A New Shiny Reactor!
Now This Looks More Professional
This reactor isn’t as blazing fast as the last ones but its safer and stores more hydrogen
I forgot to take pictures of the H2V3 disassembly but I made sure to dilute the 10% NaOH solution with 5+gallons of water so it was safe to dump out. They often sell NaOH in hardware stores as “drain cleaner” anyway.
This new reactor has double the capacity for both electrolyte and hydrogen storge. If I want to use this robot daily then this reactor will need to be convenient and reliable. I’ll probably refill the robot every 1-2 days to ensure the balloon doesn’t look wrinkly. The lift doesn’t really matter unless it can’t keep the robot upright but I still wanted a reactor that would stand the test of time.
All The Power!
I wanted to solve the overheating issue once and for all
I ended up not even needing the missive copper leads. The larger glass bell blocks more of the anode then the smaller bell I used for the v3 due to tolerance issues. This reduces the amount of power the reactor takes but it still heats up the 60mm wide strip of pure nickel on the anode. If the rector was blazing fast then I would slow it down with PWM anyway so I think this is the sweet spot.
This new reactor has two additional resistive level sensors at the top to allow for a better constant-running mode. This mode will trigger the outside sensor and then run the pump until the inside sensor is triggered. This will allow me to automatically fill a balloon or something larger in the future.
The reactor has a very open top now and this is an issue because it puts tiny NaOH particles in the air while running. I’ll need to make a lid before I use this more.
Get it in the Air at Any Cost
I’m going to try some store bought props too just to see if they make a difference
I think my design requires propellers that can’t really be bought. I’m prioritizing efficiency and noise output when most propellers are for fast outdoor flight. I printed some adaptors for the larger props too see how viable this is. I also designed a three blade propeller to see if the larger 8mm motors could handle it. So far the two bladed propellers have been giving the best performance but I can only make them so large. Carrying a battery and the raspberry pi might require even larger motors and propellers. I want to oversize the blades so I can run them slower for less noise output.
The flight time and noise output for this initial prototype will be poor but I need a starting point. My circuit will hopefully come in next week so testing for the full setup will happen soon!
This Week's Gallery:
Plans For Next Week:
Finish the reactor and do some Christmas break stuff
I’d like to be working full time on this project but my whole family is home so I need to work on home theater and VDI things. The week I made this post was also the CDR for my university’s satellite project so I was mostly focused on getting the electrical together for that. I still want to get the reactor in a better place and test propellers before next week.
Todo List:
- Home theater setup/VDI server maintenance
- Finish Reactor Code
- Design and print a lid for the reactor
- Test more propellers
- *Solder the circuit if it comes in