Cali Kid Corals

One power supply to rule them all?

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Meshmez

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Is there any reason I couldn't use something like this:
Mean Well LRS-350-24 DC Switching Power Supply, 24V 14.6A 350W https://a.co/d/2qu7hZ2
Screenshot_20220806-171217_Amazon Shopping.jpg

To power 4 pumps that are 24vdc and have a total power supply current of 10A? It seems like this would be a great way to reduce all the power supplies that plague our stands and electronics cabinets...
 
Meshmez said:
Is there any reason I couldn't use something like this:
Mean Well LRS-350-24 DC Switching Power Supply, 24V 14.6A 350W https://a.co/d/2qu7hZ2
View attachment 41000
To power 4 pumps that are 24vdc and have a total power supply current of 10A? It seems like this would be a great way to reduce all the power supplies that plague our stands and electronics cabinets...
Click to expand...
We use a similar thing in electrosurgical generators, and have to pass a water pour over test. 1 liter poured on top for 10-15 seconds. One of the tricks to pass is to put a spacer underneath this so water flowing on the floor/ground doesn't touch the terminals. I would do the same thing and try to mount this in a way that water really won't touch it. Also lots of heat shrink over the terminals or electrical connections.
 
H2OPlayar said:
We use a similar thing in electrosurgical generators, and have to pass a water pour over test. 1 liter poured on top for 10-15 seconds. One of the tricks to pass is to put a spacer underneath this so water flowing on the floor/ground doesn't touch the terminals. I would do the same thing and try to mount this in a way that water really won't touch it. Also lots of heat shrink over the terminals or electrical connections.
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I would likely mount this remotely from the tank, and run a cable into the stand, as open electronics like this in a salt moisture environment would worry me. But yes, point taken.

Do you work in med device capital equipment? I work on the device side :D
 
Short answer is no, there is no reason why that would not work to run 4 DC pumps at 24VDC each.

Longer answer, all the electronics that make it work are open to the atmosphere, in fact it is actively cooled via a fan so pulling that atmosphere and blowing it over the components, so if you still it in a humid environment you will eventually corrode the components that make it up and it won't work very long (ask me how I know...)

You really would like an enclosed system, something like Meanwell HLG series could work but they're a bit more pricey than the one shown.
 
Those cheap power supplies are not rated for 24/7 use and fail more then I would like. I have a few to tinker with and have been through a few charging big battery banks. You can get a better one and it would work just fine, but you get what you pay for in the components. The power supplies for labs are much better and the ones from ham radio stores are as well. The HAM ones are often only 12v though. Keep away from the tank though as the bigger they get, they start using fans and blowing salty water in them is a time bomb. I do have a big passively cooled one, looks like a big heat isn’t. It would probably work, but it was expensive.

One supply will also be a single failure point. The big power supplies are not necessarily more efficient either. Would need to look at data sheet at the loads you are using to confirm.
 
I'm looking for something similar and ended up with this in my basket:


I haven't tried it yet. This unit is 150W of 24V@6.5A for lighting only for me. Most of my pumps and other gear run at 12V DC, so this would be for lighting only. You can check your existing power supplies to see if they are 24V or 12V equipment. 6.5A covers my lighting setup with headroom (20% guard is very reasonable if you are doing your own calculations). Water proof, passive cooling and plenty of positive reviews. 3 year warranty at 8 hours per day expected usage. Would seem to meet some of the previous concerns....also double the price!

Any other concerns that didn't get covered? Does this look like a good fit?

Thanks,
-Andrew
 
Prestondeeply said:
I'm looking for something similar and ended up with this in my basket:


I haven't tried it yet. This unit is 150W of 24V@6.5A for lighting only for me. Most of my pumps and other gear run at 12V DC, so this would be for lighting only. You can check your existing power supplies to see if they are 24V or 12V equipment. 6.5A covers my lighting setup with headroom (20% guard is very reasonable if you are doing your own calculations). Water proof, passive cooling and plenty of positive reviews. 3 year warranty at 8 hours per day expected usage. Would seem to meet some of the previous concerns....also double the price!

Any other concerns that didn't get covered? Does this look like a good fit?

Thanks,
-Andrew
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Well if the brand name “any titi” means anything to you. Rather it say Meanwell on it personally.
 
Agreed, odd. There are a number of these LED driver power supplies.....but most have only a few reviews by comparison. Any of these certified IP67 Waterproof and that meet the power requirements for Voltage and Amperage with 20% overhead should work. Just a matter of longevity.
 
Led drivers are different from DC power supplies for equipment aren't they? I realize you're using them for lighting, but I think they are meant to directly drive the leds? I think led drivers provide constant current?
 
LEDs are generally current driven devices. So voltage stays the same, and by reducing the current we reduce the brightness. But that can be a problem for some of the long LED strings because the voltage drops as you run down the string. So, now we have variable voltage, constant current (CC) power supplies, mainly for LEDs on those long long strings but in general CC supplies do make LEDs last longer too. Since there are different ways to arrange LEDs, they have to label the power supplies as constant current (CC) or constant voltage (CV) when used for LEDs based on how the LEDs are laid down in the power circuitry.

All that being said, a constant voltage (CV) LED power supply is ....just a power supply as we otherwise know it. No difference. This is supplied by a lighting company with a lighting target market...so they use terms like CV or CC to distinguish the power supply type for LEDs.

I like them because lighting power supplies in general are made to run for long hours, are generally passively cooled, and are often water proof for outdoor use.

In fact, look at this one:

It says 'LED Driver' and 'Power Supply' and 'Transformer' and 'Adapter', just to make sure the bases were covered :)

We still have to go through the process of dividing all of our power supplies by 'critical function', then by output voltage. Then we can add up the output currents for a given voltage, add 20%, then find a power supply that matches. Here is an example...well, mine actually.

I have three Kessil A80 which say 24V, 1A output. I also have 1 AI prime 16HD which says 24V, 3.5A output. If I wanted to have one power supply to replace all of those crowded adapters, I would get a power supply with 24V and 1.2 x (1A + 1A + 1A + 3.5A) = 7.8A. Well, _at least_ 7.8A. I would look for a power supply with 7.8A X 24V = 187.2Watts....so I would look for a 24V 200W power supply.
 
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