Voltage on battery powered air pumps?

Feb 7, 2013
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#1
This is not actually for a fish tank, rather, I am using the air pump along with an electronic cigarette to make a fire-breathing dragon puppet.

The battery powered air pump I had uses two D-sized batteries, but they are wired in parallel, so the motor is getting 1.5 volts.

My electronic cigarette uses 3.4volts. I know I can run a motor a bit over voltage for short periods, but probably not this much. So, I am looking for an alternative.

Of course, while the batteries needed are listed on the packaging, they don't list the voltage of the motor itself. So, I am going to need help from someone who has looked inside, and noticed how things are connected. Note that if the batteries are wired in parallel, you only need one of the batteries to run. So, that is a good test.

Any recommendations?

Joe Dunfee
 

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
Jan 11, 2013
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East Aurora, NY
#2
..... along with an electronic cigarette to make a fire-breathing dragon puppet.

Hey, leave my Grandmother out of this! (kidding)

I have never seen a small battery operated device that runs the batteries in parallel. Best I can tall, battery operated aquarium air pumps run on two D-cells, which would be ~3VDC total.

Like you say, small DC motors can be run on much more voltage or even on AC. It just depends if you want it to last 5min or 5yrs. I'm no electronics guy, but you could probably safely double the voltage to 6VDC for your fire breathing dragon. Maybe use one of those 6VDC lantern batteries or D-cells given their high capacity.

Joel
 

Feb 7, 2013
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#3
I have never seen a small battery operated device that runs the batteries in parallel. Best I can tall, battery operated aquarium air pumps run on two D-cells, which would be ~3VDC total.
Joel
I have a "Bubble Box" from Marine Metal Products. It definitely connects the batteries in parallel, to make 1.5 volts. Note that it will run with only one D-battery in place. I think the motivation for the 1.5v operation is to run the motor slower, and thus quieter.

I have noticed some other brands online that use two D-size batteries and say there is a high and a low setting. I am guessing that this switches the way the batteries are connected, to switch between 1.5v and 3v operation.

I just tried my "bubble box" with my 3.4 volt battery, and it works, but is unacceptably loud. It is not so much the volume as the pitch. A dragon that is breathing fire, is reasonably expected to make noise (that the puppeteer will actually voice) and the lower grow of the 1.5 volt operation is acceptable. But, the higher pitch at 3.4 volts is not going to work. We have tried masking the sound by rolling the pump in foam before placing it into the puppet, but it does not mask that high-pitched wine enough.

Thanks for the response,
Joe Dunfee
 

Feb 7, 2013
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#5
I know the traditional way of making these battery operated air pumps is for a small motor to have a output shaft that has is bent to a slight crank-shaft shape. This is linked to a diaphragm pump. The nature of a diaphragm pump makes a bit like a drum or speaker cone. So, naturally, you expect noise from it.

The marketing departments are generally a poor source of information, and some have commented that ALL battery operated pumps say they are quiet. But, you should not trust advertisements.

I wonder if there are any alternative designs out there?

Peristaltic pumps are used for fluids in the world of medicine. I wonder if they have power requirements that are too high for battery operation, since they must squeeze the tubing.

Another alternative is some sort of gearing for the motor, so the motor can spin at a higher rate, but the diaphragm moves slower, and therefore quieter. The diaphragm can be made larger to compensate for the reduced speed.

Any know of battery operated air pumps that aren't the diaphragm type?

Joe Dunfee