Solar charging my toy car's supercapacitor
4,631 views · Published 27 April 2014 · 2:49 · Indexed 8 November 2026
Channel: GrandadIsAnOldMan · 2014 · Science & Technology
Slider2732 suggested I could solar power some of my recent Charity Shop finds using parts from those solar garden lights. I probably will give it a try but this morning I took a short-cut. If you have a question it is probably worth reading this video description first because the answer may already be here. To help you find my videos I made two search guides https://youtu.be/ceBSOoOHcgw or https://youtu.be/Zj4UgwkwYRk or checkout my playlists page https://www.youtube.com/user/GrandadIsAnOldMan/playlists?flow=grid&view=1 Here is the original video featuring this car http://youtu.be/Jyg26LfBxVs The supercapacitors I used came from Maplin Electronics. I am not endorsing these products I am just answering the questions people have asked. http://www.maplin.co.uk/c/components/capacitors/super-capacitors Here's an eBay link for a 2.7v 10F supercapacitor I bought that cost me £5.66 for 2 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251694354652 Here is a great video demonstration by Electric Experiments Roobert33 of Capacitor and superCapacitor DC https://youtu.be/ZgozrScGN8U Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor In response to a question about the wiring circuit let me talk you through it. You have an electric motor with 2 terminals + and - You have a supercapacitor with 2 terminals + and - You connect the + of the supercapacitor to the + of the motor and the - of the supercapacitor to the - of the motor and it works To charge the supercapacitor we have wires connected to the + and - and they go to terminals screwed to the back of the car so we can get to them without opening the car. We connect a power source to the + and - wires and it charges the supercapacitor The power source could be a battery or as shown in this case a solar cell. To stop the motor discharging the supercapacitor when we are not using it or while it is being charged we have added a simple on/off switch into one of the wires between the supercapacitor and the motor. It does not matter which wire it is, it can be the + or the - wire. You might like this video by patrickikis Solar Cells & Super Capacitors Part#1 - A Simple Method https://youtu.be/WihBlT2d8bs Here are a couple of related playlists Solar Power http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB1SVLRn_D16dRvTrocMhFPq Charity Shop Gold or Garbage http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA5a2xPRSrB14bwwnAIt54ZWwWBktc445 I have over 2000 videos on YouTube covering a wide range of subjects. To find them follow my search guides https://youtu.be/ceBSOoOHcgw or https://youtu.be/Zj4UgwkwYRk or see my playlists page https://www.youtube.com/user/GrandadIsAnOldMan/playlists?flow=grid&view=1 Generally my projects are for my grandchildren to enjoy. OK, I enjoy them too. If anybody else likes them, that is a bonus. I like to keep my work as simple and basic as possible so that it can be copied easily and improved by anybody who wants to try themselves. I recycle or repurpose items rather than buy new and when I do buy I like to keep it cheap. https://www.youtube.com/user/GrandadIsAnOldMan
