Project ideas for Old Junk SMPS 5Vdc @360Amps

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Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

 

[kell]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

You could make a jumongous electromagnet...

 

[John O'Flaherty]

You could make a jumongous electromagnet...

That could be an attractive idea.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Interesting, but short of rewinding it to 12 V and making a battery charger
........

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

You could make enough Brown's gas to run a small very high temperature
torch (suitable for welding platinum or other refractory materials),
if it doesn't blow you up in the process (make a *small*
explosion-proof gas generator and install suitable arrestors in the
outlet hose). Might make a good safe supply for a hot-wire (or
hot-band) cutter for styrofoam). Lots of things..


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[martin griffith]

On 15 Oct 2006 03:50:40 -0700, in sci.electronics.design

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

Get 2 more and power up a flux capacitor
or use it as a footwarmer in the winter, under the workbench


martin

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

Electroplating? I don't remember the voltage, but you're in the
right current range for some commercial plating.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[Tim Williams]

Could make a lot of potassium chlorate (or perchlorate with more expensive
electrodes).

Sodium and other electrolytic metals are a little high, they usually run up
to 10V.

Electroplating for sure, generally all sorts of big scale (360A is a pretty
good coulomb flow) electrochemistry.

A small spot welder perhaps (with current limiting resistor!). Compact
(i.e., one turn heating element) resistance heater of some sort.

486SX-33 built from 74Fxx chips.

Etc.

Tim

 

[Nico Coesel]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

I know people use (used?) these sort of supplies to defrost the water
pipes in the winter. I have a couple of such PSUs lying around as
well, but I think I'll just toss them away.

 

[Nico Coesel]

Could make a lot of potassium chlorate (or perchlorate with more expensive
electrodes).

Sodium and other electrolytic metals are a little high, they usually run up
to 10V.

Electroplating for sure, generally all sorts of big scale (360A is a pretty
good coulomb flow) electrochemistry.

A small spot welder perhaps (with current limiting resistor!). Compact
(i.e., one turn heating element) resistance heater of some sort.

486SX-33 built from 74Fxx chips.

You can go to 100MHz if you use ECL chips, but the PSU is probably not
adequate to power such a beast )

 

[Barry Lennox]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

There's been about 2-3 articles in "Silicon Chip" about rewinding them
for 13.6 volts and also for a 400 volt tube PSU.

See http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30705/article.html
and http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_102096/article.html


I have used one as a bench PSU, cheap ($0) and easy.

I know at least one person who has run a couple in series as a
hot-wire foam cutter supply.

Barry Lennox

 

[Homer J Simpson]

I know people use (used?) these sort of supplies to defrost the water
pipes in the winter. I have a couple of such PSUs lying around as
well, but I think I'll just toss them away.

Power a 1 KW ham transmitter?

 

[JoeBloe]

Power a 1 KW ham transmitter?

Seems it would require several downstream conversions to supply such
a device correctly.

 

[Nico Coesel]

There's been about 2-3 articles in "Silicon Chip" about rewinding them
for 13.6 volts and also for a 400 volt tube PSU.

See http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30705/article.html
and http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_102096/article.html

Plans like these can also be found for free with Google.

Still, old computer PSUs like the one the OP has, have extensive fail
safe mechanisms. I doubt there is much room to alter the output
voltage more than a few volts if you don't want to change the entire
low voltage part. Besides, obtaining spare parts can be a problem.
These supplies need a regular change of output caps. If the PSU smells
like cat pee, toss it away.

 

[David L. Jones]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

You could power 40,000 LEDs or so
LED's are FUN!

Dave

 

[martin griffith]

Power a 1 KW ham transmitter?

5V into 50R isn't a KW....


martin

 

[Homer J Simpson]

5V into 50R isn't a KW....

5V * 360A = 1800 VA

 

[JoeBloe]

5V * 360A = 1800 VA

So? One would not use all of the available power if one had one's
head on straight.

 

[Paul E. Schoen]

Any ideas anyone, even silly ones? That's a heap of current ability
complete with usual 1/2" bolts to connect the load. Some have said
they'd do a good job welding but i'm not confident because the minute
it shorted out it'd probably just shutdown...

Just wondering because they're so well constructed and a pity to just
send out to landfill...

Thanks, Pete

Actually, such a supply might be useful as a high current source to
calibrate shunts or test small circuit breakers under DC conditions. If you
can rewire the reference to a series resistor, you might be able to make it
operate in a current regulation mode, which would be ideal for these
purposes. Another possibility is a ground integrity test set, which reads
voltage drop between various parts of a safety grounding system in
substations, although these usually require about 30 Volts. A related item
would be a DLRO, or digital low resistance ohmmeter, which is used to test
contact resistance of bus bar connections, circuit breakers, and switches.
You basically add a digital panel meter wired in ratiometric mode: it reads
voltage on the sample as compared to the current applied.

Paul

 

[Tony Williams]

Actually, such a supply might be useful as a high current source
to calibrate shunts or test small circuit breakers under DC
conditions. If you can rewire the reference to a series
resistor, you might be able to make it operate in a current
regulation mode, which would be ideal for these purposes.
Another possibility is a ground integrity test set, which reads
voltage drop between various parts of a safety grounding system
in substations, although these usually require about 30 Volts. A
related item would be a DLRO, or digital low resistance
ohmmeter, which is used to test contact resistance of bus bar
connections, circuit breakers, and switches. You basically add a
digital panel meter wired in ratiometric mode: it reads voltage
on the sample as compared to the current applied.

Testing high current crimped lugs such as those used,
on high current PREN aircraft cables. The standard
test requires up to about 200Adc through the cable,
and a measurement of the millivolt drop between the
rear edge of the lug and its palm. Testing sample
dummy cables regularly is a required part of the
quality assurance for the crimping machine.