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Solinoid voltage capacities

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 11:56 am
by Carlman
hi all,

i have an unmodded 25mm solinoid valve, i also have 3 9.6v 650mAh rc batteries. hooking them together gives 28.8v of current. My question is this, can my 24v solinoid handle the extra 4.8 volts i want to pump into it??

as u hav probobly guessed i wish to make electric firing setup for my spud gun, i know it isnt the best way, i have a modded 1 aswell to switch between the two, good old threaded couplers.

thnx in advance

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 12:09 pm
by Ragnarok
Wow, VOLTS OF CURRENT!!!! As a heads up, current is in amps, not volts. Potential difference (usually known incorrectly as voltage - it's like measuring height in footage or metrage) is what you're talking about.

The solenoid will handle your 28.8V easily, especially over the half second or so that you're energizing it for. I guess you could get away with even more, but don't push it.

Current also comes into play to an extent. RC batteries can push a lot more current than most batteries, but as the coil is probably the main source of resistance in the loop, that won't really come into play.

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 12:45 pm
by jimmy101
Ragnorok is right, the small change in voltage won't hurt the solenoid.

The solenoid will probably work fine with just two of the batteries in series giving 19.2V.

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:25 pm
by singularity
wouldn't it be a lot cheap, smaller, and more portable just to use like 3 standard 9v alkaline batteries hooked together in series?

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 8:50 pm
by Carlman
thnx for the replies.

Ragnorok: Thnx for the heads up, i know a little about electronics in the way of how to do the hands on stuff but dont really know the vocabulary associated with it.

Jimmy101: A solenoid is slow anyway, so i don't want to go less volts than it can handle id rather risk the extra 4.8v.

Singularity: Standard run of the mill 9v arnt as powerful, roughly same weight and more expensive in the long run. I already have these batteries from my old baja racer RC.

Thnx for the responses keep em comin! :D