Hopefully this isnt too dumb of a question, as I am very uneducated when it comes to electrical wizardry.

Is there some kind of converter that will convert AC (120 or 240) to DC capable of 12-36 volts and high amperage?

Yes....there are all kinds of available devices like that. What voltage/current are you looking for?
The higher the voltage/current/regulation and lower ripple, the more pricey they get.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=120-532

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=120-538

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=120-556

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=120-558

These are some decent ones that are a compromise between price/perfromance.
You can drop thousands on specialty ones.

More...


http://www.samlexamerica.com/products/subcategory.asp?CategoryID=8&packagetype=1

yay someone called it the right name!!!!!!!

going from ac-dc (120v-12v) is a converter
inverter is going 12v - 120v


lol..

i hate the people that come into harbor freight that ask for a converter.. i simply tell them we do not carry converters.. and they say "well yeah yall do! i had a buddy get one and put it in his car to plug his compressor up to it"..
Sir.. thats an inverter.......

but yes there are lots of products out there that do what your wanting..

thanks for the links, but what if i need a lot more amps... like maybe 350...



sorry for not doing my own research, all i have is extremely slow mobile web.

No worries on the research, I know a fair bit about this kind of stuff
What voltage are you looking for?
When you start getting into that kind of current, it won't be cheap, especially if you require good regulation.
The primary draw (120 or 240) will be getting up there as well...even if you assumed 90% efficiency..at 12V, your primary draw would be around 40 amps at 120V.

That last sentence is over my head.

I am looking for something that is adjustable from say, 12-36 volts and capable of those high amp numbers I mentioned, if it is even feasible.

its feasible, if your wallet will allow it....

36v at high amperage? Sounds like a welder...

Don pretty much summed it up. A power supply like that will not be cheap, especially if you want it variable.
What is the purpose of said supply?
And...if you had a 36V/350A power supply, and powered it from a 120V supply....you would be in the area of 110 amps...to kind of give you an idea of the kind of power draw you would be looking at.

DNFXDLI said:

And...if you had a 36V/350A power supply, and powered it from a 120V supply....you would be in the area of 110 amps...to kind of give you an idea of the kind of power draw you would be looking at.

Click to expand...

OK, how do you figure that out? I am trying to learn about electricity, but numbers have never cooperated with me very well.

As for the reason for the questions, I am just curious about trying to figure out if a ReadyWelder will run from a big enough DC power supply.

nobodyspecial said:

OK, how do you figure that out? I am trying to learn about electricity, but numbers have never cooperated with me very well.

As for the reason for the questions, I am just curious about trying to figure out if a ReadyWelder will run from a big enough DC power supply.

Click to expand...

Without getting into the reactive power stuffs....simply put, Power (Watts) is a product of voltage multiplied by the amperage.
So....you have 36 volts x 350 amps...which is 12,600 watts.
Transposing that equation you can divide the 12,600 by 120 (house voltage) and that will give you 105 amps.
Now this is assuming 100% efficiency and no reactive power component.
Actual number would probably be closer to 120A at 120V...or, with that kind of draw, you would want to power it at 240V...which would be half the current.
For a ready welder you would be better of running it from AGM batteries...with the price of a power supply like you are talking about and the associated primary wiring, you would be better off with a Genset.