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Author Topic: 5 Megawatt Load Bank  (Read 11759 times)

Steve Alves

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2017, 02:14:01 PM »

So you're saying I could roast marshmallows over it like a campfire? That's another win in the plus column...  ;) BTW: Just how many watts does a campfire output?

The average campfire (not bonfire) produces 4,700,000 BTU. Using an online calculator (1 BTU/hr = 0.29307107 W) that shows as 1,377,434.029 Watts.
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Steven Alves
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Tim McCulloch

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2017, 02:47:23 PM »

The average campfire (not bonfire) produces 4,700,000 BTU. Using an online calculator (1 BTU/hr = 0.29307107 W) that shows as 1,377,434.029 Watts.

So Mike would have the very expensive equal (think of his electricity bill) to about 4 campfires.

Burn wood, Mike.
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"If you're passing on your way, from Palm Springs to L.A., Give a wave to good ol' Dave, Say hello to progress and goodbye to the Moonlight Motor Inn." - Steve Spurgin, Moonlight Motor Inn

Mike Sokol

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2017, 02:51:37 PM »

The average campfire (not bonfire) produces 4,700,000 BTU. Using an online calculator (1 BTU/hr = 0.29307107 W) that shows as 1,377,434.029 Watts.

I think you're confusing BTU Hours with BTUs, so at the very least you need to divide your total watt output by 60, maybe more. I'm pretty sure a campfire doesn't put out more than 1.3 megawatts of heat, but maybe it does 23kW. Can somebody check the equation and math?

Art Welter

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2017, 03:17:06 PM »

I think you're confusing BTU Hours with BTUs, so at the very least you need to divide your total watt output by 60, maybe more. I'm pretty sure a campfire doesn't put out more than 1.3 megawatts of heat, but maybe it does 23kW. Can somebody check the equation and math?
Wood has anywhere from about 8000 to 9700 BTU per pound, depending on resin content. If we go for the highest BTU at 9700 x a 10 pound campfire, the total BTU output would be around 97,000, with the output spread over a time period depending on how the fire was made and tended. Lets say a fast burn, 1 hr=97,000 BTU =28KW.
« Last Edit: November 17, 2017, 03:25:32 PM by Art Welter »
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Stephen Swaffer

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #14 on: November 17, 2017, 06:35:55 PM »

So, do you have large enough feeders to hook it up?
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Steve Swaffer

Mike Sokol

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2017, 08:01:27 PM »

So, do you have large enough feeders to hook it up?
I've got a 2/0, 3-phase, 120/208 feeder, so in Y mode that's 200 amps x 120 volts x 3 legs = 72,000 watts. That's only 1.44% of 5 MW. But in Delta mode that's 200 amps x 208 volts x 3 legs = 124,800 watts. That's still only 2.4% of 5 MW if I'm doing this right. I don't think that would even warm up this load bank up enough to spin the fans. But I can dream, can't I?  ;D

Stephen Swaffer

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2017, 09:18:39 PM »

Of course, the point of a load bank is to test the cable to see if they warm up under load...

Tap into 480 and you can do a tiny bit better-get the right medium voltage feed and you can make some headway-though arcing might pose a problem.
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David Buckley

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #17 on: November 19, 2017, 06:07:47 PM »

So you're saying I could roast marshmallows over it like a campfire?

You can fry stuff up on a frypan on top of a 1K parcan.  You can torch stuff with a few well-aimed sharpies.  A 200KW fan heater will carbonize your marshmallows in a blink of an eye.   Assuming (a) the marshmallows could be persuaded to stay on the sticks, because you are talking about a significant amount of airflow here,  and (b) as long as the sticks were a many feet long, otherwise your body will also be in the jetstream, and will also be toasted to a crisp.

Load banks are mean pieces of engineering.
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Erik Jerde

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2017, 09:44:59 PM »

I just found the ANSI definitions. So 99.9 kV is considered "Medium" voltage. Holy crap...

Voltage classes: (ANSI C84.1-2016)

Low Voltage: 1000 volts or less

Medium Voltage: greater than 1000 volts and less than 100 kV

High Voltage: greater than 100 kV and equal to or less than 230 kV

Extra-High Voltage: greater than 230 kV but less than 1000 kV

Ultra-High Voltage: equal to or greater than 1000 kV

And the dielectric strength of air is 33Kv/cm so in those upper ranges things can get exciting real fast when you're not careful.
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David Buckley

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Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2017, 10:19:17 PM »

So next time you see a "DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE" sign on a door, chances are, it isn't really.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: 5 Megawatt Load Bank
« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2017, 10:19:17 PM »


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