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★☆★ Portable Charging Station ★☆★

A few days ago, I began working on a new project, regenerating a Civic's Hybrid batteries that are completely dead and the car will no longer recognize the cells. In the middle of the process, I had a brain blast and decided to start another project that reminds me of the olden days of computer modding and water cooling. Granted there will be no water cooling needed for this project, im still super hyped for it.

For the longest time, I've had this Nike box sitting around that a pair of Air Jordans once came in. Its a very nice carry case and I hate the thought of throwing it out since the shoes are long gone. This gave me a good idea to re-purpose it and give it a new life.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps21a76a69.jpg

I keep a healthy supply of replacement fans and other "computer" related hardware on hand because that's what I do.. I will try to break this down as I go to give you guys an idea of what's going on and provide plenty of pics for visual effect.

First of all, the box will house a total of five gutted TC-1030 chargers. I will add more on that later. This many chargers confined in one box plus the high amp power supply will create a good bit of heat. Cooling is a necessity.

The first thing I decided to tackle is the cross air flow with four 60mm fans that will pull the warm air out the end at the same time injecting fresh cool air in at the other end. Here are some pics to show my thought's so far;

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps2a2839ab.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psf9135e55.jpg

Thus far, ive gotten the fans mounted with the fans guards. The next step will be to cut out the openings and this is where im at a cross road. I'm debating weather to cut out the small space in between the fans or leave it be and only cut out the holes..

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...da1f349d-1.jpg

Here is what the fans look like inside lined up and mounted. I plan to use the fans to exhaust the warm air from that end of the case. All four fans run at 12v and .44amps current draw. This power will be supplied by the main PSU that will rest at the bottom of the case supplying 12v, 60+ amps at 700+ watts. When this project progresses, the inside will be painted satin black. The "yellowish" color is a primer.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps7220a3fd.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psc033d5f6.jpg

At this point, I have three TC-1030's out of the total five that I need. I was in talks with another user who had two but he never returned my PM's after telling me that they are still available. Lastly, I am in need of a friend in the NE Ohio region who has access to a CNC router. The cover panel will be made from acrylic and needs to be machined. I am in the middle of creating the design in SketchUp and I will post some images shortly.

Any ideas, feel free to chime in. A large amount of switches, plugs and buttons have been ordered on eBay. Here's is an idea of what's to come;

*Voltage and Amperage meters for each of the five channels.
*Individual power switches to each channel.
*Fan controller for the four cooling fans.
*Upgraded aluminum heat sink for the discharge MOSFETS.
*External modular power plug with main power switch/fuse.

Nice! I'm sure it will be sweet when completed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePanda (Post 12671585)

Nice! I'm sure it will be sweet when completed!

That's the plan. Ive always wanted to do something like this but never had the time or need for it. What I really need now is to get in touch with someone who has access to a CNC router. The panel will be the biggest hurdle.

Another small update. I am planning on using a very slim but powerful PSU to power everything pictured below. It is one of the thinnest PSU's ive used to date pushing 60+ amps!

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps8a981221.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps0838fb72.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps7eaec961.jpg

Also, while digging through a bog of parts I came across a goodie that will work perfect. Its a panel mount three prong plug that can handle over 20 amps AC! It will work perfect as the main power connection. I drew up a template of where it will be. Now I just need to find a 1" hole maker... Finding a drill bit that big will be a challenge I don't care to attempt and the biggest stepping drill bit I have is 7/8"... FML

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps75aca0c9.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psca69456d.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...pscbeee0df.jpg

Lowes & Home Depot sell 1 inch hole saws that work with a drill.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_348126-28303...7C1&facetInfo=

Quote:

Originally Posted by TOM MAR (Post 12671859)

Lowes & Home Depot sell 1 inch hole saws that work with a drill.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_348126-28303...7C1&facetInfo=

Im worried that a hole saw will destroy the surface like hole saws typically do with the rough teeth. I ended up ordering another stepper drill that goes up to 1 3/8". Regarding the holes for the fans, im still exploring ideas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3Roc (Post 12677254)

Drill the pilot hole first. Then you "ease" the hole saw into the surface. You'll never scar it up like that. I used to use hole saws every day in all types of materials.

Found this fine tooth, 1" hole saw at lowes made by DeWalt. Its awesome!

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps020ee286.jpg

Cut the hole like a hot knife through butter and very clean cut too.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psca69456d.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps57721226.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps42247049.jpg

Installed the plug using some left over m3 screws, washers and lock nuts. I do have some silver stainless steel screws on the way however.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psa64cfeed.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps8e384f95.jpg
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...ps80f1e4eb.jpg

Last but not least, is the beefy power plug, this thing is official!

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psf4f4efb3.jpg

Im slowely receiving switches and encoders piece by piece. I did find someone local who will help me with the CNC needs. That's a huge weight off my shoulders too. Also thinking about praying the entire outside of the case with truck bed rhino lining that's sold in spray cans. Should be an interesting look. I will update more as it comes!

You will need to exhaust a certain portion of that air that those fans are blowing in. I suggest 50-70% exhaust area which will leave the system "pressurized", it helps with airflow. from an old overclocker : )

Quote:

Originally Posted by asc6000 (Post 12685824)

The plan is to create air vents at the end where the power plug was just drilled. I'm hoping to allow enough air flow through the box to cool the five chargers if all five happen to be discharging at the same time.

You need a lot of area to vent the amount of air those fans are blowing "in" , if you don't allow for that to exhaust the air has no where to go and there won't be a positive airflow which is what cools. An alternative would to use less fans. The enclosed space has so little volume when you get it filled with stuff those fans are probably supplying way more than needed. Depending on how the components are positioned and how tidy the wiring is will help you find the proper spot for exhaust.
Those fans are blowing ON components, you want air FLOWING.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asc6000 (Post 12688605)

Those fans are setup to exhaust the warm air, they aren't pushing air in. They will be creating a vacuum inside the case exhausting warm air out and pulling cool air in from the opposite end creating a steady flow of cool air across all components. If I reverse the fans and have them blowing cool air in, that would be very unproductive because fans that size don't have a lot of head pressure. All the circuit boards inside will be lined up with the length of the case so that air flows from one end to the other covering everything.

Nice looking project you've got going there! I'm really interested in seeing how the Rhino Lining looks after it gets sprayed on. I would test spray it on similar material iTo see if the resulting texture can be sprayed evenly across the entire surface.

A few years ago I seen a 79 Chevy Blazer 4x4 (full size truck) covered in rhino liner. Everything was done in black. Fenders, undercarriage .. everything, and it looked cool, because, He still maintained the key hole, door handles, bumpers in the original chrome. Im sure this box will look fantastic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyG (Post 12700726)

Just the other night I saw a dodge ram sprayed with rhino lining. The guy did a good job and it looked very even. I've sprayed other project boxes that I had previously and it turned out pretty good. Ive been getting parts in slowly but as it goes with anything shipped from china, it takes forever. Good news is that I did find someone with access to a very nice CNC router.