Back in August 2018, I presented a DC electronic load on my YouTube channel (V.2). For that, I used an old 2N3055 transistor in a Darlington configuration with 2 more transistors to be able to get enough gain to use it.
Although declared useful for 100W, I was never able to make it work at those powers due to the limited dissipation capabilities of the power transistor and the heat sink. The max power dissipation I could have from that device was about 20W.
Today, at the anniversary of that presentation, I have created a new version of of the DC electronic load. This new version is based on a MOSFET that can work alone as a load, adjusting the current only through an appropriate voltage on its gate, avoiding the need of having a Darlington circuit with multiple transistors.
The schematic of this new version of the DC electronic load is based on a single MOSFET capable of driving the necessary current, up to 5A and a voltage divider connected to the battery, providing the appropriate voltage to the gate of the MOSFET.
In order to make it work correctly, the trim-pot RV1 needs to be tuned to obtain a voltage of 1.5V on pin 3 of the potentiometer that regulates the amount of current flowing through the MOSFET, which provides a better use of the multi-turn potentiometer that regulates the actual value of the current.
A combination of digital voltmeter and am-meter, like in the previous version of the DC load, takes care of providing information about the power supply under test.
The device is powered through a 9V battery and it is connected in such a way that the voltage is measured through the yellow wire of the digital voltmeter, wile the current is measured putting the am-meter in series with the MOSFET, with the thick red wire on the source, and the thick black wire toward the negative connector, through a 5A fuse that is used, mostly, to protect the am-meter itself against currents too high of those it can handle.
I made a new case for this new version of the DC load. The main difference is the location of the heat-sink, which is now located on the back panel rather than the top of the device. The new heat-sink is also attached to the back panel through 4 separators, which allow for a better air flow and cooling of the unit when it is used for long period of times.
Here is an OpenSCAD view of the box and the corresponding code to create it.
$fa=0.5;
$fs=0.5;
//main section
rotate([180, 0, 0]) translate([0, 10, -2])
{
// front panel
difference()
{
cube([150, 80, 2]);
translate([27.5, 40, -1]) cube([45.8, 27.7, 4]);
translate([52, 20, -1]) cylinder(d=6.2, h=4);
translate([120, 60 , -1]) cylinder(d=9, h=4);
translate([108, 20 , -1]) cylinder(d=9, h=4);
translate([132, 20 , -1]) cylinder(d=9, h=4);
translate([3,3,0.5]) linear_extrude(height=2) text(“eleneasy.com – DC load – 25W max.”, size = 6);
translate([36,18,0.5]) linear_extrude(height=2) text(“off”, size=5);
translate([61,18,0.5]) linear_extrude(height=2) text(“on”, size=5);
translate([109,44,0.5]) linear_extrude(height=2) text(“current”, size=5);
}
translate([102.25, 15, 0]) cube([2, 10, 2]);
translate([126.25, 15, 0]) cube([2, 10, 2]);
translate([111.75, 15, 0]) cube([2, 10, 2]);
translate([135.75, 15, 0]) cube([2, 10, 2]);
translate([12, 20, -36]) cube([27, 2, 35]);
translate([39, 4, -36]) cube([2, 18, 35]);
// left panel
translate([0, 0, -60]) cube([2, 80, 60]);
// right panel
translate([148, 0, -60]) cube([2, 80, 60]);
// bottom panel
translate([0, 0, -60]) cube([150, 2, 60]);
// top panel
translate([0, 78, -60])
{
cube([150, 2, 60]);
}
// screws supports
translate([2, 2, -58]) difference()
{
cube([10, 10, 58]);
translate([5, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=2, h=16);
}
translate([138, 2, -58]) difference()
{
cube([10, 10, 58]);
translate([5, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=2, h=16);
}
translate([2, 68, -58]) difference()
{
cube([10, 10, 58]);
translate([5, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=2, h=16);
}
translate([138, 68, -58]) difference()
{
cube([10, 10, 58]);
translate([5, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=2, h=16);
}
}
// back cover
translate([0, 10, 0]) difference()
{
cube([146, 76, 2]);
translate([5, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([5, 71, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([141, 5, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([141, 71, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([73, 38, -1]) cylinder(d=40, h=4);
translate([126, 60, -1]) cylinder(d=12.5, h=4);
translate([130.5,51,0.5]) rotate([0, 0, 180]) linear_extrude(height=2) text(“5A”, size=5);
translate([(146-55)/2, (76-50)/2, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([146-(146-55)/2, (76-50)/2, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([146-(146-55)/2, 76-(76-50)/2, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
translate([(146-55)/2, 76-(76-50)/2, -1]) cylinder(d=4, h=4);
}
Assembling the circuit is pretty straightforward, and it is done partially in the air and partially on a perforated board.
We just need to make sure we provide the cables with the right thickness for the current we need to support.
In my case, I used stranded cables with an 18 gauge. These cables are necessary between the thick am-meter cables, the MOSFET source and drain, and the external connectors.
Every other connection can be made with 22 gauge cables.
And finally, the heat-sink should have a resistance of 0.82 Centigrade degrees per watt or less, to prevent the MOSFET from becoming too hot. Note that this will not save the MOSFET in case you draw a current too high. The product between the current and the voltage as provided by the measurements display must never exceed 25W, and the current should never exceed 5A, or the MOSFET will burn.
The tuning is done by measuring the voltage between the terminal 3 of the potentiometer and the ground, with the circuit on, but not connected to any external power supply. The trim-pot has to be adjusted such that the measured voltage equals 1.5V, which is just below the minimum voltage necessary to make the MOSFET conduct current. This way, when turning on the apparatus with the potentiometer all the way to the counter-clockwise position, there will be no current. Then, moving the potentiometer in the clockwise direction, current will start flowing.
Testing of the unit is done attaching it to a power supply that provides different test voltages while we adjust the current with the multi-turn potentiometer on the DC load unit. Just make sure not to exceed 25W of power at any given time. Doing so could damage the MOSFET itself.
I plan to use this DC load in all my future projects that require a power supply of 25W or less, to test the power supply itself. Besides checking that the power supply works fine, you could also check that the ripple of the output voltage does not exceeds your requirements. That can be done connecting the power supply output to an oscilloscope while the DC load draws the current.
And finally, here are a couple of picture of the finished device.
Happy experiments!
A classic method for doing so is to use a rheostat, which is essentially a potentiometer capable of dissipating the amount of power produced by the power supply. The resistance of the rheostat can be changed and therefore different amount of currents can be used to test the power supply. However, rheostats are big, heavy and cumbersome.
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