Simple and cheap way to protect your super caps (video #139 )
In video #133 we used super capacitors to safely shutdown the Rapberry Pi. In the comments, viewers asked about over voltage protection of the super caps. I will show you a big and small and cheap possibility. And I will show you one concept which does not really work.
But why do we have to protect Super Capacitors? And how can we protect them? Most Super capacitors are only specified up to 2.7 volt. If we need higher voltages, we have to connect a few of them in series. To give the Raspberry a save shutdown I used two caps because it runs on 5 volt USB.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsTAyD2i3rc
If we charge the capacitors, the same current I flows through each of the caps. If one cap has a smaller capacitance, it charges faster and its voltage can go above the maximum 2.7 volts. To prevent this, we can connect a resistor and a switch in parallel to the capacitors. If the switch is closed, part of the current flows through the resistor and the voltage stays below the 2.7 volts.
We also can replace the resistor and the switch by a 2.4 volts Zener diode
This is a solution for small currents. A better and cheaper solution is to replace the Zener diode with a TL431. This part behaves like a Zener diode with a variable Zener voltage. So, the final diagram looks like that:
A TL431 can handle up to 150 mA
The formula for the TL431 is: V=(1+R1/R2) x 2.5
And for the resistors: (R4=R2 and R3=R1): R2=0.08 x R1
If you want to use bug capacitors (>>10 F) you can buy ready made protectors:
It also uses a TL431, but it adds a small PNP transistor and a big NPN transistor (8A) to handle bigger currents (the SMD resistors handle max. 1.5A).
This diagram in the video was not correct (Q1)
31. May 2017 @ 5:34
Great video thanks so much. I have a couple questions. At 10:00 can I assume you doubled the capacity of the bottom capacitor (as per your diagrams)? And that you only had one protection circuit on the top capacitor?
Because the zener is not providing enough current to the bottom large capacitor, too much is still going to the top one. That results in the top (smaller) cap having an over voltage. Is that correct?
23. June 2017 @ 10:16
1. Yes
2. The zener has no clear cutoff voltage. Therefore, it allows voltages above the 2.7 volt (because its resistance is too high).
9. October 2017 @ 23:55
Hello. Thank your for making excellent videos. I think your schematic for the board might still have an error. It seems like it makes sense for R3 to be in series between the cathode on the TL431 and the base of the PNP transistor (Q1). That limits the current through the TL431, which then limits the current through Q1. Otherwise, it is possible for Q1 to see more current than the load resistors (R4-R6)
10. October 2017 @ 0:39
Hmmm. When I wrote the comment above, I was playing with a simulation where I replaced the TL431 with a simple switch I could open and close to see the behavior, but the real circuit doesn’t work if it is modified like I described. It seems like the cathode must be tied to V+ with a resistor.