2zo-rc Power supply

[Ben M]

Have you ever heard about this power supply?

**LINK**

I am a beginner but the following review seems very coherent and the power supply seems to be an amazing solution for price, scalability and flexibility.

**LINK**

Did you know about it? What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

Benjamin

[John Privett]

That looks like a (slightly) modified HP Proliant DL380-G4 server power supply. The conversion is documented in many places on the 'net, for instance here and the power supplies themselves are available on ebay for under £20.

If you're not confortable making the changes needed yourself, then I guess the one you've linked is a good option, though you're paying a bit more for it and I wouldn't expect the postage to be cheap from the USA! (These are not light-weight items!)

[John Privett]

Just had a closer look at that link, and it is as I thought a DL380-G4 server power supply.

They do seem to have modified it a little more than is often done, for instance so that you could connect two or more in series to give a 24v, 36v.... etc. supply - this is something you can't do with just the simple modifications.

I do wonder though, as you say you're a beginner, whether you actually need a power supply with as high an output as this. For several years I just used a modified PC power supply to run my battery charger - that was fine for the few amps I needed to charge 3S 2200 and 2650mAh LiPos. More recently I got a quad charger that I use to charge 4 batteries at a time. A modified PS2 PSU powers that and is good for 16.5A. I can't see me needing more than that unless I go for much bigger electric models.

[crispin church]

most chargers only take 18 volts max

go to your local pc shop and ask if they got any old power surply

i got given mine free of charge

**LINK**

easy to do and i run 2 6amp chargers at same time with no problem

[Ben M]

Thanks for your comments,

John, I understand you comment about the beginner needs. My point of view is:

• Practising the hovering = flying time = several batteries. And then:​
  • Small charger = long charging time
  • Powerful charger = Reasonable charging time

If you don’t want to leave the batteries charging unattended then you need to charge them in a reasonable time.

I like very much the idea of a power supply that can be easily extended by getting other one, especially if they are cheaper than other power supplies. Sadly I cannot get it from UK and bringing it from US is too expensive.

Electronics is a difficult subject to me and I prefer not to modify myself the power supply. I would like to get a charger and a power supply that fits my needs today and in a midterm. My needs today are charging in parallel the following sets (each set separately):

• 6 batteries (3S 2250 mAh) at 2C
• 6 batteries (1S 150 mAh) at 2C

If I am right, I will need:

• A charger able to provide 27A.
• A power supply able to handle a drain of 380W (6 batteries x 4.2V x 3S x 2.25A x 2C)

My knowledge about electricity is limited and it’s being complicated to select the right charger and power supply. By now any of these two chargers would be my selection:

• http://www.giantshark.co.uk/product/170666/icharger-306b-6s-30a-1000w-balance-charger
• http://www.giantshark.co.uk/product/170024/icharger-3010b-1000w-10s-balance-charger

The power supply I found that seems to match my requirements is:

http://www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/p4480/Pro-Peak_13.8v_Dual_Power_Supply_30A_415W/product_info.html

Opinions and advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Ben