Regulate 400amp 12 - 16 vdc power supply

[Crambone]

I am looking for simple ideas on how to construct a variable for an existing 400 amp 16vdc fixed power supply. I would like ability to adjust from 12 -16 vdc while maintaining 400amps. I’m just sure what would be required? I see some 24vdc 400amp motor controls for golf cart but not sure if that’s an option?

Drew

[coromonadalix]

no   because theses motor controller often use PWM signal  to control motor, unless you filter out this pwm signal  and stabilize it ??

or simply try to find Sorensen Xantrex TDK Lambda  psu    you need 230vac  or 3 phased outlet ?


but you do realize   400amp at 12-16 vdc  is 4-6.5 kilowatt ??  you need an one of a hell "pass transistor" / "mosfet"  IGBT   something  loll

[edpalmer42]

but you do realize   400amp at 12-16 vdc  is 4-6.5 kilowatt ??  you need an one of a hell "pass transistor" / "mosfet"  IGBT   something  loll

Don't forget the equally impressive heatsink that will be needed to dissipate the 4V @ 400A = 1600W of power!

[langwadt]

which powersupply?

[coromonadalix]

Xantrex  6 kw series

XDC 6000 Watt and 12000 Watt Series
Digital Programmable DC Power Supply

1st digit is voltage, second digits are amps
XDC 10-1200   = 10 vdc at 1200 amps
XDC 20-600
XDC 30-400
XDC 40-300
XDC 60-200

XDC 10-600
XDC 20-300


but you have other series  on different makers ...  theses are the most efficient and small  as you can get, they are smps based / phase controlled  etc ...   not linear


forget about building a simple psu ...  unless you try to gobble a car battery charger into a power supply,  some of them had variable core on the xformer,  but they are very crude supply with low stability,  the car battery act as the capacitor,  and they are not meant to run continuously,  they heat a lot and will bust

and normally they are 12-14vdc  devices and for sure you can't adjust the voltage down to nothing

[johansen]

I am looking for simple ideas on how to construct a variable for an existing 400 amp 16vdc fixed power supply. I would like ability to adjust from 12 -16 vdc while maintaining 400amps. I’m just sure what would be required? I see some 24vdc 400amp motor controls for golf cart but not sure if that’s an option?

Drew

There is a good chance you can simply find the output voltage sense location and its internal reference, and tweak it.

No guarantee it will be stable.

I have a bc-45 power supply which is a simple 45 amp 13.8v power supply/battery charger, i could easily parallel 10 of them and get your 12 to 16v 400 amp requirement. Its a simple forward converter. I've already repaired one of them when it blew up. The schematic is practically straight out of the uc3844 (iirc) datasheet.

[coromonadalix]

if they dont support load balancing   its a no go,  the most fragiles of them may blow, since the current will not be shared evenly


you should use  server psu  who have load balancing / sharing and normally they talk with each other

[fourtytwo42]

I am looking for simple ideas on how to construct a variable for an existing 400 amp 16vdc fixed power supply. I would like ability to adjust from 12 -16 vdc while maintaining 400amps. I’m just sure what would be required? I see some 24vdc 400amp motor controls for golf cart but not sure if that’s an option?

Drew

You have not mentioned what this psu consists of but if it's just a dumb brick, 50/60Hz transformer, rectifier & filter you could control the INPUT instead of the output 

[johansen]

if they dont support load balancing   its a no go,  the most fragiles of them may blow, since the current will not be shared evenly


you should use  server psu  who have load balancing / sharing and normally they talk with each other

Do you know how forward converters work when controlled by a peak current mode topology?

Its a battery charger. They dont blow up when you connect them to a dead battery.

They can be paralleled indefinitely within reason.

[coromonadalix]

do it  loll   you may get some functionality      ok if it works for you

but if it is not specified, the weakest ones in parallel may suffer more ...   

i blew   some 1kw server psu  with a mere 6 amps,  they did not balance properly, and i found some with load balancing, never got any problems  ...


mileage may vary,    good luck