ElectricSquid

Anyone else? ... for a home made inductor that needs to smooth the single phase waveform coming through a bridge rectifier at 48-53V @ 30-225A (selectable on the AC side of the bridge rectifier).

Yup, that could get expensive real quick :-\ They do sell 1.0F capacitors for audio systems, but I'm not so sure the voltage/amperage I'm looking to use would match properly. I think I read that they are rated around 24 volts, I'm looking at using about twice that. Sounds like a better match. Plus, I'm guessing I could build one myself from scratch. Any suggestions on wire size, coil size, amount of coils, size of core, etc?

Interesting idea. What would be the advantage of using an inductor over a capacitor?

I am working on a simple conversion for my AC stick welder, to add DC welding capability to it (instead of paying an extra $400 for a pre-built one). I have most of the wiring worked out, but need help properly sizing the smoothing capacitor. The design is simple, 48-53V AC (single phase) @ 30-225A (selectable) runs through a 300A bridge rectifier to produce a "bumpy" DC waveform. I need to smooth out the wave to a ripple, so a capacitor needs to be added. example: http://www.antonine-education.co.uk/physics_a2/options/module_9/Topic_3/capacitative_smoothing.htm So here's my dilemma, I have no clue how to properly size the capacitor to this application. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ;)