I Ran My Pulse Motor with a Condenser Coil Today (Good Day with Papa Bale)

Hook

It's a good day today. Great day today. I finally got the condenser coil circuit running smooth on the mag lev rotor and the whole thing smells like coastal breeze while it spins at 1250 RPM.

Watch this experiment

I fired up the primary 31-volt circuit with the 16-gauge red trigger coil and the 20-gauge condenser coil. The rotor has four neodymium cubes and fabric softener sheets on the bottom. When I turned it on the light started flashing and the RPM climbed from 750 to over 1200. Then I added the signal generator on the second circuit at 105 kHz and the corner light got twice as bright while current jumped between 3 and 5 amps.

What you'll learn

You’ll see real-world RPM numbers, how the dual circuits share one wheel, why the fabric softener works as both filter and freshener, and exactly how back emf recovery shows up on the second drive.

From the bench

The rotor is mag left with fan blades that suck air in from all directions and force it down through the dryer sheets. I did a smoke test – you can see it get pulled from several feet above and disappear into the filter. The whole thing sits in my bedroom and actually cleans the air while it runs. At one point the paos were trying to jump off the table from the vibration.

How it works / what we changed

Two separate circuits drive the same rotor. Circuit one uses the 16ga trigger coil, 24ga coil, and 20ga condenser coil at 31 volts. The second circuit gets the signal generator. When both run together the light brightness doubles and the motor easily hits 1500 RPM. Without the mag lev it caps around 1600 RPM because the mechanical pull gets too strong.

Back emf recovery

When I switched the signal generator over to the second circuit the back emf recovery became obvious. The voltage spikes from the collapsing fields fed back into the system, doubling the brightness on the output light while the current stayed manageable at 3-5 amps. You could see the clean spikes on the scope and the motor smoothed out even more at 105 kHz. It wasn’t free energy but the recovered energy clearly helped drive the brighter load.

Builder checklist

• Four neodymium cube magnets on a balanced rotor with fan blades
• 16-gauge red trigger coil, 24-gauge and 20-gauge condenser coil
• 31-volt primary circuit plus signal generator on secondary
• Fabric softener sheets fixed to the bottom for filtering
• Mag lev bearing to reduce friction at high RPM
• Oscilloscope or pao meter to watch voltage and back emf spikes
• Smoke or incense for airflow demonstration

Troubleshooting

If the rotor starts shaking above 1250 RPM, the mag lev is letting it get too fast for the mechanical balance. Drop the voltage or remove the levitation to cap it at 1600 RPM. If the light doesn’t double in brightness when adding the second circuit, check that the signal generator is really at 105 kHz and the coils are phased correctly. When the paos try to walk off the table you know vibration is high – tighten the rotor or add damping.

Safety

Keep fingers clear of the spinning rotor – those neodymium cubes have strong fields and the tips move fast at 1500 RPM. The circuit can pull 5 amps so use properly rated wiring and a fuse. Fabric softener is flammable; don’t let sparks land on the sheets. Work in a well-ventilated area even though the motor itself is filtering air.

FAQ

How fast did the condenser coil pulse motor actually run? It climbed from 750 RPM to 1250 RPM on the first circuit and easily reached 1500 RPM with both circuits driving together.

What is the fabric softener doing on the rotor? It filters dust and debris while releasing a coastal breeze scent, turning the pulse motor into a bedroom air freshener and filter.

Did you measure back emf recovery? Yes – the second circuit with the signal generator clearly showed voltage spikes feeding back and doubling the brightness of the output light.

Can this run without the mag lev? Yes, but it caps at about 1600 RPM because the mechanical pull becomes too strong for the bearings.

What gauge wire was on the condenser coil? The main drive coil was 20 gauge with a 24 gauge coil also in that circuit; the trigger was 16 gauge red.

Related on this site

• How to Build a Pulse Motor (Parts, Coil Placement & Circuit)
• Understanding Back EMF in Pulse Motors
• Pulse Motor Rotor Design: Magnets, Materials and Balance
• Best Neodymium Magnets for Pulse Motor Rotors
• How to Maximize RPM on Your Pulse Motor

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