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Forum Index : Electronics : Where to find large Toroid in USA?
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
For those in the USA who have a diy inverter where did you get/find your toroid core. I'm having difficulty sourcing one. |
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BenandAmber Guru Joined: 16/02/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 961 |
EBay and they cost out the you know what That or make really good friends with somebody that has an extra one Or you could always unwind a bunch of little ones and make a big one Or go with a square Transformer they're not quite as efficient but I heard there's not a big difference be warned i am good parrot but Dumber than a box of rocks |
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LadyN Guru Joined: 26/01/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 408 |
Yes, making from scratch could be the only practical option from my 4 months of searching. As you know, here in the U.S. for some reason finding scrapped toroids capable of kwh ranges are very hard! Also, no one outside the U.S. believes us how hard it is with how much we have been looking around My elder brother spoke with a few solar wholesalers he contracts for and they said most inverters get refurbished or sent back to manufacturer for warranty claims. Maybe that could be a reason. I did manage to get my hands on a newer SunnyBoy model but unfortunately was high freq. too. So no big transformer/toroid |
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tinyt Guru Joined: 12/11/2017 Location: United StatesPosts: 438 |
Searched ebay, found nothing except one which is the same used 2.2kva model transformer I bought more than year ago for $60 which now sells for $169. Even the ones that listed raw cores in the 3kva and 5kva range are gone. |
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tinyt Guru Joined: 12/11/2017 Location: United StatesPosts: 438 |
Searched ebay, found nothing except one which is the same used 2.2kva model transformer I bought more than year ago for $60 which now sells for $169. Even the ones that before listed raw cores in the 3kva and 5kva range are gone. Maybe it is time to experiment with EI cores if they are available and affordable here. |
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BenandAmber Guru Joined: 16/02/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 961 |
Here's a pic of the one I built out of little ones I've only got one layer of the winding on it so far 44 turns It's the one on the right The little Transformer on top is a lot like the ones I built it out of The one on the left is out of a 8000 watt power jack so who knows what the wattage is on it If you guys need big toroidal ferrite for chokes Take a look at my big choke post the guy wants $31 a piece but I gave him the 41 for 2 be warned i am good parrot but Dumber than a box of rocks |
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
Thanks for the info. This is the largest one I found on ebay but its to expensive for me. hunking toroid |
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tinyt Guru Joined: 12/11/2017 Location: United StatesPosts: 438 |
That really is very expensive. Found this electrical steel supplier. There might be other suppliers like this. I think they are fabricators, their website does not have technical information. I am guessing what we need is what they call split coil to make the toroid core. I don't know if they cater to private individuals and what their minimum order is. Still maybe worth a try contacting them. I am not going to right now as I still have 2 extra toroids to play with. |
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
I currently talking with toroid.com. what size core do you think will be best? |
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tinyt Guru Joined: 12/11/2017 Location: United StatesPosts: 438 |
Wow! You found a better supplier! For the size, I only played with a surplus 2.2KVA so I don't think I can help you. Maybe others here can. |
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BenandAmber Guru Joined: 16/02/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 961 |
Kentfielddude That toroid has been on eBay for a very long time I offered them $100 plus shipping over a year ago I never heard back from them Then another one about the same size as that one came up around the same price It didn't have a make offer on it but I contacted seller and offered them $100 plus shipping and they took it So my point is if you see one that you like what does that hurt the contact the seller and make them an offer You might just end up getting a 52-pound transformer for a hundred bucks like I did Just a suggestion and if anybody comes up with a cheap way to get material to make toroids or cheap Transformer please let all of us all know By the way have you guys went and looked at my big choke post These are the largest ferrite chokes I have ever seen and I got them very cheap on eBay all the information is on post be warned i am good parrot but Dumber than a box of rocks |
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LadyN Guru Joined: 26/01/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 408 |
WONDERFUL! Please keep us posted with the cost, tax, s&h, insurance. The table looks pretty exhaustive I think. Personally I would look for the last two to power a family home. Our energy needs are 400kWh/month with 5kWh peaks |
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
This is what they told me: We have standard ID 80mm, 90mm, 100mm, 120mm, 140mm, 160mm and 170mm. OD can be any dimensions two times of the ID. The height is from 20mm to 75mm with increment of 5mm. |
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Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
The figures they give are nominal for a typical commercial design run at fairly high design flux density, which is fair enough. For an inverter, we would use a much lower design flux density by using a higher turns count. That forces us to use slightly thinner gauge wire, which reduces the maximum continuous power rating. But we win hugely by having a far lower idling power than they specify on that chart. The largest size would be ideal for 5Kw to 7Kw continuous 24 hour rating, and multiples of that for short surges. Cheers, Tony. |
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LadyN Guru Joined: 26/01/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 408 |
Thank you for the report back. Was there any conversation about cost, tax, s&h, insurance One of the mistakes I learned from when I used to buy dresses is that when a supplier gets a lot of calls from different people about similar or exact product, they increase the price. Depending on their strategy they might do it differently: instead of increasing the price flat out, they might claim a higher turnaround time and offer "expedited processing" or they could claim they only have 2 cores on hand when they can see demand for a dozen, etc. A better solution we found was for one person to get the numbers and place the order for the group. All or nothing. No games. The shipping addresses could be different but the case for us was that the dresses would be sent to one - our dance studio. Commercial delivery addresses get a discount compared to residence. I don't know why. We often ended up with 1/10th the price compared to us ordering individually. That's significant savings. Thank you Tony! 1. By the largest size, did you mean the 118lb 10kWh rated core? 2. In the warpverter, how does the idling power distribute across each inverter stage? If it helps simplify things, you don't have to generalize and you can quote numbers just for your own build(s) |
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
Well I am pretty sure they make the torodial cores and transformers themselves to their clients specifications in large quantities so they wouldnt stay in buisness by playing thoose sorts of games. Plus they offer prototypes but you still have to pay for them. I havent talked prices yet. |
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BenandAmber Guru Joined: 16/02/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 961 |
If the prices are good you can put me down for one The enameled copper wire is pretty expensive to If there was used ones to find you can reuse the wire which makes it more valuable With the cheapest wire I found so far you guys might be able to find cheaper it will cost over $200 just for the wire And the tape that insulates each layer a little bit pricey too but not too bad I think that's why these Transformers are so expensive be warned i am good parrot but Dumber than a box of rocks |
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kentfielddude Regular Member Joined: 09/05/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 89 |
Well they told me the ID:170, OD:340, H:75 is $447. |
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tinyt Guru Joined: 12/11/2017 Location: United StatesPosts: 438 |
ID:6.7 inches, OD:13.38 inches, H:2.95 inches This is huge for me. This is only for the core, no insulating tapes, no winding? And no shipping and handling yet? |
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BenandAmber Guru Joined: 16/02/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 961 |
I really appreciate you looking into it and getting prices But that price makes that giant Transformer on eBay setting in that computer chair look not so pricey after all I bet you them people would take between 200 and $300 for that Transformer if somebody offered My two cents is this With a big Transformer you're going to need a big choke that ferrite material is very expensive I did find some really look at my big choke post How long are you going to be running anything over 3000 Watts Well if you say during the daytime when the sun's out I might be running over 3000 Watts long time Grid-tied inverters are very cheap and you can run them right through these style inverters they build on here So that leaves us with how many watts are you going to be pulling at night time going to have to have a really big battery Bank you plan on pulling over 3000 Watts for long periods of time And another thing one of the greats is running Square Transformers The ones are referred to as the Great's are the smartest people on this form Like I said this is just my opinion It may not be right for somebody else just the way I think be warned i am good parrot but Dumber than a box of rocks |
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