Jump to content

Making a bench power supply from multiple PC power supplies


Horsem4n

Recommended Posts

I bought a bunch of old *albatross* computers from a guys storage locker that he won in an auction. its all old office computer ###### from 1999 to 2005ish. for the most part, ill sell the boards on everything to people who recover gold and scrap the towers to recoup the investment, but that leaves me with a metric ton of power supplies. really, i have like 12 power supplies ranging from 135 watts to 460 watts.

 

is there a feasible way for me to create an amalgamation of these to have a variable bench power supply that has the juce to power an AEG (60-80A max) and can also power my IMAX B6 charger and other things?

I know i can convert 1 power supply to do this, i know a few ways to do that, plenty of youtube videos. but is there a way to do this in order to increase my amp load capacity to run a gun? 

 

the max amp output of one of the 460w power supplies next to me is 15A off the main 12V rail. 10A for one of the 135W power supplies.

 

what do you think we can do with 12 relatively low wattage power supplies?

 

given they all still work that is. but the boards and components in these computers all look good. just a little dust, no corrosion.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Can't you just use one to charge up a large capacitor/bank of smaller Capacitor? I remember seeing a youtube vid with a bank of capacitors replacing a car battery with good success. If they can start a large engine pickup, finding some capacitors to have a large enough output for your needs. Plus would be able to set up output connectors for different voltages.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Right, but what I'm talking about is building a power supply out of multiple of them. I have 2 of the 460w power supplies with the 15A 12v rails. Is there a way to use both through some kind of regulator to be able to get 30A? And if that's possible, can I hook up even more to get an even higher amp ceiling?

 

Edit: I found this

http://www.procooling.com/index.php?func=articles&disp=52&pg=2

 

And I believe this is what I need. I'll read it more thoroughly later, posting it for posterity.

I'll update the thread when I start building it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There are plenty of guides out there on how to connect two PSUs to run a single PC.

 

I've seen it done on Linus Tech Tips.

 

It's a pain in the *albatross* but it is do-able.  I don't know if the mods you have to do to make the PSU into a power supply are compatible with the mods to bind the two PSUs but if they are free it can't hurt, right?

Link to post
Share on other sites

It can if I burn down my house. But it looks like if I can isolate the ground in all but one supply, and put resistors on the 5v connections, it should run right. But nobody's done this many before.

 

I'm trying to also find out if I can connect all the PSUs to mains through one cable. Since I'll probably be using upwards of 8 PSUs total and don't have that many outlets available. I know I won't be maxing out any of them.

 

There's also the thing about using a voltage and current regulator so I can select voltage and amperage. Don't know if that will throw anything off. Some people don't even talk about isolating ground.

IDK, I still have a lot of research to do.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Got to agree with Lone_Bullet. Just aave tourself a lit of lialibility and don't mess with possibly compromised electronics. Had electric safety course this autumn, and #1 reason gor electric accidents is "someone thinks they know what they are doing".

 

Obvious note - connecting that many PSUs to single outlet would probably trip the fuse if you're lucky.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Lol, maybe. I'm still considering scrapping them.

I wouldnt think the power supplies would trip my breaker, just turning them on doesn't really do much, only the fans and what's drawing power from them are doing the stuff.

 

Ultimately, I'll probably just test them and sell them on eBay. I think only one of them is broken.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.