# Electrolysis power supply - A new piece of old tech



## goldandsilver123 (Jan 11, 2018)

The company that we are working together needed a rectifier, they wanted in the old style, old habit I think...

This type of rectifier comes from an age before the transistor, when few grams of silicon weren't available so that meant kgs of iron!

This three phase beast weights around 50 kg with only 100 A of current. Voltage is variable through the variac.



The design is very simple, a 3-phase variac feeds a 3-phase 12 V transformer that gets rectified with 6 diodes.







The ripple is about 1,8V at 18 A and 10 V, without any type of filter, no capacitor or inductor.



I don't know why one would build this, but if someone wants I will post the schematic.


----------



## Lou (Jan 11, 2018)

You are always doing something cool!!


----------



## goldandsilver123 (Jan 11, 2018)

Lou said:


> You are always doing something cool!!


----------



## kernels (Jan 11, 2018)

I like how the rear 'finger chopper' has no protection, couldn't get away with that around here! 

Also, this is using Silicon (diode rectification), if you wanted to go old-school, you should have used tubes or some sort of mechanical rectification!


----------



## glorycloud (Jan 11, 2018)

kernels said:


> I like how the rear 'finger chopper' has no protection, couldn't get away with that around here!



Finger chopper. :lol: :lol: 

I believe kernels is referring to an "unprotected" fan. 8)


----------



## g_axelsson (Jan 11, 2018)

kernels said:


> I like how the rear 'finger chopper' has no protection, couldn't get away with that around here!
> 
> Also, this is using Silicon (diode rectification), if you wanted to go old-school, you should have used tubes or some sort of mechanical rectification!


For keeping it old style you could also use a selenium rectifier. Smells good when they go up in smoke.  

I got a deal (got it for free) on a old style rectifier last spring. It was just possible for me to load it into the car before I started to look at it... then it was too late to unload it. It was rated at 300W maximum, just a third of what my ordinary bench top lab supply can deliver. It's a beautiful piece of old technology with selenium rectifiers if I remember correctly, but it's just sitting in a corner of the storage. I haven't had the hart to scrap it yet.

Göran


----------



## FrugalRefiner (Jan 11, 2018)

g_axelsson said:


> Smells good when they go up in smoke.


I've been told you're supposed to keep the factory installed smoke inside the components because they don't work as well without it. :lol: 

Dave


----------



## anachronism (Jan 11, 2018)

Looks awesome mate 8) 

Jon


----------



## snoman701 (Jan 12, 2018)

Really? 

All that work to create an antique and you went with a digital meter and plastic knobs?

Vintage analog meters and bakelite knobs can be sourced on Ebay.

:lol: :lol: 

Seriously, looks like a nice piece of equipment. 

I've got a stack of sorenson 50 amp supplies, but I'd probably use that. I might go all crazy and drop a cap or two in there, but I doubt I'd do anything more than that. 

I've actually got the parts to make one of these pretty handy, and almost threw out the transformer, but decided against it as I figured it would be a nice bulletproof option for a plating rectifier.


----------



## goldandsilver123 (Jan 23, 2018)

Hehe

They didn't think we needed to go back in time in all of it's components, (there's a switch mode power supply inside for the display, and by the way I have a needle galvanometer).

Here's the schematic:


----------

