For a first thread, I thought I would share the only really useful thing that I have to contribute (at the risk of sounding like an ad). I found the monster of all bridge rectifiers, I have an MDQ-200A, which is a single phase, 2000V, 200A monster, that was well worth the $30 it set me back. I also use it as a D/C upgrade for my arc welder, and that doesn't even get it hot. The numbering schema for those is MDS for 3 phase, and MDQ for single phase, followed by the amperage, and they come up to 600A. One of these will provide all the direct current you could ever need. I'm not a spammer, so I'm not putting in any links, but that should suffice for any search engine.