Do-it-yourself transformer for an electronic lighter. Electric lighter for gas. Chinese electric lighter, its advantages and disadvantages

Now let's think about where we can use this filling? There are a lot of options, we will consider only the most interesting ones, which can serve as the basis for more serious projects.

So, the first design based on a Chinese electric gas lighter is a device for transmitting electric current without wires.

In fact, such a device is outrageously simple, you don’t even need to redo anything. First, we disassemble the lighter and remove the mechanism. We unsolder the high-voltage coil, then we need to wind two circuits. Circuits are needed to transmit and receive electrical current.

The transmitting circuit is not critical (and neither is the receiving circuit); in my case, the circuit is wound on a pipe with a diameter of 20 cm. The winding wire was used with a diameter of 0.6 mm, the number of turns was 40. This circuit is soldered in place of the high-voltage transformer. The second circuit is the receiving circuit, in my case it is wound with 0.4 mm wire and contains 80 turns. You can wind it on anything, the diameter of the frame is from 5 to 20 cm.

To check the functionality of such a system, you need to connect an LED (any color, polarity is not important) to the terminals of the receiving circuit through a 1 kilo-ohm limiting resistor. The operating frequency of the converter is about 80-120 hertz. A voltage is generated in the receiving circuit, the frequency of the current is equal to the frequency of the pulses that are supplied to the receiving circuit. As you can see, the LED in this case is not powered by direct current, but the bursts are very fast and the human eye is not able to see the intervals and we perceive such light as constant.

So, we looked at one of the simplest methods of inductive current transmission without wires. Thus, you can transmit current over 10-15 cm, you just have to ask yourself the question - where to apply it? This method can be used everywhere - from wireless chargers for mobile phones and laptops, to Tesla transformers. I won’t explain the diagrams and designs in detail, I’ll just throw out a few ideas.

1) From the receiving coil we receive a high frequency current, it can be rectified, then stabilized and used to power or charge autonomous devices.

The second design based on a Chinese electric gas lighter is a charger from one AA battery. You can charge both a mobile phone and receivers and players.

Original scheme

Remaking the circuit in the memory

The design of such a charger is quite simple. Again, you need to disassemble the lighter and unsolder half of the components from the board. From the board we need a converter based on a self-oscillator. The converter consists of a transformer, a transistor and a base resistor. We also leave a pulse diode on the board, which is necessary for rectifying the current. Next we need a 5.6 volt zener diode and an electrolytic capacitor. The capacitance of the capacitor is not critical (100-1000 µF), the voltage should be 10-50 volts.

As a result, we have a simple charger for a mobile phone from one battery, the assembly of which does not require much effort. The most interesting thing is that you can even use AA batteries, and with a voltage of 1.2 volts, the device continues to operate even if the voltage on the battery is about 1 volt. All you have to do is find a suitable case and you will have a full-fledged field charger for mobile devices.

As mentioned above, Chinese lighters with electronic filling are too weak. The other day I decided to strengthen one of these lighters for its intended use, since without modification it is not capable of igniting gas.

The internals are standard - a converter and a high-voltage coil. The device works very simply: voltage from a AA battery is supplied to a self-oscillating converter, and a voltage of 40-50 Volts is generated at the output of the first transformer. This voltage is then rectified through a pulse diode and accumulated in a capacitor. In this case, a 50 volt 0.33 µF film capacitor was used. Once the capacitor is fully charged, part of the voltage is applied to the control electrode of the thyristor, causing the latter to open. By opening the thyristor, the capacitor gives all its potential to the primary winding of the high-voltage coil, i.e. the capacitance of the capacitor is discharged into this winding. As a result, an electromagnetic field is formed and an electric current is generated on the secondary winding. The voltage reaches up to 7 kV due to the large number of turns, so electrical discharges can be observed.

The frequency of opening of discharges at the output is proportional to the frequency of opening of the thyristor per minute. The frequency of these discharges directly depends on the supply voltage. To increase the frequency, two batteries were used. Nickel-cadmium batteries total voltage 2.4 volts, capacity 250 mA.

With this power supply, the discharge frequency increased at least 3 times; three batteries could be used, but there was not enough space in the case. Next I decided to strengthen the savings part. To do this, another capacitor was soldered parallel to the main capacitor, exactly the same as the first. As a result, the total capacitance of both capacitors is 0.66 μF. Thus, the discharges became brighter and the frequency increased. The converted lighter does its job successfully. In the future it is planned to add a built-in charger from a 220 volt network.

This electric lighter will be an excellent kitchen assistant for gas stoves that do not have an electric ignition function. It is very convenient and trouble-free in operation. You can make it yourself by spending just a couple of hours of your time, having previously stocked up on a piece of one-sided foil fiberglass and a minimum of inexpensive and radio components. A sketch of a printed circuit board and a drawing of the proposed design will serve as a faithful assistant.

The principle of operation of the homemade design is based on the cyclic charge-discharge of the C1 capacitance. This is done when the button SВ1 is pressed. Through resistance R1, diode VD1 and the primary winding of the transformer. And when C1 is discharged, current flows through the circuit of the open thyristor, diode VD2, and the primary winding of the step-up transformer. A high-voltage voltage is induced in the secondary winding of the transformer, which causes the formation of a spark in the gap between the electrodes and ignites the gas.

The transformer is made on a piece of ferrite rod 2 centimeters long from any radio receiver. Having wrapped the rod with electrical tape, the secondary winding is wound onto it in sections of 6 by 90 turns with PEV-2 0.06 wire. Then they isolate the high-voltage winding and proceed to winding the primary winding of only four turns, with a wire of the same brand, but with a diameter of 0.5 mm.

The peculiarity of this simple amateur radio design is that the printed circuit board is also a supporting structure.

Spring contact SB1 is made from a strip of brass 0.2 mm thick and 8 mm wide. The button itself is made of any insulating material, as an option, plexiglass.

The lighter body is glued from sheet polystyrene or similar material. Complete isolation of the high-voltage part from all others makes this device absolutely safe to use.

The operating principle of this device is simple - converting direct voltage into high-voltage, high-frequency voltage to produce a spark.
But as practice has shown, the main problem in the manufacture of an electric lighter is the high-voltage transformer: firstly, there are very high requirements for it in terms of insulation quality, and secondly, it must also be as miniature as possible.

These requirements are met by the diagram below: a ready-made transformer, TVS-70P1, is used here. This is a line transformer that was used in portable black and white televisions (such as "Yunost" and the like). In the diagram it is indicated as T2 (only a pair of windings is used).

The proposed circuit makes it possible to remove the dependence of the voltage supplied to the high-voltage coil on the response threshold of the dinistor (they are most often used), as is implemented in previously published circuits.
The circuit consists of a self-oscillator on transistors VT1 and VT2, which increases the voltage to 120...160 V using transformer T1 and a thyristor VS1 trigger circuit on elements VT3, C4, R2, R3, R4. The energy accumulated on the capacitor SZ is discharged through winding T2 and an open thyristor.

As for the T1 transformer: it is made on a ring ferrite magnetic core M2000NM1 of standard size K16x10x4.5 mm. Winding 1 contains 10 turns, winding 2 - 650 turns with PELSHO-0.12 wire.
For other details: capacitors: S1, SZ type K50-35; C2, C4 type K10-7 or similar small-sized ones.
Diode VD1 can be replaced with KD102A, B.
S1 - microswitch type PD-9-2.
Any thyristor can be used with an operating voltage of at least 200 V.
Transformers T1 and T2 are attached to the board with glue.

The device is made on a printed circuit board and can be placed even in an empty cigarette pack

The discharge chamber is located between two rigid wires with a diameter of 1...2 mm at a distance of 80...100 mm from the housing. The spark between the electrodes passes at a distance of 3...4 mm.
The circuit consumes a current of no more than 180 mA, and the battery life is enough for more than two hours of continuous operation, however, continuous operation of the device for more than one minute is not advisable due to possible overheating of the VT2 transistor (it does not have a heatsink).
When setting up the device, it may be necessary to select elements R1 and C2, as well as change the polarity of winding 2 of transformer T1. It is also advisable to carry out the adjustment with an uninstalled R2: check the voltage on the SZ capacitor with a voltmeter, and then install resistor R2 and, by monitoring the voltage with an oscilloscope at the anode of the thyristor VS1, make sure that the discharge process of the SZ capacitor is present.
The SZ discharge through the winding of transformer T2 occurs when the thyristor opens. A short pulse to open the thyristor is generated by transistor VT3 when the voltage on the capacitor SZ increases to more than 120V.

The device can also find other applications, for example, as an air ionizer or an electric shock device, since a voltage of more than 10 kV arises between the electrodes of the spark gap, which is quite sufficient to form an electric arc. At low current in the circuit, this voltage is not life-threatening.

The Chinese electric lighter is quite easy to use, but this does not guarantee that it will be durable. The circuit of a Chinese lighter becomes a stumbling block for many radio amateurs trying to fix it. We don't recommend that you worry too much about this, it's not worth it. Although, the very device of the Chinese lighter is very interesting, and can be taken as the basis for many amateur radio developments.

Chinese electric lighter, its advantages and disadvantages:

Many housewives happily purchase electric lighters without thinking about it or suspecting the danger.

Figure No. 1 – Chinese lighter

Firstly, you should pay attention to the insulation, despite the fact that externally the lighter body looks reliable. There is a great chance of getting an electric shock, which is not fatal but also unpleasant.

Secondly, Chinese lighters do not ignite gas well; when using them, you must be extremely careful and follow all safety rules when using gas equipment.

Thirdly, more than one radio amateur has not resisted the temptation to simply take and disassemble an electric lighter and see what’s inside it :)

Figure No. 2 - Examples of disassembled Chinese lighters

Such lighters, as a rule, work from two AA batteries, that is, from 3 Volts, and for quite a long time, which is its big advantage.

Figure No. 3 – Common diagram of a Chinese lighter

By closing the contact (button) at the lighter output, the voltage is about 6-7 kV, and this energy is enough to break down about 5 mm of air.

As a rule, most lighter circuits use a bipolar transistor of the S8550D series (pnp, 25 V, 1.5 A), it is included in the boost converter circuit.

An increased voltage of about 50 Volts is generated on the secondary winding of the step-up transformer.

After which the voltage is rectified, and the PCR606J thyristor (600 V, 0.6 A), operating in the key mode, transmits short-term pulses to the primary winding of the high-voltage coil.

The coil is made sectional, the resistance of its secondary winding is approximately 355-365 Ohms.

The primary winding of the coil is wound on 0.04 mm ferrite. copper wire, and is 15 turns.

As a rule, these lighters contain a thyristor, and if it breaks, you just need to replace it with a similar one. The same thing happens with a transistor.

But in my opinion, if your Chinese lighter is broken, then just throw it away and don’t bother repairing it, it’s not worth it.

But it is very advisable to use it as a basis for many amateur radio developments and designs, since the generator is made from cheap and accessible elements.

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