Tec power supply....without breakin the bank.....

ONE · 04-02-2005, 02:24 PM

I want to try to build a linear 1.5 kilowatt supply to power up to 4 350 watt tecs for below -10c chilled water with AC to prevent condensation(Project total control). I have found and bid on many industrial psu's on ebay but most of the sellers will wait until just before the close and bid on thier own auctions to prevent you from getting it too cheap. I refuse to wait any longer (5 to 8 days )for an auction to get down to 1 minute left only to have the seller place a 200 plus dollar bid to prevent you from getting it inexpensively, not to mention your going to pay $50 for shipping because of the weight.
I have since begun to acquire parts to build my own, so far I have 2 X 13 volt 650 watt transformers, 4X 168000 uF caps, 4X 35 amp bridge rectifiers....probably need a few more rectifiers to reach 1.5 kilowatt safely without burning the house down.
Has anyone here built your own or have any advice to offer?

Anonymous · 04-02-2005, 02:38 PM

building your own is a dangerous thing and you may get hurt. Be sure to get components rated for those amps. Hpntct will be able to help you more here than I can. Just be careful

ONE · 04-02-2005, 03:42 PM

I have built a low wattage adjustible linear supply in the past but nothin like this monster......I will be careful.

rhino56 · 04-06-2005, 06:03 AM

will the rails be somewhat adjustable? got any pics of it?
i want to see this thing.

hpntct · 04-06-2005, 06:26 AM

The largest I've ever built is a 100A 12V supply. You don't actually need all those heavy duty components such as the large transformers and huge capacitors you're talking about if you know a bit about pulse width modulation techniques. However, you will need some high current transistors to feed the output but then you can always put a whole bunch in parallel to get the current you need. Another thing you can do if you don't want to build the PS and require that much current is to get yourself a marine battery charger or a car battery charger. Granted you won't be able to adjust the voltage.

ONE · 05-30-2005, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhino56

will the rails be somewhat adjustable? got any pics of it?
i want to see this thing.

Sorry for my absence, but to answer your question yes the rails(4) will be adjustable @ a max of approximately 400 watts per rail 0 to 18 volts adjustment range(these tranformers are center tapped). Another Vicor PFC Micro DC Power Supply (3/5/24/48V 40/40/6/3A) providing a total of 8 rails and the flexibility to power fans, pumps ect. up to 48 volts independently.
I'm trying to power 1.5 kilowatts of tec modules plus pumps and fans ect. if needed.
I have also acquired 4 more 68kuf caps, voltage and current digital displays, 4 more bridge rectifiers, 2 massive radiators accepting 5 or 6 - 120mm fans each, 4 temperature controllers with relays to control tec modules and fans (on hot side radiators if needed), a 25 gallon aluminum tank to use as a resivior for the hot side loop which will be installed in the crawl space or burried outside.

I'm working on a variac to control line voltage, which will give me greater control over DC output voltage. My tec block assemblys are also complete, which will accept 3x 350 watt tec modules and the other a single block to cool the hot side of a 4th 350 watt tec which will cool the mainbooard compartment when I get to that stage in my project.

Oh yeah...I'm feelin some extreme cold comin in the near future.

Three things are holding up progress;
1) The case is my biggest obstacle, I'm still trying to find something large enough that won't look too ghetto.
2) Iwaki Magnet Pump MD-20R-NL -for hot side loop-coming UPS ground.
3) Laing D4 - for the cold loop -wrong pump was shipped.
I think I will begin some benchtop wiring and testing so pics will come soon, before I begin assembly.

rhino56 · 05-30-2005, 04:10 AM

this sounds like a very cool project, cant wait to see the pics

Mark620 · 05-30-2005, 08:39 AM

I want to see the power supply

ONE · 05-30-2005, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark620

I want to see the power supply

I just tried sending a pic from my cell to my email....my digital camers is currently missing....lol.
The last pic I tried sending to my email took about 20 minutes to get there......check back in about a half an hour.

ONE · 05-30-2005, 11:10 AM

Ok here is a few pics of some of the parts;
http://img226.echo.cx/img226/6931/parts68iy.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/img217/1180/parts58ez.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/img217/8528/parts48gm.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/my.php?image=parts15fs.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/img217/6317/parts20fw.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/img217/1361/parts33tn.jpg
http://img217.echo.cx/my.php?image=parts73qj.jpg

04-02-2005, 02:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
ONE Private First Class Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: virginia Posts: 63	Tec power supply....without breakin the bank..... I want to try to build a linear 1.5 kilowatt supply to power up to 4 350 watt tecs for below -10c chilled water with AC to prevent condensation(Project total control). I have found and bid on many industrial psu's on ebay but most of the sellers will wait until just before the close and bid on thier own auctions to prevent you from getting it too cheap. I refuse to wait any longer (5 to 8 days )for an auction to get down to 1 minute left only to have the seller place a 200 plus dollar bid to prevent you from getting it inexpensively, not to mention your going to pay $50 for shipping because of the weight. I have since begun to acquire parts to build my own, so far I have 2 X 13 volt 650 watt transformers, 4X 168000 uF caps, 4X 35 amp bridge rectifiers....probably need a few more rectifiers to reach 1.5 kilowatt safely without burning the house down. Has anyone here built your own or have any advice to offer?

05-30-2005, 08:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
Mark620 Super Moderator Colonel Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: TN Posts: 3,030	I want to see the power supply __________________ On May 20th 2008, a list of the names of over thirty-one thousand scientists (of which 9,000 are Phds), who refute that man made CO2 has caused global warming, was released. My Heatware Yes, I did just crawl out from under a rock ! I am a Caver !

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04-02-2005, 02:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Anonymous First Lieutenant Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,543	building your own is a dangerous thing and you may get hurt. Be sure to get components rated for those amps. Hpntct will be able to help you more here than I can. Just be careful

04-02-2005, 03:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
ONE Private First Class Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: virginia Posts: 63	I have built a low wattage adjustible linear supply in the past but nothin like this monster......I will be careful.

04-06-2005, 06:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
rhino56 Administrator General Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 6,863	will the rails be somewhat adjustable? got any pics of it? i want to see this thing.

04-06-2005, 06:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
hpntct Sergeant Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Vancouver, BC Canada Posts: 383	The largest I've ever built is a 100A 12V supply. You don't actually need all those heavy duty components such as the large transformers and huge capacitors you're talking about if you know a bit about pulse width modulation techniques. However, you will need some high current transistors to feed the output but then you can always put a whole bunch in parallel to get the current you need. Another thing you can do if you don't want to build the PS and require that much current is to get yourself a marine battery charger or a car battery charger. Granted you won't be able to adjust the voltage.

05-30-2005, 04:10 AM	#7 (permalink)
rhino56 Administrator General Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 6,863	this sounds like a very cool project, cant wait to see the pics

05-30-2005, 11:10 AM	#10 (permalink)
ONE Private First Class Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: virginia Posts: 63	Ok here is a few pics of some of the parts; http://img226.echo.cx/img226/6931/parts68iy.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/img217/1180/parts58ez.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/img217/8528/parts48gm.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/my.php?image=parts15fs.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/img217/6317/parts20fw.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/img217/1361/parts33tn.jpg http://img217.echo.cx/my.php?image=parts73qj.jpg