So, the title of the eBay auction was "large rectifier", and sure enough the photo showed a couple of what appeared to be large heatsinks with stud diodes inbetween them. Opening bid was $0.99, and the seller is near my house (a clearance business that moves thousands of ebay lots per day) so I wouldn't have to pay shipping. I bid $1.00, and won it.
I went to pick it and a dozen other lots up last friday. The girl rolled out my other lots and asked if I'd mind going back in their warehouse and getting the rectifier myself. Well, I could lift it, but i couldn't carry it any distance!!
To make a long story short, the thing is about 4 times as large as I guessed looking at the pictures. It's about 18" by 12" by 10, and easily weighs in around a hundred pounds!
So, the question is: I have no earthly use for the thing, and while turning a $1 ebay lot into $58 at the aluminium scrap yard is an attractive option, I'd hate to see the thing melted down when there may be someone out there that could use it.
I dont know if your into computer modding at all (I guess you've dabbled in it atleast from the banner on your blog) but it looks liek the top two heatsinks come off. they look like they would be nice as passive coolers for a powersuply and CPU :D
To me, it looks like a fun source of aluminum for casting. You really only need a crucible, some aluminum, and a propane forge, plus the casting sand and whatever forms you are going to use. In a pinch, you can use the leg from a pot-bellied stove as a crucible.
Melting aluminum to make your own cast items is FUN!
There are many people who need huge heatsinks to build type A audio amplifiers. You can check out some of their stuff at http://www.diyaudio.com and http://www.passdiy.com. On diyaudio, there is a trading post where you could probably sell this thing for $$$$..
why not make a super computer power suply (by using recicled computers) to calculate Pi? (if you need a OS then here: http://www.flashmobcomputing.org)
You could build a wind turbine and use the rectifier to convert the signal from DC to AC (or is it the other way around?). Hugh Piggott at http://www.scoraigwind.com/ has some good instructions.
Hey, I work for Circuit City (don't flame me!), but I thought you might be interested in a sale (you can’t get in the stores) coming up this Sunday. I thought I would give a heads up early because stock will be limited. Skip the Friday madness and go to the website this Sunday through Wednesday.
There are going to be daily special deals only on the web starting Sunday. The deals just last through Wednesday, and I know their stock will be limited so check it out at www.circuitcity.com/countdown starting this Sunday.