Author Topic: Power Supply Question  (Read 1829 times)

Offline lboucher

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Power Supply Question
« on: August 21, 2014, »
Hi All

I ordered several of these IP67 supplies from Ray
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Now I am wondering if it ok to connect the DC outputs together to power an active hub, or do the three outputs need to be kept separate. I am thinking they can be combined as they seem to have zero resistance between the wires, but wanted to ask.
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2014, »
What do you mean by connect them together?  Are you talking about the dual outputs from one supply or the outputs of multiple supplies?
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Offline MrChristmas2000

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2014, »
You cannot connect either dual output supply outputs together or connect two supplies outputs together. (unless you like to see little puffs of smoke  :))

Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2014, »
That is not completely true.  It really depends on two things, what their definition of dual outlet means, and how tightly regulated the supplies are.  Many high current supplies have multiple outlets but they are all connected to the same common point.  They have the multiple outlets so that they can power more than one device without putting the full load on one set of wires and if they are connected to one point inside of the supply, there is no issue connecting them back together on the outside. 

Dual rail and separate supplies are a bit different.  Even in a dual rail supply, there is no guarantee that the voltage output on each rail is going to be exactly the same and it is even less likely with separate supplies.  If the voltage difference falls within the regulation specs,  then you can connect then together although they may run a bit warmer than normal.  If the voltage difference is outside of the regulation spec, then they can begin to fight each other which will cause them to get warm or even hot .... up to the point of failure (little puffs of smoke).  Since it is difficult to determine up front if these separate rails or supplies are within spec of each other, it is often recommended not to connect their outputs together.

Three outputs and zero resistance between the three positive wires leads me to believe that the three wires are all connected to a common point in the supply and if this is the case,  then there is no issue with connecting the outputs together.  Dual rail supplies have a very high resistance between the positive leads of separate rails since they are basically two separate regulator sections sharing a common high output source and connecting these outputs together could have unexpected and sometimes poor results.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2014, by tbone321 »
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Offline jnealand

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2014, »
Jury rigging to me always seems to lead to something bad down the road.  Just buy a PC power supply and use the referenced units for something else.
Jim Nealand
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2014, »
When you really think of it, buying and connecting an ATX power supply is more of a fit to jury rigging then using the power supplies that he bought.  His power supplies are waterproof supplies designed specifically for this task and has multiple outputs for convenience.  An ATX power supply was never intended to do what we are using them for or even the environment that we are subjecting them too but since you really can't get that much output power for the buck with any other supply ......  we jury rig them and take our chances. 
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your not cut out for sky diving

Offline MrChristmas2000

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2014, »
The PC supply is what the active hub was designed to connect to unless you added the 12v dc option.

Let us know if you get to send smoke signals or not.  :o

Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2014, »
LOL, while the hub may have been designed to work with an ATX power supply, the ATX power supply was not designed to be used exposed and in an outdoor environment.  And speaking of the ATX supply and the hub, even there we connect MULTIPLE OUTPUTS of the ATX suppy to the device so please explain to me what the difference here is. 
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Offline MrChristmas2000

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2014, »
It's why all of mine are in marine battery boxes and have run that way for several years.

It's also why the ATS supplies need to be single rail.

Offline lboucher

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2014, »
Thanks for the responses and debate.
My question was only in reference to connecting the outputs of the same supply.
Connecting the outputs of different supplies is a guaranteed way to get smoke.
I tend to agree they must all be connected at the same point inside as the wire is way to small for 20 amps individually and there is zero resistance....

Will try and let people know.
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2014, »
I don't think that you will have any issues with connecting them all together.  One thing that I would watch is the temp that the supply may reach, even under normal operation.  Even the case has a warning sticker on it so be careful what you place it in or on during the season.
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Offline tbone321

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Re: Power Supply Question
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2014, »
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It's why all of mine are in marine battery boxes and have run that way for several years.

Even at that, a marine battery box outside in the cold, rain and snow is not what they were intended to be mounted in or subjected to.   They work under these conditions because they are so well built just to do the job that they were intended for, secured in a metal chassis and powering a PC in a conditioned environment.

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It's also why the ATS supplies need to be single rail.

I agree but my point is that even single rail supplies have multiple outputs and it is recommended that we use them all if possible to spread out the load on those wires.  This supply is no different.  It is not a "multi-rail" design and simply has 3 pairs of wire coming from the same output of the supply so connecting them together does the same thing as we do with the single rail ATX supplies by plugging their multiple outputs into the multiple input ports on the hub.
If at first you don't succeed,
your not cut out for sky diving