Adjustable High Voltage Electrostatic Precipitator Power Supply with 30KV 300W

[IonWind]

Bought one :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374582175842

Now that it's arrived i'm scared of using it :/

Not the most professional-looking construction viewing it close up, even has solder traces that go nowhere !

Probably safer to just salvage the flybacks from it.

[IonWind]

It works.

[alan sailer]

I used one on a fusor attempt. the only solid advice I can give you is to not try and make the thing easier to adjust by
using an external pot (ie wires from PC board to pot).

I did this and the thing died instantly. After repair and using the on-board pot it worked fine.

Cheers.

[IonWind]

Thanks Alan, good to know.

[dante]

Hi, I bought one of these a few days ago. I was hoping to use it for corona discharge experiments, but it failed after a few minutes of (almost) open circuit operation. Has anyone else experienced this?

[alan sailer]

I never tried running one of these open circuit.

You probably already know this but, in general, open circuit operation of HV power supplies is
a very challenging mode...the flybacks in the circuit will be operating at their maximum 
voltage, which really stresses the insulation.

Good luck.

Cheers.

[dante]

Thanks Alan - yes indeed that is what I assume has happened. Do you know if there is an alternative solution for a HV, relatively high current DC PS that will tolerate open circuit / full output voltage operation? I have a VdG, but that obviously delivers very low current.

[klugesmith]

Could you limit the open circuit voltage by including a spark gap? For example, smooth convex electrodes separated by 1/3 mm for 10 kV.

[alan sailer]

I'd assume that companies like Spellman do this routinely. But I'd also guess that low price is part of the equation.

Have you looked into building a voltage multiplier circuit? Or do you need a plug and play solution.

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Cheers.

[dante]

Hi @klugesmith - I guess you're suggesting letting the output spark-over continuously at e.g. 10 kV, so that the PS operates under load. I guess that might work. What I'm not sure is whether under such conditions the output maintains DC 10 kV or instead drops significantly (i.e. under short-circuit) until the arc quenches, at which point the voltage rises again. That might not actually be a problem for my application however. I will give it a go - thanks.

[dante]

Hi Alan, Indeed price is a key limiting factor. I am hoping for a plug-and-play solution, but if I can find a suitable device, I might find it second-hand on ebay I guess.

The CW in the video is very cool! I'm not an expert electronics hobbyist (I'm actually a physicist rather than an electronic engineer) but if I can find a CW then indeed that might be a good solution - thanks!