Taming Lester 3

Lester got some attention today. Since we are having some hot weather, I decided to stay in the garage and out of the sun. This allowed me to complete the 240 volt AC wiring to the input of the charger. A three pole contactor with the associated on/off circuitry, wiring to the fuse holder, wiring to the primary of the transformer, and the feed for the cooling blower were all completed, with all of the crimp lugs soldered and heat shrink-wrapped for current handling and safety.

Good thing I work cheap, the same amount of hours on a clients project would have netted me about $200. Now I have to make something useful out of this project, I've gotten invested into it. Other than the $15 or so in parts I've ordered, this has been a junk-box parts construction.

Today was also the first time I've powered the charger up on 240 volts without a soft-start circuit (the Variac). I had to do it sooner or later, and now there are at least some proper fuses in the circuit. The SCR rectifiers weren't set up for DC output, but I did run a light bulb on the AC secondary of the transformer, and test the blower, using the center tap of the primary of the transformer to supply 120 VAC from the 240 volt supply.

Next I'll have to build the new front panel, properly mount the start/stop pushbuttons, and then begin the DC output side of the circuitry. When the IC's I've ordered come in, I'll be all ready to either put the charger into service, or clean blackened soot off my glasses...

Part 4