Anyone need power advice? I can help.

whaleboy · Post by **whaleboy** » Tue May 18, 2010 2:19 pm

If anyone's trying to figure out how to do power distribution from the medium to the huge scale, maybe I can help. I'm a film lighting electrician and I know that stuff cold.

CapSmashy · Post by **CapSmashy** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:15 am

NOOO! Don;t listen to him! G&E guys are crazy!

I do f/x, pyro and weapons down here in the Dallas area.

whaleboy · Post by **whaleboy** » Wed May 19, 2010 3:54 am

I can also breathe underwater and I have x-ray spex.

I can sell you some cheap. They only work at Burning Man though.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed May 19, 2010 7:42 am

whaleboy wrote:I can also breathe underwater and I have x-ray spex.

I can sell you some cheap. They only work at Burning Man though.

can you balance a beer on your head?

whaleboy · Post by **whaleboy** » Wed May 19, 2010 4:45 pm

I'd rather practice with your beer than with mine.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Wed May 19, 2010 4:47 pm

ahhh........well.........hands straight line to Simon

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed May 19, 2010 4:55 pm

Do you need X-ray specs at Burning Man? I always leave mine at home.

whaleboy · Post by **whaleboy** » Wed May 19, 2010 5:25 pm

What, you didn't notice all the naked women wandering around? I always do, and I know it's on account of my X-Ray Specs.

Doctor Pancakes · Post by **Doctor Pancakes** » Mon May 24, 2010 1:44 am

As a matter of fact, I *could* use some tips ...

I want to build a illuminated garden, and I want everything to run off of a 12v battery (solar charged) ... but I haven't figured out how to distribute its power to my various lights & gizmos. I was thinking some kind of bus ... but what? And was thinking maybe molex connectors for my connections. Suggestions?

Thanks ...

Dr. P

chris2010 · Post by **chris2010** » Mon May 24, 2010 6:24 am

YES, I am looking for Super Powers so I can take over the world!!

Any Ideas???

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Mon May 24, 2010 6:56 am

southcoaster · Post by **southcoaster** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 9:11 am

hey dude, it's not really medium or huge scale stuff but i want to know the most economical way i can go about running a refridgerator for the week. my camp (bacon without borders) cooks a large amount of bacon each year and in addition to the meat (which usually is ok in a cooler) we have lots of fresh ingredients for use on the bar that DONT handle the cooler too well (stuff like veggies, mint and other herbs, eggs, etc).

anyways i'm looking into running a fridge while on the playa this year. is this a retarded, wasteful endeavor? will you give me advice anyway?

we will have generators and RVs with power (but running one 24/7 for the event doesnt seem very efficient to me). any info appreciated.

whaleboy · Post by **whaleboy** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:50 am

Hmmmmm....
@southcoaster:
Ok from what I know, fridges pull a fair amount of power. I think for a mini fridge something like 150-200w, for a fullsize fridge something like 400-500w. That's a lot for pulling off a battery. A lot. So if you have to run that all the time, your best bet might be either running your RV generator all the time (not too much fun), getting a propane powered refrigerator(more efficient in this instance), or going a whole different route, like dry ice(which might over-chill your stuff). So your options aren't much good. Are you in a big theme camp, or at least near one, so you can possibly get 24/7 power off of their generator, or else off the BRC grid? Running a fridge full time is a relatively serious power draw, and it'll take some doing. More than a small solar panel and battery want to supply easily

@pancake guy:

Connectors- How about little crimp-on spade connectors? Also, if you're using #18 lamp cord, you could use regular quick-on connectors that are clearly labeled as being 12v only. Those methods wold both be easy and cheap. And if you're using quick-ons, you could also just use a clearly-labeled power strip or cube taps to split it up.

Molex connectors- never used those, but they seem like they could be a good bet, especially if you're used to dealing with them.

you should figure out your total load that any of the conductors will be carrying so you don't overamp anything. remember West VirginiA - Watts= VoltsxAmps. Flip it around so you figure out your amperage. Amps =Watts/Volts. #18 gauge wire can handle about 8 amps. So that means you can handle up to 96 watts on that run, which is way way way more than you'll be able to come up with with a few LEDS, but if you have a bunch of other stuff, pay attention.

rodiponer · Post by **rodiponer** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:03 pm

Is there any source of 220 volts with, say, 15 amps to spare, in the city? What kind of plug would there be?

I am half tempted to bring my TIG welder, in case something horrible goes wrong with my mutant vehicle/machine. Though I am also thinking I would just say F--- it and wander around the city on foot. But it might be nice to have the option to freak out and try to fix it.

Post by **mdmf007** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:12 pm

rodiponer wrote:Is there any source of 220 volts with, say, 15 amps to spare, in the city? What kind of plug would there be?

I am half tempted to bring my TIG welder, in case something horrible goes wrong with my mutant vehicle/machine. Though I am also thinking I would just say F--- it and wander around the city on foot. But it might be nice to have the option to freak out and try to fix it.

Most generators i have in stock will put out 220 volts.

rodiponer · Post by **rodiponer** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:31 pm

mdmf007 wrote:Most generators i have in stock will put out 220 volts.

These are the big diesel trailer generators, right? I'll figure out what kind of 220 volt plug they usually have and make an adapter, just in case...

Dustdevil · Post by **Dustdevil** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:47 am

Your big gennys, Whisperwatts etc, will have single phase 50A twist lock service recepticles. Usually three of them. Most of the camps will use these to power spider boxes and then string cable hither and yon. If the camp is running three phase, these will be dead. If you get in a bind for a power source for your welder, bring it to Brain Freeze Camp. We will most likely have the adapters to help you out. We will have a three phase system with sub panels that step down to single phase at various points in our camp. Besides having 30A and 50A RV outlets, we have adapters for almost everything else. We will most likely be in the area of 4:30 and A street.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:15 am

rodiponer...

If you can port your TIG out here and keep it covered well unless needed, I'd say bring it. I hope you don't have to do any repairs, but it could actually be fun to dive in and fix something if it did break. At least more than it would be to have it break without it. Frantic fix-it projects can be enjoyable, but I must confess more so when they are a success.

BRC Welding and Repair is always an option too, though. motskyroonmatick is behind that camp's efforts and I believe the plan is to be there again in 2010.

Cassidy · Post by **Cassidy** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:04 pm

First, thanks for offering your help on here!

My question: I'd like to add a solar panel to a new (used, 4yr old) electric scooter I just got (Mongoose 300). It turns out the old battery it has now only works about half as good as it should, so I want to get another two batteries (1 for backup) that will last longer than the original ever did, and drag along a panel so I can recharge on the playa, at will. Really I just want it to go the distance but a little more power would be good too, in case we actually get around to attaching a cart to it. I've seen many different types of panels and batteries, but have no idea which combo would be best for this purpose. Any suggestions?

P.S. Yes, I did look on a couple of scooter websites but it seems their discussion groups were tweens that would rather bicker than provide any real help.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:57 pm

The control on my electric trike is well vented. Do I need to protect the circuits inside, and could I just spray them with plastidip to seal and protect them?

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:25 am

@Cassidy.

The M300 is a 24v scooter that has 2 x 12v 10 Ah batteries installed for normal operation.

Charger is 24v 2A. Charge time is typically 6 hours.

You would need four total batteries to have a spare set.

24v @ 2A is 48W. This would be the power needed from the solar pannel to charge in 6 hours.

Easiest is to get two 30w solar pannels and charge each spare seperately for 6 hours, then swap batteries.

To charge the scooter directly you would need a charge controller for the solar pannels.

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:14 pm

FIGJAM wrote:The control on my electric trike is well vented. Do I need to protect the circuits inside, and could I just spray them with plastidip to seal and protect them?

If it has vent, it usually need to "breathe". I would say build yourself a small box to put it in with vents that are filtered if you can. Or if it's built into the trike, tack some light cloth over the vents to keep the dust down and then blow it out really well once you're back home.

Coating the board and anything with cooling fins (like power transitors) in plastic could cause them to overheat.

-Badger

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:53 pm

If you turn an electric motor manualy does it produce power at the connectors?

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 2:59 pm

FIGJAM wrote:If you turn an electric motor manualy does it produce power at the connectors?

Yes, IF it's a perm magnet motor. Looking to build a wind turbine are we?

-Badger

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:02 pm

Yea and I dont have a clue, but that never stopped me before. Im thinking a low rpm 12volt motor attached to a squirrel cage mounted verticaly. It wouldnt have to be on a mast and might power my cooler and charge deep cycles.

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:10 pm

There is quite a bit of info to be found via Google or Instructables. If you can get your hands on a motor from a treadmill, they're pretty good.
They have Perm magent DC motors in them like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PM-DC-MOTOR-wind-ge ... 335e465636

It should put out DC. If it's putting out AC, you just run it through a "Bridge Rectifier" and convert to DC. Then just hook that up to a charge controler and then to your batteries and bob's your uncle!

-Badger

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:18 pm

Thanks......if it puts out dc, do I need some kind of regulator because of wind speed veriation? I realy am flying blind on this one.

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:22 pm

You'll need a charge controller. One made for wind would be best, but you can get away with cheaper ones if your amperage output isn't too crazy. The ones for solar work.

-Badger

capjbadger · Post by **capjbadger** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:34 pm

Something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/WIND-POWER-CHARGE-C ... 4a9fbb49c2

Lot of good info on the page too. You really want one that will switch to another load once the batteries are full. If the wind turbine is just "disconnected" and allowed to freespin, it will destroy itself.

-Badger

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Jun 22, 2010 3:41 pm

Ill put a break on it and bring my volt meter, but it looks like this may be easier than I thought.....thanks twice. The cage is the last thing to go on the coolers cause the hard water eats the rest of the unit first. Ill find them for free and as far as treadmills, all over cl for free.

Anyone need power advice? I can help.

Anyone need power advice? I can help.

Back to the subject (power distribution)

220 volts for a welder?

Re: 220 volts for a welder?

Re: 220 volts for a welder?

Electric scooter!!