Emergency Power out release

Ideas and instructions how you can make your own bondage toys.
BornThisWay
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Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

This has probably already been invented, but I haven't seen it used or talked about.

The biggest downfall to using automatic electric timers that activate you release mechanism has always been unexpected power outages.
Of course if your using a light bulb on a timer to see your combination lock you would be F*CK3D if the bulb burnt out when it kicked on.

Anyway, I cant solve that problem now, but I have a solution to a power outage.

In the event the power goes out, this is a very cheap easy to make release system that would be triggered instantly.

CAUTION: Much more testing needed, it may overheat and cause a fire.

A metal core (must be metal that can stick to a magnet) wrapped with insolated wire and connected to a battery will create a magnetic field.

What if instead of a battery, you used an old transformer to provide the DC Voltage.

As soon as the power unexpectedly failed, it could release one of your keys to fall to your hand.

Here are the early testing results:
Holding a Bolt.JPG
Only 6v 400mA.JPG
Only 6v 400mA.JPG (57.41 KiB) Viewed 3929 times
More testing needed.JPG
More testing needed.JPG (58.09 KiB) Viewed 3929 times
BornThisWay
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

On a side note:
If you just wanted to use a few D-Cell batteries you could work out an alternative release.

(Other than the Ice method)

so it would drop the key when the batteries die.

Free up that freezer for the after bondage steak! :wink:
lj
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by lj »

The basic principle is fine. Any electrically powered release really should operate if the power drops out. So an electromagnet that holds a key is a good choice. Preferably use a battery as this will always run out of power and is safer than mains powered systems particularly if you don't really know what you are doing !

A transformer supplies ac, not DC, so won't hold anything, but a simple diode rectifier will do the job. Remember "remanent magnetism" the core will retain a weak magnetic field when the power is turned off, so make sure the key etc is heavy enough to separate.
be a switch, double the fun :-)
BornThisWay
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

After further testing, the transformer got hot and dropped the bolt.
After I let it cool, it worked again, but dropped the bolt after it got hot.
I let it cool a second time and it worked again.

There is apparently an overload safety built into it that shuts it off.
probably a thermal switch, like you have for the turn signal of a car, only on a much longer time interval.

Think this would work better with a 12V DC transformer and a resistor to drop the voltage down to 6V DC.
This way there would be a load on it and the wires wouldn't be shorted together.
Should solve the problem.

Word of Caution: This is not a safe idea for an actual release for a real self bondage scene, If the transformer gets overloaded it may get hot enough to start a fire.
More testing is needed.
MKu
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by MKu »

BornThisWay wrote:If the transformer gets overloaded it may get hot enough to start a fire.
To prevent overheating you can combine the transformer with a temperatur limiter magnet (as used in rice cookers).
Indeed over time people got knowledge but no wisdom.

Accidents do not happen, they are caused.
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by lj »

The current through the coil depends on the voltage and the resistance of the coil. This then determines how hot it gets - Ohms Law !

more turns of wire will increase the resistance, which will reduce the current, and reduce the heating effect. The magnetic field will stay much the same as it is proportional to the current flowing and the number of turns of wire.

DC is still your best bet, and as suggested, batteries are much safer as they always run flat, releasing the safety key
be a switch, double the fun :-)
BornThisWay
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

I definitely agree that a battery would be a great time release, perfect alternative to the ice melt method.

But that would be a different subject.

I want to develop a release that would only be triggered if the power to the house went out. A third line of defense.

Lets say you are all tied up waiting for the ice to melt, and some kind of disaster happens that causes the power to go out, lets say a car hit the utility pole outside your house.
The very second the power to the house is cut, the key would fall to your hand.

Second scenario: you have one of those timers designed to turn your Christmas lights on and off at certain times of the day.
you have a light bulb connected to it so you can see the combination to your padlock when it turns on. Everyone's power goes out, and you are stuck there for three days until the utility crew can fix it.

Regardless of what you have set up for a primary and secondary release, I think it's a great idea for a third line of defense that you will probably never have to use.

I just hope I can make it simple, safe, cheap, dependable, and easily reproduced.

Here is what I have so far:
A potentiometer is no good (the wattage is too high) instead I intend to use a Rheostat. It's the same concept, but its designed differently and can handle the higher wattage.
I may try a dimmer knob designed for a light bulb.
I want to be able to dial down the magnetism to the point that it is just enough to hold the key.
I expected the first transformer to run hot because a coil is a short to a DC circuit and the only way to increase the resistance is a massive amount of very thin wire.
Since I want this to be something that can be easily reproduced and safe, I plan on trying the light dimmer next.

I used a small lynch pin for my core, and I used the wires from a CAT-5 Ethernet cable form my winding.
Can't test anymore until I get the dimmer knob.
1st wind.JPG
I put a drop of super glue on the bolt so I could wind it tight without it slipping.
After I got to the end, I ran the wire straight back to the point I started and wound it again in the same direction.
2nd wind.JPG
I did the same thing two more times.
Every time I added another layer of coils the magnet got stronger.
But I'll never be able to add enough wire to create a enough resistance to keep the transformer from overheating.
3rd wind.JPG
3rd wind.JPG (57.49 KiB) Viewed 3836 times
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be successful, not going out to the store again today.
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Sir Cumference
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by Sir Cumference »

If I needed a "power outage emergency release" I'd buy a 230V (or whatever your voltage is) door holding magnet.

It is constructed to be powered up for a loooooong time, and if you mount it in a way that does not let the holding plate slide off sideways, it should be plenty strong to be an attachment point.

Power it through a timer, and you'll have a timed release too.




I have tried to make electromagnets myself, but they always turn out to be either weak or smoking....
~ Leatherworking, blacksmithing , woodworking and programming are the most pervertable skills you can learn! ~
BornThisWay
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

After a few problems I finally achieved the test results I wanted.
This is definitely an item that can be created as a DIY item.

I purchased a dimmer switch this morning only to discover that they don't make dimmer's the way they use to.
It was completely useless as a device that would gradually add resistance to a DC circuit.

What I needed was a Rheostat. Radio shack didn't carry the size I needed so I decided to use a "Salt water variable resistor" just to test with.

Salt water conducts electricity, but not perfectly. It has some resistance. You can adjust how much resistance you want by how close together you put your contacts.

I connected an AC adapter Transformer that supplied 12 Volts DC at 900 mA in in series with my electro-magnet and the salt water resistor.

The closer the contacts were to each other in the salt water, the stronger the magnet was.

I adjusted the contacts so the magnet was just strong enough to hold the bolt.

I ran it for a few hours and it never got hot, just warm. (The water got really dirty, cool looking reaction)

All I need to make it a reality is either a 25 Watt Rheostat or the right resistor to provide just the right magnetic strength without overloading the adapter.

Also if you wanted to ensure that the Transformer never got warm, you could get a bigger transformer and dial it down.
For example, a 1500 mA (1.5 A) running at 20% power might produce the same magnetic field as a 900 mA (0.9 A) running at 60% power, but run much cooler because it's not being overloaded.

But any AC Adapter that has no resistor will be running at 100% capacity and will get hot and fail.

As far as starting a fire, With a resistor, its highly unlikely.
Even if you did not have a resistor, the transformer would probably fail and shut itself down like the first one I tried.
Since I am not modifying the function of the adapter, all the safeguards that the manufacturer put in it are still at play.
My bigger transformer.JPG
Salt Water Resistor.JPG
One of the leads.JPG
One of the leads.JPG (56.31 KiB) Viewed 3745 times
my magnet.JPG
I know a door magnet would also work, but I really enjoy DIY applications. They can be very cheap to make and fun.
And like you said, with a D Cell battery its a great alternative time release. (I tried it and it and it was very strong)
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

Solar Panels!!!

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-12 ... 96418.html

Instead of waiting for the Sun to come up to be released, you can wait until the sun goes down!!!!
image_23484.jpg
lj
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by lj »

dimmer switches work with AC, NOT DC !

The usual types are zero-crossing or phase angle controllers. Zero-crossing controllers work by only switch the current when it is zero (on the AC cycle) and letting a variable number of cycles of AC pass, then blocking some. The ratio of these gives a variable output if the load is something like a tungsten lamp or a heater which has a significant thermal mass, so you don't see a flicker. Phase angle controllers switch the current on somewhere between successive zero-crossings, so a proportion of any half cycle is passed.

You might get a controllable voltage through your power supply if you feed it with the mains via a dimmer switch, whilst connecting your electromagnet to the power supply directly.

The salt-water "resistor" will be cheerfully electrolysing the water, stripping metal off your electrodes and generating oxygen and hydrogen gas - an interesting and potentially explosive mixture.
be a switch, double the fun :-)
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Sir Cumference
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by Sir Cumference »

lj wrote:...

The salt-water "resistor" will be cheerfully electrolysing the water, stripping metal off your electrodes and generating oxygen and hydrogen gas - an interesting and potentially explosive mixture.

To be a bit nerdy, it is highly unlikely that it will be possible to reach the lower explosive limit in the room in this way. The volumes produced are too small, and the diffusion of hydrogen is too high.

On a more serious note, if salt water is used, the gases produced will be hydrogen and chlorine.
It is again not likely that the chlorine concentration will get high enough to be toxic, but it does smell and it is likely to make your steel rust and your electronics go dead.
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

Maybe I'm too wordy or boring for people for people to carefully read my posts.

They use to make dimmer switches with Rheostats.
http://www.tech-faq.com/rheostat.html
BornThisWay wrote:I purchased a dimmer switch this morning only to discover that they don't make dimmer's the way they use to.
It was completely useless as a device that would gradually add resistance to a DC circuit.

What I needed was a Rheostat. Radio shack didn't carry the size I needed so I decided to use a "Salt water variable resistor" just to test with.
Meaning I wanted to "Test" if a Rheostat would work before I bought one. So just as a Test method, I Temporarily employed a saltwater variable resistor.
BornThisWay wrote:All I need to make it a reality is either a 25 Watt Rheostat or the right resistor to provide just the right magnetic strength without overloading the adapter.
If I knew the resistance needed to provide the sweet spot, (just enough resistance to hold my key) then I would simply buy the resistor. That's why I want to order a 25W Rheostat, My Transformer puts out 18W.

So just to clear up any more confusion, I only proved that it is something that can be easily made, I just need to purchase a Rheostat or a bunch of resistors of varying resistance to actually produce a working prototype.
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by lj »

Do you have a test meter, if so you could measure the resistance of your salt-water resistor.

You will then need to get a resistor able to dissipate the redundant power. You can calcu1ate that approximately by assuming the voltage is almost entirely across the resistor,

power in watts = (voltage x voltage)/R in ohms

the power output of your power supply of 18watts is the maximum possible available output power, so if the supply is 12v, the maximum current is 1.5 amps.

Early dimmers were indeed simply variable resistors - I can remember doing stage lighting at school, the dimmers were massive variable resistors and got very hot if the lights were dim. Modern dimmers work by switching the power on and off quickly. The same method can be used for DC, but with different electronics. Check out Pulse Width Modulation for more detail, there are some simple circuits that will be a lot cheaper than a big fat resistor.
be a switch, double the fun :-)
BornThisWay
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Re: Emergency Power out release

Post by BornThisWay »

True. I have a very nice Industrial Scope Meter made by Fluke. I suppose I should have connected it in series and simply measure the Amps when I had it at the sweet spot.
I did some research on salt water and I believe the resistance can actually fluxuate depending on how much current is flowing through it.
Of course the beauty of a rheostat is I can tweak it if I put more keys on my keyring.
I have a lot of respect for people who have a lot of knowledge on lots of different subjects.
I include you and Sir Cumference in that category.
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