Converting VAC to VDC in no way increases the net deliverable power for a circuit of this type.
I was just wondering if you could increase the apparent voltage by exploiting the peak to peak.
Maybe this is another experiment for me. Put a 12v AC load out there with enough resistance to drop the volts to 8 and then do the rectifier thing. I have a hockey puck sized wire wound pot that is good for this kind of thing.
