Power Supply In Pit Box - Build Thread
 

VERSION 2

Equipment
DC Charger (Hitec X2 400Watt)
Soldering Station (TK-950)


Parts Used (So Far)
Keter Toolbox
Power Supply from Ebay (Dell PowerEdge 2850 NPS-700AB A 700W)
XLR Connectors 5C FEMALE XLR BLACK (NC5FD-L-B-1)
XLR Connectors 5P MALE BLACK HOUSE GOLD CONTACTS (NC5MXX-B
XLR Connectors DUST COVER XRL PANEL/MOUNT
AC Power Plugs & Receptacles D SIZED RECPT/COVER
1-Gang 8 cu. in. Old Work Flanged Shallow Box (B108R)
Carlon 18 cu in. 1-Gang PVC Old Work Outlet Box with Bracket (B118B)
Decor 1 Gang Midway Nylon Wall Plate - Black (R55-0PJ26-00E)
10-12 Awg Ring Terminal (ASEP-VR1210-10)
Binding Post, x2 Black, x2 Red (PHIL-2352B & PHIL-2354B)
Fan Cover (ORI-GRM 60-30)
SPST Lighted Rocker Switch, Red (PHIL-30-16182b)
AC Receptacle, Panel Mount Male (PHIL-8529)
12 Foot AC Cord (PHIL-70-251)
AC Power Cord for Power Supply. Use an old one laying around for this as you have to cut the wall plug off and solder it to the AC Receptacle.
10ft of 10AWG Black, 10AWG Red Primary Wire (DEKA-03601-FT & DEKA-03603-FT)
5C 20AWG Shielded Wire (BEL-5403FE-8)

Misc nuts, bolts, shrink tube...


Pit Box V2...In Progress


Equally space out the binding posts. sometimes the drill bit will move over a little bit as you get the hole started. you can take a razor knife to start the hole...this will make a little depression for the drill bit to stay in. the hole doesn't quite align with the other hole...just make one hole a little larger in the direction you need to make the binding posts even. you can tighten the binding posts so they won't move. this only works if your holes are off by a couple millimeters or so.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps94bcd116.jpg


I had to grind the hump down in the center to allow the binding posts to sit flush

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps6738247e.jpg


I had to drill out the screw holes on the smaller box to allow the screw to easily slide in and then screw into the large box. this way i can easily remove the large box to access the wires and binding posts without having to remove the smaller box.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0cb47ca3.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psa8bab398.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps4866f543.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbb3b1cee.jpg


Measure and cut a hole out.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0f5e20d9.jpg


binding posts and AC receptacle installed

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psc2713384.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps7b815245.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps95373954.jpg


mounted to the toolbox

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps02fe947a.jpg



Had to cut a little of the fan cover off to fit on the PSU

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pscda1def6.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1760e2ec.jpg


PSU wired up...before putting shrink tube on the smaller wire. i used servo terminals as they fit perfectly on the pins on the PSU

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps66c0b784.jpg


A quick power test to make sure it was outputting the correct voltage and the positive and negative leads were connected properly.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps8eb4725a.jpg


How I wired up the female AC receptacle on the power panel

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps2c946587.jpg



I wanted to replace, not just extend, the wire for my soldering iron handle. i disassembled the handle so i could solder the wires inside the handle. i didn't want any solder joints/shrink tube visible. i installed a 5-pin XLR male on the soldering handle and a 5 pin female on the tool box. i just wish i could have found black wire locally. i may order some black in the future

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps735de457.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps944f1db6.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps95adb1b7.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pse8aa7343.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psb2621153.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps189d0082.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pse8f4f788.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps41c98fca.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pse8aa7343.jpg



the back of the power panel. i may add a usb port in the future...but i rarely used the one i had on the version 1 toolbox i built.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psa053f56c.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps15474b12.jpg


i drilled a hole in the soldering station so i could easily screw it to the toolbox. i didn't want it moving around during transport. i cut the power cord and soldered it to the back of the ac receptacle on the power panel. both the PSU and soldering station are powered by the ac receptacle on the power panel.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps455ed2e9.jpg


PSU and soldering station mounted

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps3c27ea5f.jpg



Almost done. i still need to extend the wires on my charger. i will have about a 8 foot cord on the charger. i also need to test the box...meaning max out the charger and soldering iron and check all the connections and wires for an acceptable temp. i doubt i'll have any issues. last time, the temps while soldering and charging at 40 amps were never over 85 degrees. after testing is complete...i will need to reinstall the blue covers to protect the wires and terminals.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1aea5c94.jpg



Up Next

I need to add an LED to the power panel. sometimes it is kind of hard to see the binding posts at the track. definitely don't want to plug an expensive DC charger in backwards!

Coming Soon: Completed pictures








---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VERSION 1

so i needed a charger. i figured i would check out the computer power supplies (psu). what started as a small project to wire up a psu...quickly turned into this lol.

i talked to trak power regarding my soldering station. i added a receptacle on the power distribution panel to plug my soldering iron into. i mounted the soldering station's power supply inside the toolbox and when needed, just plug the soldering iron itself into the side of the toolbox. i was able to extend the soldering iron cord to about 8 feet. one less thing on my table at teh track

i ended up ordering a dell 12v/700watt/57A server psu. with a few parts from my local hardware store and local electronics store...i have it up and running. i really like to be able to carry everything into the track in as little trips as possible. i can carry everything in with one hand. my truck hangs on my toolbox....and everything else goes inside.

with this setup, i just have to plug my tool box into a wall socket when i get there.

i still have a few more additions i need to do in the near future. a volt meter & ammeter.

I made input leads on my DC charger long enough to plug the psu into the charger while the charger is on my work bench/pit table and my toolbox is on the floor.

I ended up going with different binding posts. the ones from radio shack are only rated for 10A...the ones i installed are 20A...even with the 20A rating on the binding posts...the temps didn't get over 80 degrees anywhere while charging 2 batteries at 20A.

since the build, i added a 2.1A usb port to the power panel, and a plug (same plug as on the front of the soldering station) for the soldering iron to plug into.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps4d94f516.jpg



still plenty of room for all my rc stuff!

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbd4ea572.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps4swuxsdk.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps7lhkskkv.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psrobwupgu.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pswwnjol2c.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psf1jnn99x.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps530035f3.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psb675a017.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psfd695cd2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0661a33f.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps62cea5a0.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...sfc0fa333.jpeg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...s73d64a19.jpeg



Here are some of the items i'd like to add in the future

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pskgevglyr.png

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psdpa7ywvz.png

http://www.amazon.com/Wallblade-Sewe.../dp/B00D8IUJTS



Added the exhaust fan. i still need to add a fan cover inside the toolbox for safety. don't want to break the fan or my fingers lol. the fan works pretty good...moves a lot of air out of the box!

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psed803f09.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psf5d15cb7.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psf5017333.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps75c54917.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psabe3e2aa.jpg





got the charger setup today. being able to charge at 20A is awesome.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps42631c29.jpg

Nice idea. Looks great. I'd want to fabricate a cover for the exposed terminal inside the box just in case I dropped a nut driver or something in and shorting it all out !

check out the first picture...there is a cover. i left it off in one of the pictures to show what it looked like inside

Oh yeah! Doh that'll teach me. Got me thinking now as I use a server psu as well and always had the fact that it looked so ugly sat on the bench next to my buddies flashy expensive RC psu on my mind!

yeah it's really easy to do. also, i saw a guy that got a huge piece of shrink wrap and wrapped the whole psu. looked nice. i have only found two companies that sell high current (60A) binding posts. you're lucky...cliff inc in the UK sells them. they are cheap but shipping to the USA is expensive lol.

http://www.cliffinc.com/products/ter...touchproof.htm

Thanks for the tip. Gonna go check which of my hauler's it'll best fit!

which psu do you have dan

looks good.

i use the top tray from a stanley box for my psu's and chargers, but i dont think a dell would fit in there. i like it becuase i can either just plop it on the table, or turn it sideways and leave it on the box.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_J...8/d66b6e4d.jpg

http://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hB...8/3f94763c.jpg

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Di...8/2c8e106f.jpg

that is awesome man. looks like you molded the plastic specially for your build. maybe i should have titled this thread "Your Customer Power Station" lol. keep them coming guys...get more idea's out there!


which power supplies do you have?

if i get word on the 60A binding posts available in the USA i will update the original post. still waiting to hear back from cliff electronics in the US

They do have them. Not sure on a price yet. But if anyones needs some pm me amd I'll let you know a price when I get the pricing

http://www.cliffinc.com/products/ter...Gcleargold.jpg

You should be able to get binding posts from your local car audio shop or at least be able to order some from them. Just an idea...

good idea erokk. i didn't even think about. i called the local stereo shop. they don't have them and they said binding posts can't carry 60A. he suggested anderson connectors (like a powerwheel or forklift). i'm still waiting for this guy to hit me back from cliff about the binding posts. right now i'm working on a new power panel to see if i can get this USB port added to the power panel. i could easily get the DC USB port installed...but i don't want to have to turn on the PSU just to charge my phone lol. i'm going to set up the USB port to run on AC power.

You might check parts express for binding posts. I took a quick peek and didn't see actual amp ratings but you can see that some of them are pretty substantial. I used a pair of the dayton posts on a subwoofer I just built and I'm running 1000 watts through them. I wouldn't think twice about running two or three times as much power through them.

Are you really expecting to draw 60 amps through a single pair of posts? If not, I would suggest just adding fuses inline for slightly above your actual expected amps per pair of posts.

I made a 12V 32 amp PS Saturday from an old ATX PS I had stuck in the closet. I'm just planning to build a wood box around it and use it as a stand for my 1/8 scale buggy though.

I'd like a 60A rated set of binding posts because my PSU is capable of 57A and my Hitec charger suggests a 60A PSU. The binding posts I have now are rated for 20A and they didnt get warm at all when charging at 20A. These 20A binding posts are pretty beefy compared to the little 10A ones i saw at radio shack. I am planning on having 3 sets of 20A and one set of 60A binding posts on the new power panel I'm making. It's basically the same as the current power panel in the pictures, just longer to accommodate the usb port, extra binding posts, maybe some LEDs, and possibly a female plug for my TK-950 soldering iron. I was thinking about adding a nice car stereo style in-line fuse.

That's a really good idea about using a computer psu as a car stand. That's a really good use of valuable pit space. Especially since most computer psu's are a cube shape. Originally, I was going to go with a computer psu, but ended up using this server psu.

I am thinking about order some extra sets of the 60A binding posts from Cliff Inc and selling a few sets since their distributors don't have them in stock in the USA.