{"id":2225,"date":"2011-04-12T20:25:42","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T03:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/plug-bug-dc-dc-converters\/"},"modified":"2011-04-13T06:40:35","modified_gmt":"2011-04-13T13:40:35","slug":"plug-bug-dc-dc-converters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/plug-bug-dc-dc-converters\/","title":{"rendered":"Plug Bug: DC-DC Converters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"top\" \/>I&#8217;m ditching my IOTA DLS-55 DC-DC converter. The inrush limiter I use (which replaced the AC bridge rectifier) eventually dries out and cracks, and then stops working. I got ~1000 miles on my last modification (I&#8217;m at ~1700 miles right now).<\/p>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m doing research on what is out there to hopefully make the right choice. I&#8217;m only listing ones that I could actually use (ie: rated &gt; 25amps, ideally higher, and have an input voltage appropriate for my pack at 154v nominal).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Belktronix<\/strong> &#8211; $300<br \/>\n675W ( up to 55 amps) 120V-350V (based on application)<br \/>\nGreat support from the owner\/creator &#8211; Bryan.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.belktronix.com\/isodcdc.html\">http:\/\/www.belktronix.com\/isodcdc.html<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.belktronix.com\/pricing.html\">http:\/\/www.belktronix.com\/pricing.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cloud Electric<\/strong> generic brand. $280<br \/>\nProbably the same as the Kelly, but has a bit higher output, which I like.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11px;\">132-168V nominal input 13.6V \/ 35A out (sealed type)<\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cloudelectric.com\/category_s\/8344.htm\">http:\/\/www.cloudelectric.com\/category_s\/8344.htm<\/a><br \/>\nWhich are these ones imported from China: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hztiecheng.com\/english\/\">http:\/\/www.hztiecheng.com\/english\/<\/a> specifically: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hztiecheng.com\/english\/Product\/T16\/38.html\">http:\/\/www.hztiecheng.com\/english\/Product\/T16\/38.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Others that might meet my needs, but have concerns:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vicor<\/strong>: 150V Input Maxi Family DC-DC Converter &#8211; $280&#8217;ish<br \/>\nBut, these are just the bricks and not a complete system! Vicor produces high quality parts, from what I hear<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.vicorpower.com\/documents\/datasheets\/ds_150vin-maxi-family.pdf\">http:\/\/cdn.vicorpower.com\/documents\/datasheets\/ds_150vin-maxi-family.pdf<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/vdac.vicorpower.com\/vdac\/predefined\/00predef-mods.asp\">http:\/\/vdac.vicorpower.com\/vdac\/predefined\/00predef-mods.asp<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kelly<\/strong> HWZ Series DC\/DC Converter 156V to 13.5V 25A &#8211; $150<br \/>\nI&#8217;ve heard from two sources that Kellys are bad. Another source (Travis) has had good success with them.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/kellycontroller.com\/hwz-series-dcdc-converter-156v-to-135v-25a-p-536.html\">http:\/\/kellycontroller.com\/hwz-series-dcdc-converter-156v-to-135v-25a-p-536.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Zivan &#8211; <span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">$498 &#8211; $525<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong>14vdc \/ 60 amps output. I&#8217;m not so sure about the Zivan, since they seem to be more of an AC-DC charger, than a purely designed DC-DC converter. It looks like they come with an AC plug, which I don&#8217;t want. I want something designed for a car.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/store.kta-ev.com\/zivandc-dcconv100-200vinp.aspx\">http:\/\/store.kta-ev.com\/zivandc-dcconv100-200vinp.aspx<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.evolveelectrics.com\/DC-DC%20Converters.html#elcondcdc\">http:\/\/www.evolveelectrics.com\/DC-DC%20Converters.html#elcondcdc<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Elcon &#8211; <span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">$250, 25amps out<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: normal;\">These seem to be the same one as the generic Cloud Electric ones, just rebranded. The pictures and part numbers are identical.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.evolveelectrics.com\/DC-DC%20Converters.html\">http:\/\/www.evolveelectrics.com\/DC-DC%20Converters.html<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m opting for the <strong>Belktronix<\/strong> &#8212; it gives the most output (35 amps) with no fans, and higher output if you cool it (up to 55amps). Plus, Bryan is quick to answer emails and seems to really support his products. Unfortunately, it has a 3-4 week lead time, and right now I&#8217;m using my car with the temporary fix again (another inrush limiter) which could fail at anytime.<\/p>\n<p>How much would it cost me to drive a gas car for 4 weeks, assuming I can charge at work for free? I drive 40 miles\/day on normal, and 50 miles when I got to the gym (twice a week). 40*3 + 50*2 = 120 +100 = <strong>220 miles \/ week<\/strong> for 4 weeks gives: <strong>880 miles.<\/strong> Say I drive the old Ford Focus we have, ~30mpg: 880\/30 = ~29.3 gallons of gas. Times $4\/gallon (which it basically is here in CA): <strong>$117<\/strong>. It would be worth it that much for me to get the converter earlier to avoid using the gas car. (NOTE: Edited my math).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m ditching my IOTA DLS-55 DC-DC converter. The inrush limiter I use (which replaced the AC bridge rectifier) eventually dries out and cracks, and then stops working. I got ~1000 miles on my last modification&#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/plug-bug-dc-dc-converters\/\">[read more]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electric-bug"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2231,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225\/revisions\/2231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.corbinstreehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}