Having bought quite a few of the in-car ozone generating plugs from ebay and other sellers in the hope of getting one that wasn't actually fake, I finally got a real one. I can't tell you which exact supplier it came from, since I received two identical black ones from different suppliers so far, so I'm not sure which one the real version came from.
There are quite a few more still to arrive, so if there are any other real ones with different circuitry I'll tear them apart too.
Inside is a very generic high voltage inverter like the ones used to light cold cathode tubes (CCFL) for PC case decoration.
These circuits use a Royer configuration to drive a transformer in a push-pull configuration using two transistors and a feedback winding.
The transformer has a primary section and a multiple of secondary sections to provide better winding separation due to the high voltage being generated.
The output has a series capacitor for current control and one leg goes to both the connections of a standard neon indicator lamp (blue in this instance), while the other grounded end of the transformer is attached to a small tube of stainless steel mesh around the outside of the lamp.
The high voltage couples from the electrodes in the lamp to the entire inner surface via the internal gas, and the charge then alternates capacitively between the inside of the lamp and the outer metal mesh creating an area of corona discharge that splits oxygen molecules (O2) apart, before they recombine randomly as O2 and O3 which is ozone. Ozone is unstable and needs to get rid of the third molecule of oxygen, so it tends to attach onto any receptive surface, oxidising it in the process. This is what also gives the fresh bleach-like smell (which was very noticeable!)
The cases of these things are identical and even the circuit board shape and connection springs are clear copies. So it's hard to tell what's fake and what's real without looking into the end of the module. The fake ones have a diffused blue LED in the end while the real ones have a glass lamp with a pip at the end and a very noticeable metal mesh round the lamp.
Most of the fake unit sellers on ebay use stock images of the real thing in its packaging, but some sellers show pictures of the actual units from various angles. By looking closely you may be able to see the LED or mesh covered lamp in the end. Although that doesn't guarantee that they may send a real unit or whatever stock they could get cheapest.
There are quite a few more still to arrive, so if there are any other real ones with different circuitry I'll tear them apart too.
Inside is a very generic high voltage inverter like the ones used to light cold cathode tubes (CCFL) for PC case decoration.
These circuits use a Royer configuration to drive a transformer in a push-pull configuration using two transistors and a feedback winding.
The transformer has a primary section and a multiple of secondary sections to provide better winding separation due to the high voltage being generated.
The output has a series capacitor for current control and one leg goes to both the connections of a standard neon indicator lamp (blue in this instance), while the other grounded end of the transformer is attached to a small tube of stainless steel mesh around the outside of the lamp.
The high voltage couples from the electrodes in the lamp to the entire inner surface via the internal gas, and the charge then alternates capacitively between the inside of the lamp and the outer metal mesh creating an area of corona discharge that splits oxygen molecules (O2) apart, before they recombine randomly as O2 and O3 which is ozone. Ozone is unstable and needs to get rid of the third molecule of oxygen, so it tends to attach onto any receptive surface, oxidising it in the process. This is what also gives the fresh bleach-like smell (which was very noticeable!)
The cases of these things are identical and even the circuit board shape and connection springs are clear copies. So it's hard to tell what's fake and what's real without looking into the end of the module. The fake ones have a diffused blue LED in the end while the real ones have a glass lamp with a pip at the end and a very noticeable metal mesh round the lamp.
Most of the fake unit sellers on ebay use stock images of the real thing in its packaging, but some sellers show pictures of the actual units from various angles. By looking closely you may be able to see the LED or mesh covered lamp in the end. Although that doesn't guarantee that they may send a real unit or whatever stock they could get cheapest.
I just received mine and when I took it apart found it contained a resistor in series with an LED. It appears to be a fake one.
I plan to make an ozone generator for my car to improve the efficiency. It will feed ozone into the air intake. I wonder if I will run into any/many issues when using a car ignition coil to generate the high voltage. After watching this, I am thinking to use a bulb with stainless wire mesh wrapped around it to create the discharge. I am not an electrician, so I am unsure of if I need other components or not.
I heard its dangerous but this guy keeps sniffing it in… Lol is this guy still alive?
Thanks for doing this video
Dont buy from the seller volatinzeind they are fake
You should probably switch them so they work for 5 minutes after turning off the contact (and leaving the car). Most cars have a network that stays awake for a while.
Do these plug into cig outlet?
You're a monster. I love it
Nice. I don't have use for the generated Ozone, but this is a nice device
What is the use of this device for?
Well, that was a fun video. Got me thinking, I have a few failed compact fluorescents bulbs in my hazardous waste bag, let’s see if they work.
I wrapped about 2m of solid core wire (from a discarded cat 5 cable – insulation stripped off of course) around a 1/4 inch threaded rod to make a long copper spring.
Cut the electronics off the cf bulb so I just had the spiral tube left.
Pushed the spring over the spiral tube from one end and spread it out along about half the length of the tube.
Then, using one of those cheap Chinese cigarette lighter type high voltage generators I connected one end to the copper spring, the other to the cf bulb wires, doesn’t matter which wire, any one that stick out of the tube will do.
Apply about 5V and the bulb fires up nice and bright. The nauseating smell of ozone (I presume) assailed my nostrils and wallah, I have the first part of my sterilization container.
Can’t say how much ozone but it seems to work. Can’t see the purple corona above the cf bulb’s bright light but smell is there within seconds.
Only problem is that the cheap electronics gets very hot so I have had to add a temperature sensor to the transistor’s heat sink with a little circuit to turn it off when it gets above 70C and on when it gets below about 50C. We still have a few weeks of lockdown so who knows how much it will develop by then.
Thanks for the idea.
looks like the tesla bulbe, acting as a diode to the steel mesh