McMaster-Carr and DigiKey are two potential vendors that come to mind. Also Grainger, but they won't sell to you unless your employer has an account (even if you pay with your own credit card.)
good luck
nate
Start with Radio Shack and places line
I have had no luck finding anything useful at Radio Shack in the past few years. The local store employees for the most part give you blank looks when you look for basic stuff like resistors and diodes. (have needed same on short notice before for work.) Anymore I go to a local place called Arcade Electronics first, but that probably doesn't help the OP.
nate
I have 3 automotive 12v battery chargers that need parts. One needs diodes, another needs that protection device that cuts out when the leads short, and comes back on in a minute or so (are those called circuit breakers or????). I am not sure what the 3rd one needs, but probably diodes. (Have not opened that one). I hate tossing something that needs a simple repair, but where can I get parts? I tried google but as usual all I got were fu#^%&g links to ebay, and spam sites.
quoted text -
some non mall radio shack stores have more parts, although radio shack has became a toy store.
few people want to fix things today, the vast majority just want a new one
For the moment scavange parts from unit 1 to put in unit 2. At least you'll have one working unit until you can find the parts
Unless you enjoy fixing things and some time spending some money uselessly I suggest to use nearest garbage can Tony
I don't know about the rest of the world, but I consider almost all those chargers throw-a-ways.
Nate Nagel wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news2.newsguy.com:
DITTO!
Good one.
Most of the Radioshack stores around here closed last year but that didn't matter because they had very little stock and as you said no one knew what you were talking about.
We used to have two great industrial supply houses in the area but they are gone because there is no industry here anymore.
But he didn't mention if they were big box style chargers or good ones. I have a beefy charger that I have been using for years that I got because it was declared inoperable. It had blown stud diodes and it was a quick repair.
Back when I was much younger I would have tried to trace an electronic circuit board and replace components. These days I dont even touch them, and just replace them. But battery chargers are such simple things that anyone with some electronics experience can repair them. Besides the housing, there are only 5 parts. The transformer, the diodes, the "circuit breaker", the gauge, and some wiring (including the external plug in and batt. cables/clamps). Also, some have a switch to go from 6v to 12v. or low amp to hi amp. It takes me 5 minutes to determine the problem which is usually the diodes, but in this one it's the "breaker". It takes another 5 to 20 minutes to repair the thing. They're not complicated or hard to work on. The problem is getting the parts.........
For those that said Radio Shack, they dont carry any diodes larger than 1A, if they carry them at all these days. I rarely go to R.S. at all anymore. All they carry is toys, and overpriced cellphones and tvs. Their parts are limited to a few switches, solder, coax connectors, phone cords, and a few grab bags of unidentified semiconductors that (from experience) are often defective.
I should note that I DID repair a high powered batt charger using diodes made for a auto alternator. Those diodes are way over the rating of the charger, even for that 50A charger (which was an expensive charger). The problem is that those diodes are also hard to get, and most (if not all) are pressure fit and thus have no mounting screws. I had to use the heatsink from the scrap alternator and mount it into the charger while providing isolation from the metal case. I did fix that one, and spent much more than an hour doing it, but for a costly charger it was worth it.
Also, Fry's if you happen to have one nearby.
Bob
You locale?
In OC, CA (or SoCal) ..... Marvac electronics
online...... as Ed suggested............
temp fix....as suggest rob all the parts need from the others
btw that would be a thermal circuit breaker
cheers Bob
Member of the 'throw-away' society; eh Tony? Have to agree that if/when one has to pay North American labour rates it is often not economic to 'pay' for something to be fixed! Also to 'pay' for something to be fixed usually means driving somewhere or having someone come and pick it up, repair it and return it (or pick it up yourself). With the consequent use of gasoline etc. However anyone willing to reuse/recycle should be commended. My quick, back of the envelope, calculations seem to indicate that any significant project I can tackle personally can often be completed for one third the cost if one does it oneself, especially if one has mostly used materials on hand or saved up for it. Repairing an item such as a battery charge from a few extra bits on hand or purchased could possibly be done for just a few dollars. I too have couple of such chargers and another to scrap for parts. A few years ago rebuilt one of those 'heavy' chargers that can give enough current to start a vehicle or recharge a battery in 20 minutes. It had been thrown out by a local auto repair outfit who said "take it". Some $40 later and with the addition of a missing handle replaced with one from a scrapped 'weed eater' it is good as a new $250-$300 one! I congratulate the OP for thinking about refurbishing, reuse, repair or recycle whatever you want to call it. We should all be thinking that way.
That is true. While I would expect someone with three of those commercial units would not be sitting on three of them out of commission and not repairing or having them repaired or at least having someone in the shop that would know the answer to the question. Of course some very old ones might require more redesign and expense to make it worth it. I would not expect three of them to go out at the same time.
The >> I don't know about the rest of the world, but I consider almost all
If everyone saved and re-used broken things and scavenged them from others, what would happen to our economy? And where would I get all the great stuff that makes my life cheap, easy, and interesting?
Bob
Of those 3, one was originally my own. The other 2 came from auctions where I gave a couple bucks for them. The reason I can not just change parts from one to the other is that they are all different amperages. The thermal breaker needs to be a 12A (its a 2 or 10A charger). None of the other chargers are even close, they are much higher AMP chargers. I cant use the diodes from the 10A on a 50A or I think the other one is a 20 to 30A. This is where the problems arise. Getting parts these days is very difficult. Even when you do find them online, many (or most) companies want a minimum order and or charge very high shipping making the whole repair cost more than a new charger. I did find one place that has the thermal breakers, except they dont have a 12A. I have to choose either a 10 or 15, which means a 15 or it will trip all the time at full charge. The part is around four dollars. For some reason their shipping would not calculate on the web which means I have to call them tomorrow, but I already have a feeling the shipping will be $10 or more, which will make me ask myself if it's worth the cost. (the item weighs .7 oz, so the real shipping should be about $2). And I am not sure if they have a minimum either.....
What ever happened to the good old days when every city had a well stocked electronics parts store? I recall them in the 60's and spent a good amount of time and money at them, when I was in my teens.
-----------------
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.