Does anyone own one of these?

[whitrzac]

you have a vailid point about the insurance/gov homes/etc...


If I could find an enclosure big enough, I could make one into a benchtop model with binding post/on-off switch/etc

[rabosi]

If I had thought about server power supplies at the time I may have gone that route but I ended up getting a ham radio supply. 30 amps, very compact and less than 5lbs I think. Output adjustable 5-15v.
http://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/view...FQY65Qod7kQX_A

[JERRY2KONE]

And I have never heard of of a power suply just bursting into

I do not believe that anyone even stated that they did. Electrical fires usually start because of a short that sends sparks to something that burns like paper, cardboard, or wood. There are thousands of electrical fires in the US every year. Although I have no idea what percentage of fires are related to power supplies. But the insurance industry is starting to keep tabs on fires started by home made or personally modified devices due to neglegence, and using them to void insurance payouts. The US started rating electrical devices many years ago and providing them with a UL rating stating that these products are safe to use by certain standards setup by professional Gov analysis. This is why Consumer reports recommends not buying anything that does not meet these standards. All I am saying is that I will not use any kind of home made electrical device inside my home.

I had a neighbor in Orlando who's house caught fire and was burned out completely. After close investigation by the fire departments investigator it was determined that the fire was started by a transformer, but that the cord had been cut off and it was wired incorrectly by whoever owned it causing the device to short out and start the fire. The insurance used that report and refused to pay for the damge to the house. They lost everything and after hiring a lawyer to try and appeal the matter were told that they had no case to fight the decision, because of a clause in their policy stating owners neglegence as an out. Case closed. This is not something new either. Its just that a lot of people do not hear about it, so it is a vague issue. I was warned by our insurance company because they wanted to know what we were using to charge the R/C batteries for our toys in our home in Korea. This is not an isolated case either. I just happened to be the first one to bring it up in here.

You do what you want to in your home. Just don't close your eyes and ignore the warning and become a victem. The people of Japan never thought that a tusnami would ever hit them that large either, and look at what is happeing with these spent fuel rods stored five stories over the reactor. They were warned during construction that this was an unsafe design for exactly that reason, but GE decided to ignore the warning in 1976. They knew it was bad and after 35 years they still had not fixed or modified the issue, and now look at what happened. What does that tell you? GE can not back peddle their way out of this one.

[JERRY2KONE]

Originally Posted by whitrzac

you have a vailid point about the insurance/gov homes/etc...


If I could find an enclosure big enough, I could make one into a benchtop model with binding post/on-off switch/etc

But if it is not UL rated and does not meet regulatory standards through manufacturing then it is considered to be a home made device and is hence not covered under home owners insurance if it deemed to have caused a fire. I hear everyone about finding a cheap way to overcome the issue and some of them are more than likely better than most store bought PSU's but if you decide to gamble and use it and something happens, then you are fully liable for the damage it may cause.

Enough said, please can we just move on to my opening request. We can argue this all night long and it still will not change the facts of the dangers of using a home made device no matter how safe or better you feel your work is. I am looking to purcahse a ready made PSU, but I am looking for the best one out for the best price. Plain and simple.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

...I had a neighbor in Orlando who's house caught fire and was burned out completely. After close investigation by the fire departments investigator it was determined that the fire was started by a transformer, but that the cord had been cut off and it was wired incorrectly by whoever owned it causing the device to short out and start the fire....

Wow, that's just bullspit! How the hell would a transformer "short out" by replacing a wire? As long as the wire was the appropriate size to carry the current, the insulating jacket was rated for the voltage used, and proper wire terminations were used to prevent wiring shorts, there is no way the wire would cause a transformer to fail. It's more likely that the transformer was pushed too far for too long (and/or poorly ventilated) on the secondary side (undersized for the job), overheated, melted the coil varnish, and that caused the fire. Sounds to me like the "investigator" didn't do a proper investigation (maybe paid off by the ins?) and the ins company used this convenient excuse not to pay out. Who was this insurance company by the way? I want to make sure I don't use a dishonest company.

Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE

...Enough said, please can we just move on to my opening request. We can argue this all night long and it still will not change the facts of the dangers of using a home made device no matter how safe or better you feel your work is. I am looking to purcahse a ready made PSU, but I am looking for the best one out for the best price. Plain and simple.

The one you originally linked sounds like it has individual 16A rails, not a single 40A rail with parallel outputs. Unless you only need 16A per rail, I wouldn't get it.

If size/weight isn't an issue, you could go with a linear supply. They are really heavy, large, and can produce lots of heat though, but the larger models are usually cheaper.

Switching designs are a lot more efficient, but more complex, so if something goes wrong it's harder to fix. I've had good luck with my Astron 20A power supply. I wouldn't mind selling it, but I've modded it for mutiple banana plug outputs, so it doesn't meet your "stock" requirement. But here's a list on ebay: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

[JERRY2KONE]

Hey BG thanks for the advice on the PSU. I have to do some research on a few more chargers to determine exactly what I need for total output and ouput for each terminal. You are probably right though. If you can suggest a better unit and share a link that would be great Sir.

On the house fire issue. From what was shared by the fire department with a friend of mine the plug had been cut off and one was put back on by twisting the wires together and taping the leads. It really was an unsafe setup for something that could create a lot of heat. My point was that if they find anything that is of a personal nature for a short like modding a piece of electrical equipment in a way that makes it not for what it was designed for, and it makes it into an investigators report, than the insurance company can jump on that as an excuse not to pay out.

Think about it. If you bought a new $40K car, and also purchased a 5 year warranty to protect your investment. Then you remove all of the stereo gear and put your own personal setup in the car just because you do not like the stock gear, or you just add an after market amp with a nice big CAP. A month later in the dark of night while you are asleep the amp or the CAP shorts out for any number of reasons and starts a fire buring the car up totally. Should the warranty cover the car? They can very easily declare personal neglegence and refuse to pay out on the warranty. Remember BG we are not necessarily talking about you directly. Not everyone is gift like you in electronics. I would not trust any home made device if I did not build it myself and I knew what I was doing. Would you let me pack your shoot on a 20K feet jump? If it fails who are you giong to go after(if you live)?

Insurance sales people are usually very nice, but the fat cats who hide in the back office and decide what is payable and what is not could give a shit about you or I when it comes to giving out money. If they can find a loophole or a way out of paying they will do it in a heartbeat, and laugh all the way to the bank. This is why they are considered to be one of the richest companies in the world. Until it looks like they will have to make a big payout for a disaster, then they want to file bankruptcy. Tell me they are not cooking the books then. I honestly do not remember what company they had insuring their home. It was about 7 or 8 years ago. It was more than likely some local company subing for a bigger insurance company.

[BrianG]

A quick and dirty estimate to get amperage required is simply take charger wattage and divide by 10v instead of 12v. Using a lower number accounts for charger efficiency losses and a little extra wiggle room. If you do the full calculation for, say, a 350w charger: (350w/85%)/12v=34A. The quick and dirty method gives you 350w/10v=35A. Pretty darn close for estimation purposes.

On the house fire thing, that makes a difference. I personally would never simply twist and tape wires. Heck, I don't even like wire nuts (which are legal in elec boxes) because the wires are still exposed to air, oxidize which increases contact resistance. The only connection I like is soldering - when done right.

[JERRY2KONE]

Thank you for another calc to add to my brain. I better save this page for future use in my decision. Your RCM name should Brian Calculator, with all of the calc pages you have supplied us with. Good info as usual Sir. I will continue my reseach for a PSU that fits my expected use. I may get a real nice on for the shop and later get a smaller one for travel.

[aqwut]

I've been using the Pyramid PS52KX DC Power Supply and it has served me well.. it's is heavy, and very reliable... http://www.claysradioshop.com/pyr-ps52kx.html

I bought mine from eBay a while back

[brainanator]

hate to say it...but what about that MaxAmps power supply? It is basically a modified server power supply...but maybe that got it tested to be a consumer electronic thing to make it peachy on insurance? If not, and it was the determined to be the cause of the fire, you might away with suing them :p

[JERRY2KONE]

Originally Posted by brainanator

hate to say it...but what about that MaxAmps power supply? It is basically a modified server power supply...but maybe that got it tested to be a consumer electronic thing to make it peachy on insurance? If not, and it was the determined to be the cause of the fire, you might away with suing them :p

I am sure it works well. But like their batteries I would not trust anything with the MA name on it. After this feasco with the false advertising for their new TRUE 150C rating on their sub par Lipos I would not trust anything they sell.

[brainanator]

good choice. Just throwing out the option :)