green man's plans for an ozone generator.


Several people have expresed an interest in the plans for a home made ozone
generator that I posted a while back. This is a very simple set up that
anyone can put together in five minutes after getting the parts. It works
as well as the expensive units costing $600 or more but it costs only about
$20 or so. The ones I made cost nothing it just depends on how good you are
at scrounging. A good source for the transformer is a shop that repairs or
installs neon signs. You can usually pick up a used one for next to zip. If
you go past their dumpster you might see one for free. Keta says All
Electronics has them for $20  -  htttp://www.allcorp.com
Keta apparently put together one and he reports good results. They work
great for me.

Here are the plans:

First you need a neon sign or similar transformer at about 6000v. You need
a small glass jar and a larger jar that will hold the smaller one.  The
larger jar can be glass or plastic, I have successfully used a plastic cup
for the larger jar but the smaller one should be glass.
Lastly you need a small amount of aluminum foil and you may need a few
short pieces of wire. The transformer can be as small as 3000v but the more
the better up to a point. I use 7000v and that is plenty but you can use up
to 15000v.

Put a small piece of aluminum foil (about 2" sq.) inside the small jar at
the bottom. Cover the outside bottom of the small jar with foil so that it
covers the same area as the foil inside. You can cover the whole inside and
outside of the jar, that may work better but just make sure the inner and
outer foil layers do not touch or come too close. Put the smaller jar
inside the larger one. Connect one high voltage lead to the foil inside and
the other to the foil outside. The larger jar just insulates the whole
thing. I would put the whole set up on a piece of wood or other insulator.
Try not to cross the wires. The bare part of the wire must touch the foil.
If the insulation on the wire makes it difficult or if the wires are too
short, you may use some other wire to extend them. Be sure to keep the
wires as short as possible you don't want to touch them they will give you
a jolt. Turn it on, you'll hear a  crackling noise and if its dark you'll
see a blue glow. If theres a short you may see an arc, just turn it off and
separate the conductors so that they don't short out. The ozone will come
out the top so don't plug it up. Ozone is a very powerful deodorizor it
also tends to kill mold and bacteria but will not harm your plants. I try
not to breath a lot of it though its not supposed to be dangerous in small
amounts. I run it at the beginning of the dark period with a timer. I find
2 hours per day is enough but that will depend on your odor problem.

That's it, have fun. I would be pleased to hear peoples experiences with
this.

green man