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Use for 1000's of 9vdc 500ma wall-warts?

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GreySoul

Mon Mar 05 2007, 06:49AM

Registered Member #546 Joined: Fri Feb 23 2007, 11:43PM
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 239

So I have a storage unit full of 9vdc wall-wart style transformers, most are 500ma. I have been wondering what to use them for, and havent settled on anything yet.

They're well made, full wave rectified and filtered with a 25v 470uF cap.

I came up with a couple ideas and a few ideas have been tossed about among friends... then I saw the 100 9v battery thread and it got me to thinking about it again.

What could I do with 9000vdc at 2-3 amps? (I have thousands of these things) Is that something that could power a linac?

I dunno.... just saw that batrtery thread and I had to throw this out to you guys :)

-Doug

Download

Mon Mar 05 2007, 06:54AM

Registered Member #561 Joined: Sat Mar 03 2007, 02:46AM
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 230

wallwart powered jacobs ladder?

wallwart powered tesla coil?

mod edit: wallwart powered double post! please re-read board rules!

Dr. Slack

Mon Mar 05 2007, 08:12AM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

Given the decreasing electrical efficiency of transformers as the size goes down, the best thing you can do with 1000s of wall-warts is to use something else if you want the power. You can't get 9000v DC out of them, the transformer insulation won't take the stacking (you can stack batteries)

you could try

a) epoxying them into a sculpture
b) selling them on eBay
c) using them as ballast for a driveway
d) give them away at your local mall

in fact anything instead of drive a 4.5kW DC load from them

Download

Mon Mar 05 2007, 08:52AM

Registered Member #561 Joined: Sat Mar 03 2007, 02:46AM
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 230

i think overload them so they melt

Steve Conner

Mon Mar 05 2007, 10:23AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Connect them all in parallel to get 9V @ 500A, make a wall-wart powered barbecue, and try to get yourself Digg'd with it.

Myke

Mon Mar 05 2007, 01:49PM

Registered Member #540 Joined: Mon Feb 19 2007, 07:49PM
Location: MIT
Posts: 969

I think there would be internal arcing if too many walwarts were rub on the same circuit because the differance between the first and the last would be ~9kv. I don't think those transformers were ment to see ~9kv on their insulation. Anyway... it would be really cool to have a wallwart powered RSGTC but I think you might have problems with quenching.

ShawnLG

Mon Mar 05 2007, 01:59PM

Registered Member #286 Joined: Mon Mar 06 2006, 04:52AM
Location:
Posts: 399

Why did you buy 1000's of 9vdc 500ma wall-warts?

GreySoul

Mon Mar 05 2007, 03:23PM

Registered Member #546 Joined: Fri Feb 23 2007, 11:43PM
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 239

I didn't buy them, per se. I bought the entire storage unit.

it's full of cheap chinese video games. DDR knock offs, a combat game with a gun, boxing, soccar, ping-pong, etc.

Little modules you plug into a TV - the games are built into the controllers....

anyways in addition to that I have thousands of 9v wall warts, among boxes of other misc stuff.

I have boxes of little modules that I _THINK_ are voice modules from a talking dall type toy.

boxes of ceramic heating elements

boxes of shampoo

boxes of boxes of boxes.

If anyone needs a 9v wallwart to replace a 9v batter opperated device lemme know - all ya gotta do is pay shipping.

-Doug

Conundrum

Mon Mar 05 2007, 03:38PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Hey.. I had an idea. Strip out the capacitors and rectifiers, those are useful. Then, sell the transformers on Ebay, centre tapped 9V transformers are very useful for repairing small appliances.

Also, the talking modules sound useful if they can be adapted to change their output. I have modified the "talkie cards" to fit in 1 square inch of space using a Dremel and some rewiring.

Another idea I had:- make a "degaussing plate" using say 16 of the transformers with the I pieces taken out and the T pieces flipped round so they point in the same direction.

-A

Dr. Dark Current

Mon Mar 05 2007, 03:53PM

Registered Member #152 Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 03:36PM
Location: Czech Rep.
Posts: 3384

Open one up, and see if the transformer is the "potted" type, since these can easily sustain 5kv potential difference between pri and sec (for total 10kv with grounded center). You can make a MMT (Multi Mini Transformer) array to drive a monster jacobs ladder or a big Tesla coil

A bit more realistic idea would be to run the transformers in "reverse" - series their low-voltage secondaries until they stack up to the mains voltage, you can use a few parallel "strings", then series the primaries (or again- make a series-parallel connection). This would make a nice and cool power supply for a low-powered Tesla coil

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