Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnieB
Good Grief another Geek AND Numbers Nerd. I was beginning to think I was the only one of that breed around here...
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It's the West-By-God-Virginia-October-Skies-Rocket-Boys syndrome. I grew up with a power-company-engineer dad, and an older brother who tried to build a cyclotron - he and his buddies got about 1/3 of the way through it, then, one-by-one, got drafted for the war. I started out building crystal sets (OK, diode, 365pF variable cap, coil, earphones, Fahnstock clips, fer gawd's sake) at the tender age of 6 or 7. I come by it honestly.
I'd already downloaded the Trojan PDFs. I'll need to re-read 'em again before I start this. Wish I had my dad's old HP recording DC voltmeter - it'd be a good way to chart what's happening.
I have a pile of old APC (and other) UPSs in the basement. Most of them work, just have bad gel-cells in 'em. I think the beefiest one is a 1.5kVA jobbie. I'll use that one for my experiments. I might try to find a copy of Powerchute Pro - there's alot of information about the batteries that gets logged, stuff not captured by the Powerchute lite software.
I'll probably try my hand at de-sulphating the Crowns first. Been reading lots of voodoo-mumbo-jumbo about using epsom salts or ED?? something to break up the gunk. Found a link to a
$3.00 pulse charger made out of a light bulb and a 1A 200V diode. I've got a couple of 20 gallon HDPE lidded buckets - thought I'd put the batteries in there (with the lid just sitting to catch H2SO4 splashes) so I don't have to get a full face mask and Intel bunny suit. I won't put the lid on tight so the hydrogen can vent - don't want to build an H-bomb in my basement!
If I kill the Crowns, they're still worth the core charge ($15 each around here), so other than possibly blowing up the house, what have I got to lose?
We'll see. Maybe the guy 3 miles west will want the Crowns for the cores and I'll just buy 2 $50 batteries - probably easier, but I won't learn anything.
RLW