real aluminum foil with a sticky layer directly on the aluminum . I think this kind of tape is used for repairing rain gutters. At my work I have seen it been used to tape blankets of insulation together. In this kind of tape it is very easy to smooth out the wrinkles with the back of your nails or the plastic side of a screwdriver.

[hadabeesago]

also one last thing, does it matter which roller goes on top and bottom, for instance, can the negative roller acording to the static chart thing be either on top or bottom, and the other roller which is positively vice versa?? or does it have to be a certain way? hope you can help me thanks!

[frosty956]

@hadabeesago It doesnt matter, the only difference is you will get a different polarity charge at the top! Apparently, though, one type of chagre (-ve I think) can leak charge away quicker because it generates more corona, a -ve corona is different to a +ve corona discharge....

[hadabeesago]

hi i really like your quality work in putting that thing together, i am almost done building mine, since yours is doing a good job in producing good voltage i was just wondering, i read somewhere that said it is better to put the brushes on the side where the belt is rolling away or off from the roller, i see that in yours, its on the other side of the roller , do you know which is better? and can i put brushes on both sides of one roller to make it more effective, or to eliminate guessing??

[Lvegeta999]

your video said , van de graff explained, I didnt hear you explain anything.

[akashss4]

Wat matterals can i use instead of the polythene cover !! and wat should i use for the roller ??

[blindbrick]

@akashss4

Look up "triboelectric" series and take for one roller some material from the upper side of the list, take for the other roller a material from the lower side of the list, and for the belt a material somewhere between those two.

I

[JJPP01]

may I use rubber(bottom roller) and teflon(top roller)?

[blindbrick]

I am not sure but I think you have a good chance of success

[JJPP01]

where did you get that perforated aluminium sheet?

[IAmDonar]

It was some rubbish I had laying around, but originally it came from a hardware store. It can also be wire mesh, or a piece of tin in which you cut some teeth with a par of scissors.

[villalobos1216]

big....

[pudreteguey]

really nice generator =) i have a question, i am making my own.

how did you make the barrel shape on the rollers, and why does it have to be that shape?

[IAmDonar]

I made the barrel shape on the rollers with a lathe but I think it can be done on a drilling machine with filing and sanding.

I know it is counter intuitive but the barrel shape will prevent the belt from rolling off the rollers

[blindbrick]

The combs make no contact, the voltage is high enough to jump from the belt to the comb.

For the materials look up "Triboelectric series" The inside of the globe is not coated but I made sure that the upper comb made contact to the aluminium tape of the globe. The ground wire I connected to the water piping

Look true the comments section many questions have already been answered

[QuaziGNRLNose]

do the combs need to make contact with the belt for this to work? they dont seem to be touching them? oh yah does the "roller" nylon pipe have to be nylon, or will pvc/abs pipe or even some thing plastic like a thread spool work aswell? can the belt be any type of garbage bag?, is the inside of the globe coated? and lastly what is the ground wire connected to? just laying on the ground?

[jutilosws]

que video tan bacano

pero una pregunta, los cabkes tocan abajo y arriba o quedan separados?

[cusanusnicolas]

It looks good, but my old man eyes can't make out the small, white print. Can you talk?

[gizmoguyar]

Just by cranking it by hand you get 3cm sparks? thats amazing. what about when its running? could you post another video?

 great job.

[gizmoguyar]

Oh never mind I see you did post another video.

did you use a specific brand trash bag?

I tryed to make a van de graff with a trash bag and a bed wheel but I got squat.

do you know of another material I could use on the bottom other than nylon?

Thanks a lot.

[MISTERCLEANER]

hello blindbrick

nice job and nice machine.j have two questions for you:

is what the two rollers turn

which is the matter of the two rollers

j would like to build a van de graff,but j miss this two answer

thank for france

[blindbrick]

The electric motor at the side makes the rollers turn.

The top roller is made from PVC the bottom roller from nylon and the belt is Poly Ethylene.

In the comments and subtitles You wil find more details.

[plavins1]

could i use teflon for top roller? and where can i get nylon ??? and isnt Poly Ethylene a material from wich they made plastic garbage bags????

[blindbrick]

(1)yes (2) I dont know (3) yes. All your answers can be found in the comments section.

[plavins1]

thnx

[CosmicGnarler]

thats funny, nice ending. you killed your battery.

[boyettewhite]

i have built several in the past and have found that regular copy paper painted with metalic paint and cut with serated sizzors works best for the static pickup combs. less damage to the rubber belt and works much better than metal combs.

[tikifish28]

when you made your collecter dome, how did you get the tape to get over it smooth, because when i made my dome with alluminum tape it got rinkly all over.

[blindbrick]

If you use adhesive aluminium duct tape you can smooth it out with a blunt object like the back of your nails or the back of a spoon.

[dundermiflinpaper]

WOW, that is really cool, that looks like you put alot of work into it, good job!, btw, where did you get the nylon roller from?

[blindbrick]

I get some of the materials at my work, or at a metals and plastics store in Rotterdam.

[tikifish28]

blind brick is the garbage bag belt that you mentioned. can it be any type of garabage belt? or does it have to be poly etheleny?

[blindbrick]

It dont have to be PE.

Google "Triboelectric series" and you will find a list with materials. You must choose the material for the belt somewhere in the middle. The material for the bottom roller must be under the material of the belt. And the material for the top roller must be above the material of the belt.

[tikifish28]

sorry to keep bothering you, but i have one more question, how thick was the pvc and nylon when you got them?

[blindbrick]

I have no way off measuring that precisely. But if I look my first video, and the first sparks, I think about 900.000 to 1000.000 Volt. Later in the video the sparks become smaller 100.000 to 110.000 volt

[crrake260]

how many volts did u get???

[iCONICAACINOCi]

R.I.P Li-ion Battery...

Thanks for the tutorial!

[jesslessthemess]

Great dsesign. Thanks for the tutorial!

[babjig5]

I think i figured out how i'm going to make mine. thanks for all you help.

[babjig5]

I think this should be my last question. Where or what did you get the nylon roller from?

[blindbrick]

btw. Your questions dont bother me, keep asking.

[blindbrick]

I get my materials from my work or from a shop where they sell plastics and metals. But you can use an alternative material as long it is above the material of the belt in the "Triboelectric series" the rollers should be somewhere on both ends of the series (as far apart as possible) and the belt somewhere between that.

[babjig5]

I'm currently in the process of making my own van de graaff and i had a question. how did you mount the top roller inside the pvc and do you have any recommendations for good motors to power the generator?

[blindbrick]

The top roller is a PVC pipe with 2 ball bearings on the inside, in those bearings i glued an axle with thread in both ends. The whole assembly is fixed inside the generator pipe with two screws. I dont think that the type of motor is important. mine is 2664rpm 230volt.

[guitar87tommy]

I put my Ipod to one of these to see what happend lol

[zezimashock]

de ondertiteling is niet echt goed lees baar^^

[blindbrick]

Klopt, maar ik had geen zin meer om alle nog een keer opnieuw te doen.

[zezimashock]

^^,

[weezerbandgeek]

how fast is the belt going? could you reach the speed by peddling a bike? I have to make one of these without a generator.

[blindbrick]

The speed isn't that important. My motor runs at 2664rpm the diameter of the rollers is 32mm so the belt is running 3.14 x 32 x 2664 = 267679mm/min = 267.679m/min (878.211942 feet/min) I'm thinking to make a hand cranked one myself. the most important are the used materials and avoiding sharp edges or points at the ball and keeping the ball isolated from the ground. They are a bid fuzzy but the information is all in the subtitles.

[carrotbums]

cool

[CatmanG696969]

what did you use for a belt? very nice vdg i envy yours haha.

[blindbrick]

Poly ethylene. I've cut a ring of a PE garbage bag. this way you get an ready made belt, (no messing with tape or glue to stick the ends together)

[scion171777]

did u used pvc pipe covered in aluminum duct tape in the top roller????

[blindbrick]

No, Just pvc, turned on a lathe slightly barrel shape (this is to keep the belt in the middle).

[deckoland]

did you use the top rim ov the trash bag and then cut it out so the bit where u usually tie it up when full

[blindbrick]

No, you can throw away that part. you place the bag flat on the table, cut away the bottom. And if there is a tie at the top, cut that away too. than you can cut the rest of the bag in equal parts, I made them 55mm wide. So you end up with several "conveyor belts" (one to use and the rest spare)

[demitrian21]

is it necessary to connect the bottom wire to the "ground"?

[blindbrick]

I think it is possible to connect the bottom comb to a second ball, that ball should than gather a charge that is opposite from the first ball.

[demitrian21]

I am trying to build a van de graaf generator and I have a few questions. What do they mean when they said that the bottom wire is connected to the ground? Do they literally mean that the bottom wire is connected to the ground? Or do they mean that the bottom wire is connected to the base of the generator?

[blindbrick]

I have connected the bottom comb to electrical ground.

[Aeryk333]

--Rather use the plumping instead, or the gas/water pipes of the heating for indoor use. Anything is good which has direct contact with the ground. Otherwise, bearing and motor body grounding is good idea because high voltage sparks inside it may damage the coils. Tx for the vid.

[Aeryk333]

Ouch hehe. Good fun. This vid clearly shows the efficiency of the VDG. Even cranking by hand gives mighty sparks. Hmmm garbage bag belt, what a great idea! Motor must be an induction type. Haha, LOL at the end; use grounding wich goes to ground directly, wall socket is crap for grounding, due of possible improper wiring.--

[Cell3fase]

Why you did not explain it well.. try a expo

[blindbrick]

wat do you mean with "expo"?

[Cell3fase]

why you did speak...

[blindbrick]

I find it very difficult to speak on camera, subtitles give me more time to think about wat I want to say.

[fuge90]

what type of motor do use ?

[blindbrick]

230volt 2664rpm

[blindbrick]

Watch my first video for a working demonstration.

[cdrick15]

lelijk

[deckoland]

brilliant thankyou very much

[deckoland]

lol

[rbgy]

interesting!