How to Make An Easy Van de Graaff Generator - DIY Extra

Want to make your hair stand on end? Make a Van De Graaff generator! Michael has a quick rundown of his generator build and how you can make one yourself.

[enoh]

two things that might improve things for you. The first is using either a clear, lucite (plexiglas) tube or a white (rather than black) pipe. The black PVC typically uses carbon as a colorant: this makes it somewhat conductive. The other is to use a bottom charge sprayer. By adding a source of energy at the bottom roller, you can actually increase your surface charge at the top. Finally, some of your readers might be having problems keeping the nylon belt centered on the bottom roller. The point that might be missed here is that the lower nylon roller must be convex which makes that roller self-centering. If it isn't convex, it will be difficult to keep the belt centered.

Great job. I hadn't thought of using a smaller bowl to act as a coupler to the larger, intact sphere. Very clever!

Thanks for sharing this.
Doug

[telephony]

Totally frickin awesome in its simplicity, low parts cost, and super-duper high voltage output!!! :-)

[xxxxx]

I want to build one! You guys should do a separate build video like your normal build videos. I am still a little fuzzy on how the bottom roller and ground work. 

[michael]

Now my kids are wanting me to make one. I think all the neighborhood kids are going to come test it out. Great project.

[antonmoric]

Wow - really awesome! Best/easiest/cheapest DIY van de Graff generator ever! Looking forward to building this - thanks.

[paulandrulis]

Common mistake. The nylon pantyhose (+30 on the triboelectric scale) and PVC (-100) top roller are a good combo. Just don't make the common mistake of calling it FRICTIONAL electricity. (Antique term that really is not all that accurate.) It is more technically called pressure or contact electricity. Put some bearings on that PVC roller to keep from wearing out belts unnecessarily, as the pressure of the belt is sufficient. If you want to increase the output dramatically, wrap the PVC roller in Teflon (-190) pipe thread tape. Another tweak would be to get rid of the pantyhose grip on the bottom roller and coat it with expanding Polyurethane (+60) foam. Doing so will give you a double whammy on your belt charge efficiency while providing a good grip. The bottom brush is just to equalize belt charge since the top brush stripped free electrons from the system.

[Danya-igub]

You so really steep! All people on youtube show us complex designs with belts and different rollers, but you give chance all people make this machine! Thank you w_w(sorry for my English, because im teenager from Belarus)

[alexanderpoltzer]

great job. i followed your instructions and made one just like yours and it makes 1 foot long sparks! thank you for making this video

[bazejponiatowski]

i love you man, i hope they still have these bowls

[shanajackson]

Great video and instructions, I will try to build this with my son.

[davidporowski]

Awesome, Thanks for your time & talent.

[notny]

I made one of these using your design. I have an 11" globe formed by using two IKEA bowls. I am getting arcs of 15.75". According to my calculations that is over 1, 200, 000 volts. This thing is awesome! Thanks for posting! I will be getting the 14" bowls from IKEA and seeing if I can get a little more distance on the arcs. ;)

[shadfurman]

Nice! Just put this on my projects list.

[davemarm]

You mention grounding by using the strip at the bottom of the base. Would using the ground wire from the incoming power plug work as well?

[thomasdembowski]

Yes, I am building this contraption. I have the two Ikea bowls. I also purchased a smaller bowl to use as a base for the two Ikea bowls. Just seemed like a better way to dismantle it for storage. finding a bed roller was not easy. (I dislike making online purchase) But found one at Ace Hardware. The De-soldering braid was not easy to find as well. For a motor, I am using a power drill. (I do not have any motors on hand.) I did glue a single layer of panty hose to the bed roller. I now just need to install the pantyhose belt and then it will be time for a test run.

[cecofff]

Hi. Tnx for the nice video. What is the charge of the ikea dome with this setup: positive or negative ? What materials to use to get a positive dome ?

[JuneBugJoe]

can this be flipped upside down to pick up small sand sized particles on the belt to collect in the bowl?

[OroojAzmi]

May I know what material you have used at the bottom of your cutting board and where exactly should i place it?

[Jotaj]

Thank you for sharing this. I'll make one using a motor from a fan.

[basketballmiller]

What are the dimensions for the nylon castor bed and ABS pipe used in the video?