The E-Chargers - Can they be used in a small bench?

[SWR]

Saw some of the "famed" electric superchargers today... they claimed that it could boost a 350 SBC with about 2 psi boost. Which I assume is bull,but if they move quite a bit of air at 2.5 or so psi,wouldn't that blower be in a good flow/pressure range for a flowbench (which moves quite a bit less air than a SBC at full tilt),especially if they are paired up or maybe tripled?

[2seater]

The ones I saw a few years ago would probably have enough performance, but they weren't cheap and required a large amount of power. They are designed for short bursts of boost, and i do not know how they would work for longer run time? If you have a line on one, for a good price, maybe it could be converted to an ac motor?

[SWR]

Thing is,I can get one to "try out on my car so that I can see that it works"...I'd rather check if it works inside a bench .I wouldn't need to make it AC either...I have 4 Optima Yellowtop gel batteries here,if I charge them properly I should be able to test it a bit before the batteries run down. ...And if it can't even remotely power my bench...it sure can't improve my car.

Besides,the old bench I had,that pulled 232 cfm @ 28" max,had 3 bypass cooled brushless vacuum motors at $330. Each. So it won't even be considered expensive (by me) if it costs the same (or less) and one can pull;say 140 cfm @ 28",then I'll get a few...:laugh:

[Tony]

I have always been rather skeptical about these electric superchargers. Most of us draw something like ten, twenty, thirty amps (or much more!!) of mains power, at maybe 240v.

Drop down to 12v, and the current requirement increases twenty times for similar power.

Two hundred, four hundred, six hundred dc amps is a fair bit of current, and not nearly so convenient.

There ain't no free lunch with this unfortunately. A large volume of air at relatively high developed pressure requires real horsepower, and that has to come from somewhere.

If it only draws a few amps at 12v, it is just not going to have the balls to shift much air, no matter what the manufacturer "claims".

Get a REAL supercharger, and a decently huge mains powered electric motor to drive it, and be truly happy.

Don't waste your time playing with children's toys.

[SWR]

[1960flh]

SWR;

Not sure where you are located but have you looked into Rotary Phase converters? I use a 10hp CNC grade unit in my shop and power a 5hp virtical mill and 7.5 hp gear head lathe and 3.5 hp band saw at the same time with no problem. It is currently wired to a 50 amp 240 60hz breaker and I never have issues. This unit is capable of running 5 times its rated value do to the backfeed regeneration on the third leg of the rotor, statup surge should be at 25% additional current draw when sizing. (but if you used a clutch this is reduced)

I would like to better understand your power issues as you are stating (my understanding) you only have Aproximently 37 to 40 amps (9000watts +-) of main power in your panel? Is this a country or circiut limitation?

I know this is crude but have you thought of running the blower off a small gas engine 5-10hp? (outside where it would be quite) Just thinking out loud here

:p

Rick

[SWR]

[Tony]

[SWR]

[1960flh]

SWR;

I better understand now your situation, but 60 plus amps of main is still something to work with. I would take a look at this link below (Though based on US power 60hz) and also search the net on building 3 phase converters it will give you some idea of what you can do if your motor driven equipment was converted to three phase motors. These converters can be made out of basic electrical parts and 1 three phase motor acting as the idler (inductive regenerator). The beauty of these systems is each additional motor running on the generated grid will add regeneration power. These systems are rated to run 5 times the nominal power in concurrently run motors, meaning a 10hp rotary phase converter will run up to 5 10hp motors concurrently as long as they are started individually.

These converters are common here in the states for guy's like me who want to run industrial grade 3phase equipment in our home shop or a shop where 3 phase is not available.

JMO

Rick

[Tony]

[SWR]

[gofaster]

I ran a 3 phase converter for nearly 15 years at my old shop. I had a 240v/100 amp service. I bought a static converter from Enco for about $100, and ran several machines from 1.5 to 2 HP with no trouble. When I added a 2 HP vertical mill, the static converter wouldn't handle high speed milling. To cure the problem, I added a 3400 rpm idler motor, and built a starter that used all three legs of the static converter to start the idler. Press the start button, and all three legs would power up, release the button when the idler is up to speed, and the wild leg drops out. That simple set-up went on to run all of my equipment and a big CNC mill. My son added a second and then a third CNC, and we reached the point where my little home built system wouldn't keep up. Now we have 3 phase power coming in from the utility company at both shops.
The blowers that we use in flowbenches will probably start all right with a static converter, but at high test pressures the static converter may have trouble. I recommend trying it, and if it doesn't handle it, just add a 3400 rpm idler motor. It isn't expensive, and it's not difficult.

Feb. 1, add on.

I failed to mention that I ran this 3 phase converter off a 30 amp breaker.



Edited By gofaster on 1170336630

[gofaster]

I ran a 3 phase converter for nearly 15 years at my old shop. I had a 240v/100 amp service. I bought a static converter from Enco for about $100, and ran several machines from 1.5 to 2 HP with no trouble. When I added a 2 HP vertical mill, the static converter wouldn't handle high speed milling. To cure the problem, I added a 3400 rpm idler motor, and built a starter that used all three legs of the static converter to start the idler. Press the start button, and all three legs would power up, release the button when the idler is up to speed, and the wild leg drops out. That simple set-up went on to run all of my equipment and a big CNC mill. My son added a second and then a third CNC, and we reached the point where my little home built system wouldn't keep up. Now we have 3 phase power coming in from the utility company at both shops.
The blowers that we use in flowbenches will probably start all right with a static converter, but at high test pressures the static converter may have trouble. I recommend trying it, and if it doesn't handle it, just add a 3400 rpm idler motor. It isn't expensive, and it's not difficult.

Feb. 1, add on.

I failed to mention that I ran this 3 phase converter off a 30 amp breaker.



Edited By gofaster on 1170336630

[jsa]

SWR,

I have 40 amps single phase from my house down to my shed. I have no desire to dig trenches and so on just for my bench.

I have 12 motors at 7A each when at maximum load, a little more than double the circuit capacity.

I will be treating it like a welder when I require maximum air.

That is to say I will apply a duty cycle to the way it is operated. That means running it flat out only in short bursts. If I have it on for 2 minutes out of 5 minutes then it will get the job done. Inconvenient when requiring maximum air, but that won't be all the time, so no real problem.

I'll have about 20 seconds to take a reading when drawing double the rated current of the circuit, beyond that it will trip out pretty soon. After that turn it off for a short time and go again.