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Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 9:42 pm
by Jackson Oswalt
It's been several months since I was admitted to the neutron club and I'm pleased to say I have made a quite a lot of progress since then.
This was the reactor when it did it's first fusion run:
Old Reactor Setup
Old Reactor Setup
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And here it is now:
New Reactor Setup
New Reactor Setup
There are too many changes to count, but I'll expound on a few.

1. Aluminum chassis
I made a chassis out of 1" slotted framing to mount everything to except the roughing pump. It's light enough without the roughing pump that I can carry it on my own. The primary reasoning behind this was to make it portable.
2. Modified chamber
I replaced the long line of reducers at the back of the reactor with a cf2.75 tee in order to get rid of as many if fittings as possible. I managed to find a use for all the left over adapters as well.
3. Vacuum Gauge
I FINALLY got a proper high vacuum gauge. It's a Loadlock pressure transducer and can measure from Atmospheric pressure all the way down to 10e-5 Torr (which my system can easily reach). I picked it up for $40.
4. Control Panel
I added a control panel that monitors voltage, vacuum, and turbo speed. It also has a key switch for the high voltage, a potentiometer for the high voltage, and a switch for the turbo.
5. Pfeiffer Turbo
This is the biggest upgrade. Previously I was using a small air-cooled diffusion pump as my high vacuum pump. It didn't come with a cooling fan and I was never able to properly cool it for more than an hour. Not ideal. So, I lucked up and found a brand new Pfeiffer TMH 071p off of eBay for relatively cheap. It's maglev, 60 l's pumping speed, and came with a drive unit.


Performance:

Because of my chambers small size, I can easily get down to 10e-5 Torr in under 5 minutes. Once the chamber is isolated from the pumps, the pressure rises to about 10-20 microns within about 10 minutes and then levels off. It can sustain a plasma without the pumps on.

More Fusion?

There is only one thing stopping me from doing fusion: the deuterium line. I haven't rebuilt it. This is because I have decided that I'm going to take some time to work on other projects, not just fusion. However, I know that one day I'll be inspired to make a new deuterium line and do more fusion.
Deuterium Star
Deuterium Star
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Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 4:00 am
by Tom McCarthy
Looks great. I like the chassis and panel, nice upgrades.

Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:43 am
by Dennis P Brown
Very professional upgrades and setup; as a safety note: does the metal frames have proper independent grounds - also, did you ohm all equipment to grounds to verify that all have good connections? I, however, like a redundant ground for the main chamber - if that were ever to float, an extreme danger would occur so I like to be certain by installing an independent ground for that.

I don't recall the details, so what "upgrade" does the deuterium line require? A leak control valve?

Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:05 am
by Andrew Robinson
Very nice setup! Those lecture bottle clamps are looking nice ;)

Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Tue May 01, 2018 7:50 am
by Jackson Oswalt
There isn't a professional fusor setup without professional clamps!

There isn't an upgrade necessarily with the deuterium line, but just fabricating a new one and fitting it into my compact setup is an endeavor that I'm not interested in right now. Also, the Chamber and frame are grounded directly in three places and each control panel meter is grounded once.

Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2019 2:25 pm
by Brandon_Cruz
Jackson, do you have any other photos of this set up? It's really something to strive for! I have PM'd you as well.

Thank you for your time.

Re: Reactor Update - 4/22/18

Posted: Sun May 19, 2019 3:19 am
by William Pete
Nice work, Jackson!

This is a really clean build and I can tell you put some serious time into it - I'd personally love some suggestions on which parts you used for the vaccum pump, etc. if you have time

cheers brother,

-William