Page 1 of 1
Veggie Power
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:55 pm
by rileygray1996
Hello! I am working on the veggie power project and can't seem to get enough current to start anything but an LED light and was wondering if you had any suggestens on how to produce enough current? Thank you
Re: Veggie Power
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 6:04 pm
by rmarz
rileygrey1996 - The way to increase current is to increase the surface area of your electrodes. Assuming you are producing enough current to power the LED (approximately 1-20 milliamps, with 1 mA being barely visible), you might want to measure your open circuit voltage, and and then use the current range of the multimeter to measure the output current of the veggie-battery (approximating a short circuit load). Start at a 200mA range and adjust accordingly. This would be a starting point to determine what kinds of devices you can power. This simple test will provide a rough load-line (maximum voltage at zero load, and maximum current at zero voltage). Usable power will be conditions between these extremes. Perhaps a small, efficient motor, an mp3 player or such could be powered.
Rick Marz