Would I Have Any Use For This?

[Susan_in_SF]

Hi Guys,
I picked this item up off the Free section of craigslist. The item us an unregulated power supply that is inside a nice steel box.

I primarily was interested in using the box to hold a circuit breaker, vfd, etc.
The person who gave it to me said that the power supply was used to charge fighting robots (I'm in the Bay Area - where nerds reign).

Anyways, here is a website selling the same unregulated power supply

IP500U24

Power Supply, 24VDC, 20A, 500W,

www.galco.com

I was surprised how much this website was asking for it.

I already have a couple of Variacs, and a regulated linear Lambda power supply that I got off ebay for $25

Since I have the regulated power supply, would there be any reason for me to keep the unregulated p.s.?

By the way, here is a webpage with my Lambda regulated p.s. specs :

LAMBDA - LQ530 - Regulated Power Supply, Output 0-10VDC, 14Amp, INPUT 105 - 132V. 47 - 63 Hz.

LAMBDA - LQ530 - Regulated Power Supply, Linear. Output: 0-10V/14Amp. Input Voltage Range: 105-132 VAC, 47 - 63 Hz. Operating Mode: CV/CL. Overall Power Rating: 103VA. Load Regulation: 0.05%. Line Regulation: 0.05%. Operating Temperatures: 0-50 Deg C. Packaging Style: Benchtop. Size: 8.5

www.electronicsurplus.com

If I don't have a use for this, I would gladly give it away to any hobby machinist member to pickup. Since the box weighs 35 lbs, I don't want to ship it anywhere.

I really would appreciate your knowledgable feedback

Susan

 

[pontiac428]

That one would be good for motors or as a drive power supply for a bench top CNC project. It's not huge, but it appears to be a quality unit.

 

[cathead]

It would make a pretty decent battery charger.

 

[whitmore]

I picked this item up off the Free section of craigslist. The item us an unregulated power supply that is inside a nice steel box.

I already have a couple of Variacs, and a regulated linear Lambda power supply that I got off ebay for $25

Oh, yeah, it's a very useful item: it has more current-output capacity than the regulated unit, and if you feed the
input (AC) from one of your variacs, it's an adjustable DC supply just like the regulated one.
For a lot of purposes, adjustable is more important than regulated... and having two is better than
having only one. The writeup suggests that there's multiple secondary windings, so you
can select an output-voltage-range at will. Stepper motors often require high current at some
odd voltages, and this would be ideal for those.

The range of input voltages indicates that the input also has multiple windings, and that usually
means you can use it to step up 120V to 240, or step-down 240V to 120 (just ignore the DC output)
which can be quite useful ( it turns a 120V range variac into a 240V range variac...).

 

[hman]

Just batting around some ideas ... an unregulated DC power supply is useful for things like (car) battery chargers (already mentioned), electrolysis baths for metal cleanup, plating, anodizing, and running DC/stepper motors (already mentioned). Many of these would benefit from being set up for variable output. But if you don't do any of these, you're probably better off selling the unit to somebody who could make use of it.

 

[Bi11Hudson]

The key element in that supply is the transformer, a "linear" supply. Transformers rated for 60 hertz are wonderful devices that have many uses. A battery charger is the least of those, the connections can be juggled around to provide any number of voltages. And with a variac as input, the outputs are limitless, literally.

If you were electrically natured, I could come up with any number of uses. I would like to have something like that, but shipping is a killer. Copper is heavy and the iron core is heavier still. I usually just wind what I need as I need it, using old microwave transformers for the primary. Any electrical hobbyist should jump on it, as long as the asking price is half or less than advertised new.

.

 

[RobertB]

Since the box weighs 35 lbs, I don't want to ship it anywhere.

As you see by all the ideas posted so far there are many good uses for this. The power supply by itself when removed from the steel box you want would fit in a medium flat rate box ($14.35), so if you decide you don't want to keep it shipping would be reasonable.

You are fortunate, the only things in the free section on craigslist in my area are things like couches that someones dog ate.

 

[Susan_in_SF]

As you see by all the ideas posted so far there are many good uses for this. The power supply by itself when removed from the steel box you want would fit in a medium flat rate box ($14.35), so if you decide you don't want to keep it shipping would be reasonable.

You are fortunate, the only things in the free section on craigslist in my area are things like couches that someones dog ate.

Lol!

 

[Susan_in_SF]

Sorry for the delay in responding. Got super sick for awhile.
Thank you everyone for your replies.
I really appreciate your feedback, and can now further google based on your replies