This is a look at the insides and circuitry of a UK air freshener (aroma plug) that cycles round three different bottles of aroma chemicals in sequence.
It was held shut by heat-staked plastic rivets as is often the case with the high profile brands. It's probably a cost saving thing, but also acts as a deterrent to people opening them up! Oh well, nothing a drill won't fix.
The circuitry works on half wave rectified mains and a simple resistive dropper that powers a COB (chip on board) blob that switches the individual heater resistors across the half wave rectified mains supply with three little TO92 devices that turned out to be high voltage transistors. Each resistor has a value of 17,000 ohms meaning that they will pass about 14mA on a 240V supply dissipating around 1.5W because they are only powered on one half of the mains cycle. There's a level setting switch which probably just cycles each resistor on and off to vary the aroma level. The chip also controls three LEDs independently of the resistors to show which aroma bottle is active at any given time.
The idea is that you get a continuously changing aroma, but the three tend to be quite similar and it's not really noticeable.
There are knock-off refills available in pound stores that are usually a tight fit and quite weak in the aroma department. But they can be refilled with things like lavender, citrus and peppermint oils to make the smells more interesting and noticeable.
It was held shut by heat-staked plastic rivets as is often the case with the high profile brands. It's probably a cost saving thing, but also acts as a deterrent to people opening them up! Oh well, nothing a drill won't fix.
The circuitry works on half wave rectified mains and a simple resistive dropper that powers a COB (chip on board) blob that switches the individual heater resistors across the half wave rectified mains supply with three little TO92 devices that turned out to be high voltage transistors. Each resistor has a value of 17,000 ohms meaning that they will pass about 14mA on a 240V supply dissipating around 1.5W because they are only powered on one half of the mains cycle. There's a level setting switch which probably just cycles each resistor on and off to vary the aroma level. The chip also controls three LEDs independently of the resistors to show which aroma bottle is active at any given time.
The idea is that you get a continuously changing aroma, but the three tend to be quite similar and it's not really noticeable.
There are knock-off refills available in pound stores that are usually a tight fit and quite weak in the aroma department. But they can be refilled with things like lavender, citrus and peppermint oils to make the smells more interesting and noticeable.
In 2019, ambi pur products transitioned to febreze
Rivets are a secure way of using screws
hi, thanks for the video. it often happens to me that all three LEDs flash (so for him the containers are empty) but in reality they are not. can you make a change to exclude this check?
Any idea if this device “remembers” the last scent it was on? I’m asking as I want to use this with a timer to come on and off a few times during the day, rather than running constantly, but the box says it’ll change between scents every 90 mins. If I have it switching on and off I was wondering if it’ll default back to the first scent each time it’s powered on, or would it continue where it left off?
Mines behaving strange the right Led is not working
I was looking at the one I have in my hallway and thought "I wonder how that works. I bet bigclive has done a teardown of it". And here I am. Clive delivering as always!
Hello. Is there a voltage converter there? What DC voltage is supplying the system?
I came here because I wanted to know how to take the bottles out when they’re empty I watch to do it but I still can’t do that did you have to press a button or something. I’ve been fighting with this for about an hour
three of these complete units and refills are on sale for £8 on Amazon just now (Cotton Scent only)
Why though does one scent always have loads left before the other 2?
Awright Clive…….I have a few old boards in tact
Do you think you could work out what they did ?
Could be a good wee series
Guess what it does
They're all still in tact
Cheers
John in Airdrie
We have something similar in the states only it alternates between two different rather noxious aromas, as you mentioned in your air freshener cross-pollination video I rather like something with layers of scent
For anyone who wanted to know, the KSP44 appears to be an NPN transistor rated at 400v and 0.625 Watts.
Um, But how would you do it.
We bought a cheap mains scent bottle from b&m, and it is two unsoldered wires, and a porous ceramic. It is disturbing.