DIY Ozone Generator

OK, I have been talking about it for awhile now and here we go....

Got an Odor problem??? You could use a carbon filter that has to be replaced every three months. You could mask the odor with a time release perfume. You could buy an ozone generator for 100 to 150 bucks. Or you could build an ozone generator for no more than 30 bucks. So lets get started.

What we are going to need.
1. Neon Transformer (20 Bucks off Ebay)
2. Plate of glass 2"x4" (Free)
3. Two pieces of metal screening slightly smaller than the glass (1 Buck)
4. 4" PVC Pipe (5 bucks at Home Depot)
5. 2 pieces 1/2" PVC pipeabout 4" in length
6. Some wire (free)

I am going to show you the guts of it.



Thats the Transformer, notice the two red wires? and that I just temporarily wire nutted to a standard plug



Here are the two screens

And the hardest part was cutting the glass to the right size. The right size is however big the inside of your PVC is giving 1/2 inch clearance on each side



Here is where I soldered a wire to each screen


And a close up of the solder job.


Once you have the wire soldered, you glue one screen to each side of the glass, Notice how the screen is a bit smaller than the glass so we don't get arcing. We are looking for a corona, not arcing. I used Quad Caulk because it will stick to anything and I just used some large paper clips to hold it together. Will have more tommorow as soon as the glue dries...

Justy

Cool beans man caan't wait for results...

I have a project very simmilar to this I'm too scared to use it though

Just be careful not to breath the stuff. Ozone is only suitable for exhausting outdoors, particularly the ozone put off by home built generators as it also produces other toxic gasses by oxidizing the metals on the screen attached to the glass.

carry on

Will be mounted directly inline of my exhaust, screen is stainless steel. It will be plugged into the same outlet as my main exhaust fan so it will only be on when the fan is running

Dang it!!! I was putting the 1/2 inch pvc pipe on each end to stabalize it in the 4" PVC and it friggin cracked down the middle, rendering it useless. I will try again tommorow I guess.

Mahn I notice in the forth picture down where you have connected a black and white wire to the screen....
That looks to be 600 volt wire and you are gonna be dump'in 4000 volts into it and that is gona become an issue... If not at first then i guareentee within the first twelve hours of use, voltage will escape that insulation to some degree.


pi

The electric fence dept. of your local farm store will have some wire with proper insulation.. Tell them you want to run your fence in the ground under a gate.

Thanks. It is only runnin at 3 watts and only at 4k Volts

As an alternative to the glass plate and screen arrangement, a glass, (not plastic please), peanut butter jar can be used. Just roll up one piece of screen and put it inside the jar so that it conforms to the jar's inner, curved wall. Next, roll a piece of screen around the outside of the jar and hold that in place with a few thin bare metal wires wrapped around the jar and screen like a belt. Make sure to leave a space between the lip of the jar and each of the two screens of about one inch. If the screens approach too closely, the current will arc over the lip of the jar, creating a nice spark but producing little ozone. If you don't want to use screen, you may use a metalized adhesive tape sold at hardware stores instead; I think it's meant for taping furnace ductwork. It's about the size of duct tape. Just stick it inside and outside of the jar in place of the screen, always leaving an inch or so of distance between the screen and the lip of the jar. Attach your lead wires by sticking them in the adhesive of the tape. I have used both of these methods with sustained success.
The first time you turn this thing on, it should crackle and buzz threateningly, and you will be scared to death of it if you have the sense that God gave a chicken. It really is dangerous, both as a shock and a fire hazard. To make is a little safer, glue the screened jar inside of a larger, taller glass jar so that no object can accidentally come in contact with the electrified screen. Also, install all of it a safe distance from combustible materials. Keep the leads from the transformer to the screen nice and short, and try not to let them cross or touch one another or any grounded object. Use high voltage wire for your leads if possible; its insulation won't break down quickly. I think auto spark plug wire is also good, though I'm not sure.
A helpful thing to know about the neon transformers is that a few years ago a law went into effect mandating that magnetic transformers bigger than 7500 volts have a ground fault circuit interrupter circuit, (GFCI), inside which will automatically shut off the transformer if the current varies too much during operation. The GFCI will usually prevent the transformer from working as an ozone generator. Your best bet, if you want to use a >7500 volt transformer is to get an older transformer without the GFCI. You can also disable the GFCI in some cases, but not always. PM me if you want more details about how to do that. DIY ozone generators are dangerous, remember, so don't even try to build one if you're not confident that you're competent. If you're not, then just get a carbon filter instead.

Mounting

Ok So I cut a new plate of glass and glued the screen to it. I cut grooves in the 1/2 inch pvc. I originally just cut one slice through it but the pressure of it clamping on the glass cracked the plate. So I cut an actual groove in the pipe.


Next is to mount the plate into the cut grooves and glue it in, I didn't glue it just yet, just wanted to show it.

Then you glue it all together in the 4" pvc, I'll actually mount it deeper in the pipe so it won't ground out on the metal duct work. Luckily, my transformer is small enough to mount inside the pipe also.


And there you have it, just put this inline with your exhaust and never worry about smells again!!!

Quill, yours looks great, but how would you mount that into a duct? I guess you could use test tubes instead of jars like that