8 Capacitor Can crusher

[SaxyPlayer96]

how, why, and i want one.

[Blindastronomer]

-Somebody- needs to mention Csaba Balazs here.

[afdhalatifftan92]

Whoa! That's more powerful than mine!

What did you use as the switch?

[bobdavis321]

I used a big SCR block thingy that can handle 1800 volts and 1600 amps if I remember correctly.

[afdhalatifftan92]

@bobdavis321

Wow, thanks for the reply!

Now, I need to get the cheapest I can get... Lol!

Thanks again!

[Computerbusters]

@bobdavis321 Might I say trhat 1600 amps might not be reallistic, it's possible, but if you touched it for 1/100 of a sec, you'd be dead

[eCicerone]

Reminds of a trick we used to do as kids, by gently standing on the can with one foot without flattening it and then with a very gentle touch with finger tips on each side the can completely collapse very quickly, but be careful with your fingers! :)

[Tomthetoolman100]

most people would say why the fuck would you make that whats wrong with the manual can crushers i say good build

[jpmorgan187]

pretty goddam cool brother

[pyat77]

Ok, could someone tell me what is actually going on here, how does the electricity crush the can?

[MatchstalkMan]

Bob, have you released a video with high speed footage of the crushing effect? That would be so cool.

[bobdavis321]

I have newer cameras so that might be a possibility......

[IcechickenSr]

Cool vids man. You should have the brick supported on a sturdy stand though, as well as anchor it wih extra force pushing down on the stand to keep it from moving either way. Whats happening is your doing 90% of the crushing with the projectile, but the sheer weight of the brick in downward motion is also crushing the can on it's way down. Making a brick stand would give you a more accurate idea of how much crusing power you have with the projectile. Cheers, IC.

[bobdavis321]

I did that in a later video and crushed the can much flatter too.

[Odood19]

or you could step on it... or you could do this

[mp5masta]

Can you tell me how to make a capacitor bank

[bobdavis321]

You just connect them toegther with lots of copper.

[mp5masta]

Could I just use my multimeter to read the charge and then how do wire the switch to discharge them?

[bobdavis321]

Yes you can use a meter if it can handle the voltage. I have blown up a hand held meter. Connect the meter so you hands do not touch it as that is dangerous.  Most switches will only work once because of the current. If you make a switch with 1/2 inch bolts you can file off the crud and re use it.

[mp5masta]

Okay and one more thing where do get caps that big?

[bobdavis321]

EBay of HamFests.

[AnalogueJosh]

I wonder what would happen if you put a full can of coke in there.

[bobdavis321]

I big mess!

[AnalogueJosh]

It would be shocking, I'm sure!

[Blodslav]

Are you using a half wave or full wave rectifier to charge your bank? You'll get a faster charge if you use a full wave. also consider getting rid of that resistor and replace it with an inductor, on the negative side. lol those banana plugs are sparking cause they cant handle all that power, it gets converted into heat, get some 10 awg wire, several strands, you'll get better power transfer.

[SoulWriter102]

omg lol

[darkseed1010]

wow I'v never seen a cynder block crush a can that is a true science. You just dont see car geting crushing cans that mutch any more or peaple crushing them on there head. But dont worry you came up with the best way...... using a cynder block.

[bobdavis321]

I demonstrated in other videos that the cinder block is NOT doing the crushing here.

[classicautofan1]

Wimpy little thing. I have a little friend that smashes them down to the width of a peice of paper. Does the same thing to soup cans to.

[bobdavis321]

Have you seen the 1600 volt model????

[classicautofan1]

nope

[radudman]

that does NOT make this wimpy, and it also shows you are not in electronics for the science.

[corkie5555]

that is definatly the best one evar!!

[deathdoomndstruction]

no way, using a thick enough wire would be a good idea???

lol

so what exactly is it doing anyway?

you could crush it just as well by dropping the cinderblock on it

[bobdavis321]

It works like the washer launcher video, a flat coil has an aluminum platter on it. When power is applied to the coil the washer flies upwards crushing the soda can. See my latest video for a flatter can.

[anon32016]

You seem to be using a modified MOT that's full-wave rectified along with charging resistor and the meters, yes?

And, dude, use thicker wires. And no banana plugs XD.

[bobdavis321]

I used 2 MOT's with their primaries in series so they deliver 1KV, 2 phases. Then a 1 K resistor to the caps. The meter has like a 1 meg ohm resistor in series with it. I may rebuild it with larger wires, I used two 10 gage wires.

The banana plugs are a huge problem, any ideas???

[Paxmax]

Hahahawesome crushing!

[iseealavalamp]

Have you ever tried using leyden jars instead of capacitors?

[bobdavis321]

Nope.

[anon32016]

That would probably suck anyway. Not enough coulombs.

[PhxSt0rmz]

Is it me or did someones hands get hurt? (redish when showing the can)

I'm more into coilguns :)

[bobdavis321]

Not that I remember?

[killman369547]

well it cant beat the ol sledgehammer

[CJackSparrow79]

Why did you put an amperometer on the right?

[bobdavis321]

It was already on the panel. It only monitors the charging current when and if it works.

I have a new HD Sony camera and will be shooting some new video's soon.

[CJackSparrow79]

I see. :)

And the Sony HD is gonna be a great deal. Your videos are so cool. :D

[dennismanvids]

thank you!

[dennismanvids]

nice experiment, love how the magnetic force moves the disk platter, tips the can and finally the block loses its balance, then crushes the can.

[bobdavis321]

I have done similar experiments where the cinder block is fastened in place and the can is still crushed by the force of the moving platter.

[ikemkrueger]

could you explain how it works?

[bobdavis321]

In 5 words or less? My schematics are at geocities under bobdavis321.  Basically you have an 800 volt power supply charge a bank of capacitors and then discharge them into the coil.

[ikemkrueger]

thanks. :)

[BeProGT]

Simple Explanation: High voltage (DC) is applied to the wire coil on the bottom of the board. This creates a magnetic force eletrically in the coil which forces the harddrive platter ring away from the coil. Between the platter being forced up and the weight of the brick, the can is crushed.

[figamarsa]

Stai un po' più fermo con quella telecamera

[CJackSparrow79]

speak english, paesà

[bobdavis321]

I think he asked me to get a tripod for the camera?

[CJackSparrow79]

He said, litteraly, "Keep the camera a little bit more stable". :)

Btw "paesà" means "from my country", and so in this case it means "italian".

[bobdavis321]

Thanks for a more exacting translation. I travel a lot and have been in 10 countries this year alone, so I can guess what they are saying. I know little bits of 5 languages.

I have a new Sony High Definition camera, new lighting, and a tripod. I will be reshooting some of my videos to prove some comments to be false.

[CJackSparrow79]

Grande! Sei mai stato in Italia? I tuoi esperimenti sono assolutamente stupendi, non vedo l'ora di vederli in alta definizione.

Ciao.

Great! Have you ever been in Italy? Your experiments are absolutely wonderful, can't wait to watch them in HD.

Bye.

;)

[bobdavis321]

Thanks! I was in Italy and the surrounding countries 30 years ago while in the US Navy. Italian is similiar to Spanish but I could not figure out the last phrase "alta definizone" so thanks for translating it.

[CJackSparrow79]

HD = High Definition

High = Alta

Definition... = Definizione :)

just like

competi tion -> competi zione

tradi tion -> tradi zione

:)

[DeathByTheTree2]

Wow cool stuff!

I love you other videos, physics rules :D

Keep the videos coming

[cribcat1]

Is that a hard drive platter?

[bobdavis321]

Hard drive platters are a great source of aluminum washers. I used to make my own aluminum washers before I discovered hard drive platters.

[PopeOfEngland]

bobdavis321:

You have to do better than this. You should bring it down to Spivey's Corner, NC when we have our next Hollering Contest, and we will make that appropriate changes.

Go Tarheels!!!

[cribcat1]

It is fun to play with high voltage if that's your thing. This is probably a hobby so give the guy a break!

[jperez2393]

thats gay... omfg i can squish a can with like 100 dollars worth of equipmenbt,... gay... ive done better with the old way... foot to can

[xrayrep]

Why put that heavy cinder block on top of the can? THAT is what's crushing it, not so much the electrical system. Try the same thing with a rigid structure holding the can down, such as a bridge of wood, rather than something heavy. Then you will see how much it gets crushed from only the magnet and disk.

[bobdavis321]

In another video I had bricks holding up the cinder block. It made no difference. If I used a board it would be embedded in the ceiling!

[xrayrep]

Oh, Okay. I was wondering what difference it would make. I'm also working on a similar capacitor-discharge system except mine uses high voltage (4KV) caps. FUN STUFF!!!

[Liam2020]

What is that you are doing? What is happening with the can when is no being crushed?

[bobdavis321]

Check out the other videos. I am appling 800 volts at over 100 amps to a flat coil. There is an aluminum washer sitting on top of the coil and it flies upwards crushing the can.

[hydraliskdragon]

At 0.36 Second's. It looks like you use a MOT to power up the bank. Could you send me a blueprint of this curcuit? Thanks.

[bobdavis321]

I use two MOTS with their primaries in series so they deliver only 1000 volts. The schematic is on geocities under bobdavis321.

[Scorge120]

whats the point couldnt you just drop the concrete brick on it anyway, and you would get the same result...?

[bobdavis321]

Yes you could just drive over it with a car. But controlling and releasing that amount of power with electricity is lots of fun!

[Scorge120]

lol true

[jaa93997]

how many kJ does the beast produce?

and, think of recycling those tires

[bobdavis321]

Somewhere in one of the comments we figured out the number of Jules. I think it was like 4,000.

[oneactual]

Hate to tell you but you can get the same result from a $13.00 can crusher from the hardware store.

Besides I can get em' flatter than that with just my foot.

[PopeOfEngland]

Grade: F

I am sorry that I had to give you a failing grade because you used your foot and camera trickery to crush the can.

Recommendation:

Please repeat the the experiment and don't cheat.

[bobdavis321]

There was no cheating. You can see the same equipment in operation under the washer launcher video. It works.

[Dragonfire7666]

Your the best.

[RudyMe]

Yes, HV is fun to play with PopeOfEngland has posted on literally EVERY can crusher video!

[codemsan]

how do read your meter if its in kilovolts and your only at 800V???

[bobdavis321]

Multiply what you read by .2

[codemsan]

ooohhhh okay!

[chancho00]

Use a full can no a empty i think is more funny.

[Coiltec]

Perhaps the method with the coil around the can will work if you use thick wire (10mm² or so) and only few (~4-10) turns. And maybe you should use epoxy to stabilize the coil so that it won't crush itself. With 3,7kJ of energy I think that would rip the can into two pieces.

[bobdavis321]

I think using epoxy on the coil is the most important thing. If I used really thick wire I would destroy the scr.

[Coiltec]

You are right, the SCR isn't very big for 3,7kJ. And bigger SCRs soon become very expensive.

[Coiltec]

It's not a "real" can crusher. "Real" can crushers have a coil around the can which crushes it by induction. This one crushes it by the disc flying up. But it's awesome, too.

[bobdavis321]

I tried the other method that you described. The coil around the can turned into a jumbled mess. The solder connections to it melted off. This method is not nearly as scarey!

[robertmoo40]

Wonder how long those Caps will hold all that short circuiting out. The 4mm safety plugs from Hirschmann should work better than those old banana plugs, the ones with out the plastic safety shield and tips, but the best thing would be to get some Tungsten and make your own plugs, Tungsten is the best material for HV electrodes, just has a higher resistance but it works :P

[headbulb]

The plate looks like a hard drive platter.

Which I believe are made of aluminum

[bobdavis321]

Yes I use the platters removed from old 5 1/4 inch hard drives. Sometime maybe I will have the nerve to do it with a 3 inch platter! Most people do not know that aluminum repells a magnetic field. I think bismuth does too.

[codemsan]

at 1:17 you can see a bug on the ground run for its life when the brick falls!

[bobdavis321]

I missed that one.

[codemsan]

its hilarious!!!

[BarneySaysHi]

I wonder what the effect will be if you use a full can? I can imagine the result will be quite a mess.

[bobdavis321]

Personally I do not think it can crush a full can.  However it might break it and make a mess of things.

[ultimateownage2]

huh.....il have to trie this. Just who does the washer fly up and crush the can?? srry i dont know ahythign about crushign cans liek this i just use my foot lol

[ultimateownage2]

?ya wat really happens? who does the washer thing like u say crush the can? and how did u build up the electricity?

[bobdavis321]

The capacitors charge up to 800 volts. A SCR connects the 800 volts to a flat coil that has an aluminum washer on it. The washer flies up and cruushes the soda can. See the video on the washer launcher to see what happens if the washer is allowed to fly away.

[eepeni96]

What part breaks up from your power supply?

Is is thyristor or clamping diode.

[bobdavis321]

First the center tap on the Microwave oven transformer melted. Then eventually the SCR shorted out. I am rebuilding it.

[bobdavis321]

The power supply is about 1 KV. I bought a case of capacitors at the Rochester hamfest for $65.

[kklasen]

Im interested about the capacitor thing you have there... Where did you get those capacitors? Whats the output of the power suply?

[pyro8818ak47]

this was a cool vid what is actually happening to the alumiunum that it just loses all its tensile strength.. something to do with the atoms speeding up plz reply very interested

[bobdavis321]

There is an aluminum washer, actually a hard drive platter, sitting on a flat coil. The washer flies upwards and crushes the soda can.

[BenHutchinson1]

It sort of works like those aluminum ring launchers right? Like a "coil gun" or "gauss gun".

[bobdavis321]

Yes it is the washer launcher put to another use.