A Serious Mains Conditioner

Posted by: NaimDropper on 22 July 2006

No batteries, uses a flywheel.
SERIOUS UPS
At only 1100 lbs (500 kg) and occupying 6 ft. sq. of floor space it delivers 190kW of power and 2700kWs of energy.
They claim 20 years of service with their vacuum bearings. Ride-through power conditioning, etc.
Seems suitable for Naim... Anybody tried one?
I bet you could get it in Black or Olive...
Then there'd be no more "bad mains days".
David
Posted on: 23 July 2006 by NaimThatTune
Hi David,

Thanks for the post!

Although, Rats - years ago I thought of building a mechanical mains conditioner with a dirty great flywheel in, too. Seemed the obvious way to get very stable power to me, if a little simple and 'clunky', potentially noisy and a bit of a handful if a bearing seized!!

Seems there is never anything new under the sun.

The link didn't work (maybe one needs to be registered on the site?) so I googled for the concept and it appears Nasa have thoughts involving of a flywheel-based battery (based on the work done by Pentadyne that you brought to our attention). Their design could be described as 'non-trivial'...

Rich.
Posted on: 24 July 2006 by NaimDropper
Rich-
Sorry the link didn't work, below is the text from the site.
It would provide a consistent ride-through for certain, especially if it were synchronous. I suspect it is not synchronous, otherwise any slow-down during energy "withdrawal" would result in a change of mains frequency.
The whole thing was a bit tongue in cheek, such a device in the home would be way over the top.
But then again...
David

http://www.electronicproducts.com/ShowPage.asp?SECTION=...=hlap04.sep2006.html

Flywheel power system
eliminates batteries in UPS
Energy storage and conditioning device can deliver up to 190 kW of power

With a design life of 20 years operating 24/7 without any major service interval, the VSS+DC flywheel-based energy storage system replaces batteries in UPS systems with a nontoxic system with a longer lifetime and higher reliability. Occupying less than 25% of the space of an equivalently sized battery system, the 1,300-lb device will deliver up to 190 kW of power and up to 2,700 kW/s of energy, and can integrate with UPS systems rated at 225 kVA or less.


In addition to energy storage, the self-contained device also provides 100% ride-through power conditioning and filtering with magnetic bearings and a vacuum-maintenance feature for a 20-year operating lifetime. Housed in a steel cabinet occupying less than 6 ft2 of floor space, the flywheel energy system can be paralleled with as many additional units as desired for higher power, longer run-time, or redundancy without requiring any communication links. (Contact Keith Field for pricing—available now.)

Pentadyne, Chatsworth, CA
Keith Field 818-350-0370, ext. 210
Fax 818-350-0385
keith.field@pentadyne.com
http://www.pentadyne.com
Posted on: 24 July 2006 by NaimThatTune
Hey David,

Thanks for the info - I too was being a little tongue in cheek but I guess that doesn't always come across via text.

Still, it's good to know that someone liked the idea of a flywheel enough to build one into a commercial product, and that someone else apart from me (you) thought it appropriate for hifi.

Don't think I'll be placing an order for one anytime soon though!

Cheers!

Rich.