Someone finally did it.
 

Well its about time. Someone finally put together a power supply that is turly universal. Input voltage 110-240v, and 80 amps of output power, with multiple ports for combination charging. They may not be the best in the business, but at least they are trying to go in the right direction. I never rush into buying anything R/C anymore, but I am considering one of these for a future purchase when I decide which charger to get and have a few new Lipos in our collection. So what does everyone else have to say. Anyone have one of these yet?

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...=Featured-Main

Nice but very expensive. I am sure most would be willing to play with a couple of server p/s's to come up with similar.

I have not looked but lab or workshop power supplies second hand or through auction sites might be a good source of p\s with similar features???

Correct
 

Yes you are correct. It is a bit pricey in comparison to using a home made rig out of two used PC type server power supplies. That is the point of my post. Finally someone has made a professional "made for R/C" PSU that we can purcahse already setup for what we do. Plus it is auto swtching for 120-240volts input. That is what makes this unit a must have and worth the cost. I am just not a fan of using home made electronics fabbed from using stuff meant for something entirely different. Sure its all about what you can afford and what attracts your sense of taste. This particular unit is exactly what I need, and what I want. Not some hodge podge converted computer PSU. For me thats like buying a Porsche kit car for a VW bug, when what you really want is a Porsche 911. The kit works just fine for some, but its not worth the trade off for me.

The lab PSU's are also pretty nice, and worth comparing in general. Of course money is an issue for most of us these days.

I have the Super 40 power supply, and it's the best power supply that I have ever owned. I can't imagine ever needing something like that. It's over kill for me.

Buy what you need
 

Some buy what they need right now, and some buy what they think they might need down the road (insurance), and it covers what is needed for today. Overkill is not always a bad thing either. Especially when it comes to electronics. When you acquire a PSU that may be somewhat larger than you need today it gives you two things for piece of mind. First it gives you enough power to take care of your required needs without the worry of overloading it. The second thing is that it allows you some flexability for using more power down the road as things progress and more power is needed, without having to go out and purchase another PSU and spending even more money. Like anything it is a matter of personal choice, and of course available funds.

I have the 40A version from A Main and I can say it's surprisingly good and very high quality. I'm sure they are OEMing something with a partner but the result is solid. I would buy this one in a second even at a premium over other 80A options but I stop considering this long before the current price.

You are right. I just sold a Futaba 4pl for 150$ and bought a 4 PKS. Love the old radio, but it's no comparison to the the 4PKS. In the long run I would have saved money if I just got the 4PKS. Hopefully I won't need a power supply that big any time soon.

110 volts @ 15 amps = 1650 watts (that's without a safety buffer)

if you really need this thing, you're not just plugging it in anywhere. at least not in the U.S..

cool product. actually not a bad price considering. but noobs beware. :whistle:

Your comparison is really not an accurate vision of what the PC supplies deliver. They do not give sub-par performance under a glamorous skin. Not sure if you meant it that way or not.

I too looked all over for "made for RC" supplies. I just could not find one that fit my needs, and was at a reasonable cost. I found several in the 300'ish range that gave 1000W of power, but I couldn't get myself to pull the trigger. I finally forced myself to go wire up the PS's and install them in a carrying box (its the last post in the hommade power supply thread). Came out pretty good. Maybe this winter I'll tear it down and refine it.

I don't see how using computer power supplies to run chargers is using them for an entirely different purpose. The power supply has no idea what it is being used for. All it is doing is what it was designed to do, put out 12V at varying current loads. For all it knows it IS in a server powering banks of hard drives and processors.

I do however understand your insurance worries, if there was a fire (caused by anything) someone may see "wires" and think that is a fire hazard. But they are being used exactly what they were designed for, converting AC to DC.

To me, the price on it is ridiculous, but it does look good. I, personally, would never be able to justify it for myself.

I get it.
 

I do get what your saying, and yes they are built and setup to convert AC to DC power, but not for charging batties. I understand to most of us it makes no difference, but yes when it comes to fire investigations it will make all the difference in the world when you try to file for an insurance claim. We all know that most insurance companies are not the most honest service providers in the world, and if there is any way for them to get out of paying a claim they will. Finding home made electronics at the scene of a fire is a perfect excuse. I have seen it happen and we have been warned about just that by the Department of State due to previous incidents with Department claims with their insurance providers. That is enough for me. Yes $500 does seem a bit much, but if you check around anything that provides that much amperage in the PSU world is priced right in that range.

I saw this one Jerry last week. Impressive to say the least. What intrigues me for those who race....most racers have multiple batteries for different main length. If the racers charge up their batts at home a day or 2 before the race so they should not need a huge PS at the track to charge only a batt or 2. From a bashers point of view....like me, I also charge my batts a week ahead of time with no loss of performance. As much as charging batts at 30A, IMO, it is not necessary all the time. I charge my batts as I wrench on my rigs so as not to leave them unattended so I am in no hurry to charge them so I have never understood the appeal of charging them in minutes unless you are in a time crunch.

I would rather carry around 2 car batteries everywhere I went before I would put down nearly SIX HUNDRED, ill repeat that..SIX HUNDRED and one more time just so it sinks in.....SIX HUNDRED dollars for a power supply! That makes the MA 24 volt power supply look like a screaming deal! And with the MA unit you would not have to worry about using it for something it was not designed for, because it was in fact designed to run battery chargers. Assembled by MA, and any insurance company would have to honor any claim brought on by that unit not working properly. Wow......almost 600 for a power suply.....REDICULOUS! Sorry I am in no way "pro MA" but if you want a supply that is comparable to what you linked to, the MA unit unit is the way to go if you are worried about fire insurence companies. As for me ill build my own for about 50 bucks.

Edit: Sorry I did not mean to sound like a dick :)

beating the insurance company over your home made electronics is as simple as qualifying said electronics.

1. pick a nice local place that serves a decent lunch.
2. when adjuster shows up make friendly, intelligent small talk and offer said lunch.
3. during said lunch, nonchalantly bring up said electronics and make mention of your willingness to qualify said electronics and be confident in what you're relaying.

if all doesn't go well...
4. be sure to mention you're more than willing to pay an electronics engineer and a lawyer to qualify your electronics at a price above and beyond what your premium pays. EDIT: meaning your loss was in the fire and that's what they're paying you for. however, their loss came when they tried to bully you out of what you and they know rightfully belongs to you according to the stipulations set forth in your insurance coverage that you paid for. this covers any and all costs incurred from the battle to deny you of compensation for your losses. this covers a lot... housing/clothing/food/gas/cookware/etc. to get you through the added time it takes to battle them as well as any extra damage to your home from leaving it in the aftermath of a fire during the battle.


if all doesn't go well...
5. hire a public adjuster, inform him of such activities and refer him to a good electronics engineer that can use the cash.

in the end, it's going to cost the insurance company much more to deal with you then to just pay the claim and they'll know it. the one thing the "qualified individual" that comes out to assess your situation isn't probably going to know is electronics, so you've got the upper hand if you've actually personally constructed or converted the power supply.

it's easy as pie if you keep your cool and have the slightest clue of what you're talking about.

and pictures... take lots and lots of pictures... dated if you can...

as a fire and water restoration technician who used to run several crews simultaneously for a mom and pop outfit, i've been reluctantly and successfully put in a position to do this countless times.

Argument
 

Your arguement is a good one, and your reasoning is somewhat sound to the average homeowner who has not faced an insurance company face to face in this situation. The problem is that what your saying has been tested and the insurance companies that we face in these disagreements are some of the most profitable businesses in the world who have more money than any of us will ever see in our lives. The insurance game is one of the biggest, richest, lawyer savvy businesses in the world and they can make almost any lawyer look like a fool in the court system.

I did not post this information up for entertainment value or to get into a fight about how to beat the insurance comapny. I provided this insurance arguement as a warning from experience seeing people lose everything plus having their insurance company refuse payment of said claim due to a fire that was deemed caused by modified electronics being used for charging batteries in the home. A fire inspector invetigates home fires to determine what caused the fire and that determination will stand up in a court of law as fact in most cases. The insurance company can and will use that report as a means to pay or refuse personal insurance claims whether you agree with it or not.

The MA charger made from using two server PSU's in someones home garage does not equate to a professionally made electronic unit backed by solid engineering design for charging Lithium batteries, which are already considered a very dangerous endevour. It is still a home made piece of electronic gear configured from two used computer PSU's that were meant for powering just that, and not charging batteries. If you plan to use MA reputation as a justification in a court of law when we all know what a sham MA is professionally with their false advertising and poor quality Lipo packs, you are in for a world of hurt. Good luck with that.

you're welcomed
 

in the end it's your call. your point on the safety of lipo might be valid, but i'm not that paranoid. nor do i assume anyone posting in this thread is likely to burn their house down with one.

simply put, the insurance companies have to qualify any reasoning for not paying your claim. in the event it's possible they can't do so, it's only going to cost them more if the victim is intelligent, educated and driven enough to fight it. if they see lack of intelligence and drive, they're going to run you over no matter what equipment failed.

you're right... they are among the most profitable businesses. they didn't become that way by fighting frivolous, useless battles, either. that would highly effect the bottom line and they're very weary of that whether you'd like to believe it or not.

the squeaky wheel gets the lube. people who don't fight their insurance companies get the shaft all the time. people who call their local news station and get their story on the 10 o'clock news get immediate action. it's your choice.

if you're not interested in the battle, buy what you want... but in the event it fails, hire professionals with good reputations to fight your fight for you. if it appeals to you, that's your prerogative. if i ever need anything even remotely close to this power, i won't be buying this unless i first put a dedicated 240V line with a dedicated breaker in my house, personally. adding the almost $600 price tag to that work is good motivation for me to just wire up a couple server PSU's, but that's just me. i won't knock you for your decision.

i have stated how it's done 99% of the time and how public adjusters win your case for you. if that's not good enough for you, that's acceptable to me. i've seen it, i've done it, i'm sure i'll be in a position to do it again eventually. take that for what it's worth, but i'd rather not argue the information i put up for the benefit of others any further.

12 volts dc is 12 volts dc, and a power supply is a power supply. The power supply in question wasn't "designed for lipos", it was designed to supply power.

Good point....what you do with that power is up to you

Opinion
 

Everyone has an opinion but just because you believe that it should be viewed that way, does not make it so. I get what your saying and I agree to a point. A PSU is a PSU, right? The second you have to modify wiring, or any of the components of a peice of electronic equipment that was designed for a specific purpose in order to make it work for your personal desire it no longer meets the intended use prescribed by the manufacturer. Regardless of how simple you may think the modification is, or whether it is still being used to convert power or not. Yes the PSU still converts power, but computer server PSU's were not designed for charging batteries regardless of whether you or I think it will make no difference to its operation. We can split hairs all day long arguing back and forth trying to make each others point heard, but when you are dealing with the letter of the law in a law suit there has to be no doubt that whatever modification you might do meets the intended use of the manufacturer. I can garuntee you that no manufacturer will stand behind your changes to his design if burns down a house.

This particular disagreement reminds me of the "No helmet" laws in various states. Yes millions of motorcycle riders ride every single day without squashing their mellons, but there are still motorcycle deaths every week atributed to not wearing a helmet. You may use your home made rig every day to charge your Lipos and never ever have a problem with it, but if it does short circuit and burn your home down or even kill someone in the process you will be kicking yourself in the arse every single day after you lose everything in a fire caused by your insistance that it is OK. Just call me the Devil's advocate.

The Server power supplies are top of the line products. Not some dinky crap that goes into consumer pc's.

If the server power supplies fail into a fire, boy that is just a lawsuit on the PSU company. These power supplies go into expensive servers that store valuable information. There are multiple safety features installed to prevent the psu to go into catastrophic failure. And if it does fail, there are backups.

If there are any electrical shorts, the server PSU just turns off or does not supply output. A good charger will do the same. So the only thing left is your batteries that can go up in flames, which can be taken care of with a lipo bag. MA knows this too, which is why they sell their 24V server setup. It's dummy proof.

$20 12vdc or $600 12vdc. I'm not going to bed charging at 5c anyways. I'll still be around baby-sitting lipos as I work.

Correct
 

Once again you are correct. The PSU's that are being used are some of the best on the market. No argument there. BUT when you jerry-rig two of them together with a couple pieces of wire you completely bypass the safe design put into these PSU's by the manufacturer to keep them from failing. These PSU's are made to be inserted into a server cabinet where they do not touch anything else, and the connections are made in a very specific way. In fact I am willing to bet that the manufacturer has provided specific instructions with these when they are packaged new that state if they are used in any other configuration not prescribed by them that it is a violation of its intended use, which relieves them of any responsibility for failure and/or any incident caused by such a violation including but not limited to fire.

Like was said before your going to do whatever your going to do. You may never have a problem. Best of luck.

600 bucks is hard to swallow for just a 2000W capacity. Profit margin is huge on this thing.

once you plug this thing in all bets are off in the event of a fire. you're starting with the same predicament as you would with a modified power supply. the chance that something is going to be used outside of what it's made for. only in this case, if you harness the full 2000 watts on a (one) 110V line, it's your house that probably wasn't made for the application. it's all too easy to guess wrong about which outlets aren't on the same breaker.

if you have anything else plugged into the line that feeds back to the same breaker, you're just asking for it.

just to reiterate; i like the concept. the product looks to be very useful and versatile. the price is actually competitive for a ready made model, actually.

i just think that;
1) it's an accident waiting to happen selling this to your average joe in a home most likely comprised of 110v 15 amp lines.
2) anyone capable of putting together the server power supplies is much more likely to be capable of operating this thing within it's safety constraints.
3) the PS's can be had for 1/10 the price.
4) i like tinkering... especially when it can save me 90% or more of the price of a NIB component i can make myself.

for the record... my "argument" (it was supposed to be friendly/helpful information from an industry professional) is 100% sound for every homeowner who's ever faced the insurance company with the help of my associates and i. i'd hate to tell you what some of them got paid for when it comes to the blatant misuse of microwaves alone. :oh:

If they are selling it on line at amainhobbies doesn't it HAVE to be UL listed?
Just a thought.
Daniel

Not as far as I know - we have equipment inspected at work to make some items UL.

underwriters laboratories cannot keep you from plugging 2 plugs into the same breaker.

I do think the manual should include a note about ensuring the input circuit can handle the potential high load. They definitely could be leaving themselves open to some legal problems by not addressing that.

That said, I think it's 100% the consumers responsibility to understand the risks of any product they use. There are countless scenarios in which a product can be used, the manual can't possibly address all of them. This is where the consumer has to take over using common sense and research to find out what is safe. Sadly, I don't think many share this view, judging by how "sue happy" our society is. Why take responsibility for your own bad judgement when you can blame it on someone else and make money in the process?

why is a house burning down even brought up in this discussion? I don't think a power supply has been the cause of a house fire ever anywhere in the history of the world. Feel free to prove me wrong.

Why not argue liability if the power supply were used as a blunt instrument in a murder?

Why not argue that this power supply is a terrorist? Apparently server power supplies are weapons of mass destruction:lol:

It's an awesome power supply Jerry, and would look great on my bench. But it is the difference between driving an old beat up Ford and driving a porsche.

If you can afford and want to have the porsche of power supplies do it! I'm sticking with my rusty trusty Ford. If I had unlimited income I'd have 2 and a dedicated 220v outlet!:yes:

Like i said earlier, if you want to spend more money on a power supply than you really need to, get the MA unit (for around 1/3 the price of that other one). If it burns your house down then you can show the insurance company who made it and designed it. Then it would be up to the insurance co to go after MA.

Thats my point
 

Thats my point exactly. Have you seen who Maxamps is? They are making battery packs in the owners home garage. They don't have any money and their reputation is in the toilet. A judge will look at you and ask, are you kidding me? Why would you trust a product coming out of someones garage?

MA doesn't advertise as "Made 100% in my Garage!". They have a front of a legit professional company. How is the judge to know you know they made it in a garage. You assumed that it was a professional unit made by a professional company, since that is how it is marketed and sold. (blame goes to MA for being a sham). That's how it should work...but we all know how f-ed up the world is.