Is there any company that makes transformers to change 120VAC (wall outlet) into 12VDC (like a car battery) that can put out at least 40 amps? I need it for the speaker system i built. It is literally car speaker components, amplifer, and sub woofers that i made boxes for and i move around different places like parties and cookouts. In the past i have used a regular automotive battery charger hooked up to a car battery and ran the power cables to it. Without the charger plugged in the system drains the battery within 30 min or so.
As far as i can tell, it has to be more than 40A but it can be less than 50A. The fuses in the main power wires blow when i put 40s in there, but hold with 50s–it also depends on the amount of bass in the songs too it seems. Ultimately i just want something that looks prettier than a grungy battery with jumper cables hooked to it.
This is exactly the wrong way to decide what fuses you need. The fuses should be sized according to the capabilities of the wires, insulation, and other components you’re using. If you do that and the fuses still blow, then you need thicker wires. If you don’t know the amperage rating for the wires you’re using, ask an electrician for help. The fuses are there for a reason, and the way they serve their purpose is by blowing.
This is unclear to me. By “main power wire” do you mean the input power line at the 120 V. receptacle, or the 12 V. line to your equipment?
If you mean the latter here are a bunch of supplies of various output capabilities. You need to go down to the 750 or 1000 W. output. These cost in the neighborhood of $230 from this supplier. Just Google ‘12 volt DC power supplies’ to find a wider selection.
Actually, except for the inconvenience, your method of using a battery charger with a battery as a filter is a pretty good solution to your problem.
The wire is sized to fit the B+ power jack on the amp which is a good 1/2" opening. I’m quite certain it is 4awg wire–about the thickness of a finger. If it matters the amp is a Rockford Fosgate P8002 and it drinks power like a fish. Blowing fuses used to depend on the song: dance/techno/hip hop is riddled with bass–those songs blew my fuses. Rock and country and Yanni, not so much. Actually, not ever. The only reason i had the small fuses was from years ago when i had most of the equipment in my car. At the time i had a smaller amp, American Acoustics i think, but that doesn’t matter now.
It is the 12V power wire going into my system. The ground wire is the same size, just no fuse holder on it.
What do you mean using the battery as a filter? I know if i hook up the system to the charger directly i get no power, but i’m not sure how a battery “filters” that?
I have a meter, just afraid to hook it up b/c i don’t want to blow it up. There’s a little warning next to the wire jack that says “10A MAX FUSED”. I’m all up for getting knowledge myself. I have melted lots of wires and made lots of sparks doing things the wrong way, but i’ve mostly learned from my mistakes.
I wasn’t going to answer since you already have the answer to your OP question and this is a side issue. Then I thought “What the hell, you don’t have anything to do so why not?”
The output won’t be quite this tidy. There will be little voltage transients at the points where the voltage changes abruptly, but the will be small and don’t change the general concept.
