AC/DC 24v power supply 5a with 8 barrel connectors?

Thread Starter

Pascalms

Joined Jan 31, 2019
1
Hello,
First off, I'm a newbie. Not sure if what I'm looking for is doable, possible...

I have 8 battery powered light fixtures.
They come with 24v, 5a individual chargers.

I would like to make a charger where I can charge all my (8) lights fixtures at once without the need of plugging 8 individual chargers in the wall. (I'd like something more compact)
So basically, some kind of AC/DC power supply where i have only one AC plug to go in the wall and splits into 8x DC cables with barrels connectors delivering 24v, 5a to each fixture.

Hope it's clear.
What would be required for this?

Thank you!
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
So if I read you right you want 24 VDC @ 5 Amps X 8 or a 24 VDC 40 Amp charger or source. Next problem is are what you have designed as Battery Chargers or just 24 VDC power supplies? Also my 40 Amps was a bare minimal you want some overhead in there. Certain battery chargers are designed around battery chemistry. That needs to be known? So while I won't say yes, no problem there are things which need known.

Ron
 

AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
Please post information about the lights and chargers; manuals, photos, website links, etc. If the lights have LiPo batteries, then the chargers probably have some brains and are not as simple as lead-acid or NiCad chargers. This is a much more difficult thing to design, especially at your power level.

The safest (and cheapest) thing to do is buy an outlet strip with 8 outlets, and continue to use the chargers supplied with the lights.

Note: Using something other than the factory original chargers probably voids the warranty and any responsibility the manufacturer has for your safety. You are talking about pumping over 57,000 joules of energy into the most explosive battery chemistry. Since you are a

I recommend against it.

ak
 
Last edited:

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,179
If the light has a 24 volt FIVE AMP supply my guess is that it is not really a battery powered light. So the first question is: are they actually battery powered lights? Each supply would be providing 120 watts as I see it,
So we really need some additional description of the system and the lights.
 
So if I read you right you want 24 VDC @ 5 Amps X 8 or a 24 VDC 40 Amp charger or source. Next problem is are what you have designed as Battery Chargers or just 24 VDC power supplies? Also my 40 Amps was a bare minimal you want some overhead in there. Certain battery chargers are designed around battery chemistry. That needs to be known? So while I won't say yes, no problem there are things which need known.

Ron
What is the difference between the signals, or waveforms, from a 24vdc charger and a 24vdc supply? both 5a
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,179
Some chargers are "smart " chargers in that they communicate with electronics in the battery pack, so that the battery pack will not work with other chargers. This is intended to lock the user into having to purchase an expensive charger when the original charger is lost or stolen. The interface circuit is proprietary and the connector often has three circuits.

As the TS has referenced"light fixtures", it seems that these are not portable lights, but some other variety.
So the very first question is what sort of batteries are to be charged? What capacity, in amp-hours are they rated at? Is the intention that the battery powered light fixtures should stay in place while being charged? Is mains power constantly available for the recharging action?
Some battery types can do very well with a float charging scheme that would not require early as much charging current, and some other kinds demand a smart charge cycle.
Soreally we need a lot more information to provide anything more than random guesses.
 

Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
7,501
What is the difference between the signals, or waveforms, from a 24vdc charger and a 24vdc supply? both 5a
Well earlier I mentioned battery chemistry which is a key player in the game. For example a 24 volt battery is not quite really a 24 volt battery, we just tend to call a car or truck battery 12 volts or 24 volts but here is an example of the reality.

24 volt fla battewry.png 24 volt sla battery.png

Both common 24 volt batteries but note the voltages. The difference here being battery type. Next and gaining in popularity is the 24V Lithium Ion Battery which actually is a 3.2 volt per cell or 8 cells in series for 25.6 volts. Lithium Ion batteries also require special charging designed around battery chemistry. Actually true of all batteries and again going back to chemistry. Anyway you get the idea as to the difference between a power supply and battery charger. This is why in my first post I pointed out...

Certain battery chargers are designed around battery chemistry. That needs to be known? So while I won't say yes, no problem there are things which need known.
Really if all of these batteries or lighting fixtures terminate at the same location I would just use as suggested ...
The safest (and cheapest) thing to do is buy an outlet strip with 8 outlets, and continue to use the chargers supplied with the lights.
Short of doing that you are faced with a potential nightmare and safety issue of fire.

Ron
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
8,813
There is a huge difference between a power supply and a battery charger.

A power supply just provides a constant voltage.

A battery charger, at least the good ones, vary the voltage to control the current to the battery in a multi-step process.

Neither can replace the other.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,179
We still do not know any of the details about how far apart the lights are or if the TS has grid power or uses a generator set or???
So far all that we know is that there are 8 of them, and the tags on the chargers say "24 volts, 5 amps", and wile those are important details they provide not enough information to suggest any charging system details. They could all be fed from a one amp float charger with a diode and resistor for each one, or even charged in two series groups using only one diode and one resistor in each string, directly off the 120 volt mains. NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A SAFE SCHEME, JUST A POSSIBLE CONCEPT.
 
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