VOLTAGE DOUBLER KIT INSTRUCTIONS

This is a new kit and instructions, any purchasers are invited to comment on the instructions.

All credit for this design goes to Mark Lockwood (tusconshooter) and this kit is being sold with
his knowledge and agreement.

Parts List

R1 133k (Br O O) 1off

R2 & R5 1k (Br B R) 1off
R3 100R (Br B B B Br) 1off
R3A 560R (G Bl Br) 1off

C1 0.1uF 1off
C2 100uF 1off
C3 1uF 1off
C4 & C5 0.01uF 2off
C6 & C7 6,800uF 2off

D1 12V zener 1off

D2, D3 & D4 STPS8H100D 3off

Q1 IRFB3307 1off

IC1 LM555 1off

IC2 TC4426 1off

LED1 5MM red LED 1off

L1 & L2 100uH 2off

SPDT switch 1off

8pin DIL sockets 2off
M3 x 6mm bolt 2off
M4 x 12mm brass bolt 2off
M4 brass nut 4off
M4 brass washer 4off
M3 x 12mm bolt 1off
M3 washer 1off
M3 nut 3off
SK-129 heat sink 1off
FK-218 heat sink 2off
TO-220 insulating kits 2off
PCB 1off

Br = Brown, O=Orange, B = Black, R=Red, G = Green and Bl = Blue

Please note the current pictures shown in the instructions were of the MkI PCB but the
essentials remain the same with this MkII PCB. We have added heatsinks for D3/ 4 and
relocated D2 to the same heatsink as the MOSFET and now include insulation kits. The latest
version of the kit uses STPS8H100D throughout having replaced the former D3/ 4 which were
MBR401250. The Vf of the MBR40250 is 0.97V and the STPS8H100D is 0.71V so there
should be less heat generated.

The first two pictures below are taken from EagleCad, the programme in which the PCB was
designed. The first is obviously the circuit diagram while the latter is the PCB.
Assembly Instructions
1. Check all components/ parts as listed above are present, if in doubt, contact us. We
have added an LED to provide a visual indication that the device is operating. Mark
does say that the device is silent in operation but we find that using our standard
Panasonic inductors the device is audible in operation.

2. Mark has drawn peoples attention to the fact that when using this device at 24V the
although the voltage has only doubled the amount of energy being dissipated
quadruples so serious thought should be given to adequate ventilation for the unit if
used at this level. We have added heatsinks to D3/ D4 since the prototype stage,
then moved D2 to the same heatsink as Q1 and, most recently replaced the
MBR40250 we were using as D3/ 4 with the STPS8H100D. All these changes have
been brought about to reduce the resistance in the circuit and, in turn, heat
production.
3. Carefully remove the 555 & TC4426 chips from their DIL sockets do not insert until
after all soldering of both the sockets and immediately adjacent components is
complete. Please note that the 555 should be inserted with the dot (indentation) on
the device nearest to C3 and the TC4426 with the dot on the device nearest to C1.

4. You have a choice as regards output connection. The PCB is currently supplied
with 3.6mm holes. To solder the M4 nuts and bolts to the PCB you will need to drill
out the two 3.6mm holes marked ive and +ive to M4. Then place a bolt through
each hole and secure tightly with a nut. The bolts take a fair bit of heating but the
solder will take eventually. You can solder the nut to the PCB to ensure good
continuity. Be aware to let the bolt and solder cool down afterwards. The remaining
two washers and nut should be used to enclose a M4 eyed ring connector for a
good solid electrical connection.

The alternative is to solder your output leads (we use 10AWG) direct to the PCB
which is preferable but makes changing the leads more difficult.

5. Components can then be inserted in any order; obviously excessive heat should be
avoided. The MOSFET and D2 should be loosely bolted to the heat sink (after first
drilling the PCB to 3.5mm and applying heat sink paste and the insulating washers).
In my opinion MOSFETs are not as sensitive to static as some might have you
believe but should still be treated with respect. Solder the heat sink to the PCB as
well. Tighten the MOSFET/ D2 to the heat sink on completion. Im assuming you are
aware that the band on an electrolytic capacitor indicates the negative! In the case
of C2 the banded side should be closest D1, the band on C6 should point towards
D4 and the band on C7 point towards the heat sink.

6. You need to wire the 560R resistor and SPDT throw switch as shown so that one
way the switch is 100R and then the other way is 560R resistor as shown.
7. If you use the M4 bolt output terminal option I would strongly suggest you solder the
ring terminals to the output cables, do not just crimp. Every poor connection is
losing energy. I would advise using leads of at least 10 or 12AWG for the output.
These may seem OTT but they do seem to make a difference.

There is no point after this just using crocodile clips to connect to the battery. Use
proper battery terminal connectors and a soldered ring terminal and do the
connections up properly.

8. On completion check and double check that the right components are in the right
place, and that there are no solder bridges.

9. Expect to see sparks when connecting this charger to the battery terminals. As ever
we caution that desulphating in any form should be done in a reasonably well
ventilated environment.
The following information is an amalgamation of posts detailing the theory and evolution of
this circuit.

These are all the same parts we are used to using in the basic Alastair Couper designed
circuit. The 555 timer circuit is right out of a kick back design. The TC4426 replaces the PNP
transistor MOSFET driver.
When the MOSFET is off, the two capacitors are charged up to the battery voltage (13V)
through the inductors. When the MOSFET turns on the capacitors are now in series,
generating a high current 24V potential that discharges into the battery. It is a pretty simple
design and generates a lot of current. The desulphating pulse voltage will always be double
the battery voltage minus resistive losses (ESR, on resistance (RDS), etc.) As the battery
voltage rises so will the output of this circuit.

The equation to calculate the peak current (with no losses) is as follows:

Vin X Iin / (Vpeak - Vbat) X DF = peak current

Vin = Input voltage to the circuit (13V)

Iin = Average input current to the circuit (.371A)
Vpeak = Peak voltage seen across the battery (22V)
Vbat = battery voltage (13V)
DF = Duty factor (.000007 X 1700 = .0119)

This means that the calculated peak current with no losses should be 46A.

Another way to calculate peak current is: (Vpeak - Vbat) / battery resistance = peak current. This
formula yields 36A.

Recap of peak current measurements and calculations:

Calculated no loss 46A
Measured Pearson CT 34A
Calculated from voltage and current 36A

Mark tried to do away with inductors all together but he couldnt get the performance without
them. But the good news is that they are not critical.

The inductors do two things in this circuit:-

1. Provide a DC path to charge the capacitors. This is such a long time that there is no
inductance involved, just the coil resistance, which is very low.

2. When the MOSFET turns on, the inductors "get out of the way" of the current flow.

Mark experimented using resistors instead of inductors. 1R/ 2W resistors gave the best
results. This came at the cost of lower output, less efficiency, and slower rise time.

Again the two inductors are not critical. Mark suggested a minimum inductance of 100uH. He
used as low as 10uH but had a little lower output than when he used more inductance. The
difference in output between a 220uH and a 1000uH inductor is about 1V. I use the same
100uH inductors I do in other devices we sell and they offer less resistance than higher value
inductances.

Resistance is not your friend. It makes energy disappear (into heat). The ESR of C6 and C7
will make a huge difference in the output of this circuit. Mark started with 2200uF/ 25V caps.
When the MOSFETs fired the voltage across them instantly dropped like a rock. A clear
effect of ESR. Next were 6800uF/ 25V caps. Better, less drop due to ESR. Finally, 6800uF/
63V caps. Less than a volt drop due to ESR.

Someone, during the evolution of this circuit, found that using large capacitors e.g. 19000uF/
40V capacitors blew the MOSFET, Mark responded as to why he believed the MOSFET blew.
He determined that when you first connect the circuit to the battery the capacitors are
discharged (0V). This causes the MOSFET to see reverse voltage until the capacitors charge
up. Normally the substrate diode would protect the MOSFET but the size of these capacitors
create large charges. To stop this from happening again he put a Schottky diode e.g. 50SQ60
in series with the drain of the MOSFET (cathode towards the drain). This will take the
MOSFET out of the circuit until the caps are charged up. The output voltage will be reduced
by the voltage drop across the diode, but you won't be blowing MOSFETs.

This then is the final circuit diagram;

D1 12V zener diode. In this circuit it is mainly for protection of the driver and 555. Use a
1N4742A 1W diode but a 0.5W will do also.

D3 & 4 - this is a 40V/ 3A (or greater) Schottky diode. Almost any switching type diode will
work. Don't use the standard power supply rectifier like a 1N5404, they are too slow. The
short list of parts numbers is:-
HER302 thur HER308
MBR340 thur MBR360
SR304 thur SR306
1N5822, 1N5824
50WQ10
50SQ060, 080

D2 - You can push this circuit to over 100A peak with really good caps. If you do, you need to
use the 50SQ060 or 50SQ080 for D2. (We use an MBR40250 for D2-D4)

L1 & 2 - 20uH and 2.5A saturation current minimum. Here is where powdered iron cores work
very well. Pulse Engineering, Renco, etc. make a line of "simple switcher" inductors that work
well. Read the early posts in this thread for PE part numbers. The Micrometals -8, -26 and -56
toroid cores that are about 3/4 inch in diameter work well here. Ferrites actually should not be
used here. (Ive spent some time looking up non-ferrite inductors and unless you go quite
large physically the iron or powder iron cored inductors I can find have a very similar RCD to
the ones I use here).

C6 & 7 - The capacitance is not important, the ESR is. The lower the ESR the more output
current you will get. If you can achieve .01ohm ESR for these caps you can get over 100A
peak out of the circuit.

R3 - indicated as 10R in the schematic. Value not critical. You can use 100R if you want. This
resistor is just part of the protection of the 555 and MOSFET driver.

Q1 - an IRF1404 works great. Lowest "ON" resistance wins. The part needs a Vds of at least
30V (40V and above is better). We use an IRFB3307 on a heat sink to allow for use up to
24V.

SIMPLE DESULPHATOR INSTRUCTIONS

DO NOT CONNECT THE DESULPHATOR TO THE BATTERY CHARGER CONNECT

THE DESULPHATOR TO THE BATTERY & THEN CONNECT THE CHARGER. MAKE
SURE THE BATTERY CHARGER IS UNPLUGGED FROM THE MAINS SUPPLY BEFORE
CONNECTING/ DISCONNECTING.

TO PREVENT DAMAGE BY SHORTING OUT OF THE PCB PLEASE ENSURE IT IS USED

IN SOME FORM OF INSULATING CONTAINER (kits & unboxed desulphators only).

1. Is it working? If you sees sparks at connection and you can hear a distinct buzzing
noise then yes it is.

2. Only slightly less important is ensuring that any battery charging activities are carried
out in a reasonably well ventilated environment. This is particularly relevant here as
you will both hear and see sparks generated as you connect this device. This is
perfectly normal, but possibly alarming to the first time user.

3. The battery to be recovered must measure at least 10.5V open circuit (or 21V in the
case of 24V batteries). Any less than this and the cause of the batterys deterioration
may well be more than sulphation and this device is unlikely to function as intended
i.e. recover a sulphated battery.

4. Ensure that the electrolyte levels are adequate prior to starting, these should be
checked regularly whilst the device is in use. It may seem obvious but dont do this
with the desulphator connected, they dont like water. Desulphators work best on
conventional flooded lead acid batteries, they will work on other types but with
varying degrees of success. With maintenance free, SLA, AGM, gel or similar
 batteries we strongly recommend that you find some way of accessing the individual
cells to ensure the electrolyte levels are adequate prior to commencing desulphating
activities.

5. The desulphator should be used in conjunction with a simple trickle battery charger.
The desulphator will consume 300+mA. We would advise caution against using
the desulphator in conjunction with more modern intelligent chargers. Such
intelligent chargers or inverters may shunt away some of the desulphators
output. In such a case we recommend placing a choke in series with one of
the inverters leads to keep the high frequency spikes from travelling further.
This can be a simple toroid with one or two turns of the inverter leads wound
through it or a few ferrite beads applied externally to the leads.

6. The desulphator can be left connected whilst the trickle charger is connected/
disconnected from the battery. I re-iterate, do not leave the desulphator connected
solely to the battery charger.

7. Having said this the device can be used on its own i.e. without a charger until the
battery voltage drops to 10.5V (21V in the case of 24V batteries) i.e. trickle charge
the battery in conjunction with the desulphator until a peak is reached and then
disconnect the charger and let the desulphator pull the battery voltage down.
Depending on the state of the battery this could be several days.

8. If you have a voltmeter the simplest indication of the battery improving will be the
maximum voltage achieved after charging each time. This should rise noticeably
during the first week and then increase more slowly over time. Another indicator is to
carry out simple timed load test i.e. how long it takes to draw the battery down to say
12V. The most reliable method is to use a hydrometer and watch the SG of the
electrolyte rise.

9. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of ensuring the voltage level doesnt drop
below 10.5V (21V for 24V batteries) at any time. It is almost certain irreversible
battery damage will result.

10. Ready built desulphators have been bench tested prior to despatch.

11. We do not recommend permanently installing these devices in working

vehicles. This is mainly to do with keeping a check on battery electrolyte levels.