1200W 20A 60V AliExpress Lab Bench Power Supply PSU Tested
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ธ.ค. 2020
- I wanted a 30A 60V power supply and took a chance on a power supply from AliExpress for $200 after tax and shipping.
Korad 30V 5A Lab Power Supply:
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The Electronic Load used in this video:
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Kill A Watt Energy Meter:
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Tired of terrible battery chargers? Try this one! You'll need to put a cable and clamps onto it (cut apart a jumper cable) but after trying one of these you'll realize that ordinary consumer style battery chargers are terrible.
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Need a DC current clamp meter? Save vs purchasing an expensive Fluke meter.
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If you want a good quality 3000W inverter that is efficient, reliable, and actually powers 3000W loads unlike other inverters out there try the link below.
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I cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information or improper use of this information. I assume no liability for property damage or personal injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Be sure to read and follow all safety instructions for any equipment seen or implied in this video, and use safe practices when working with potentially dangerous equipment. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from use of the tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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Quotes from this video....
"I can't imagine why a meter I got for free from Harbor Freight wouldn't work."
"Oh yeah, I suppose I have to turn this on."
"Well it just blew up. Apparently it did not like that very much."
"Oh, it's just my output terminal"
"I decided to be super lazy, I just tightened it back down again."
A 20A power supply that goes to 21A - the Spinal Tap of power supplies!
I’m Definitely Getting One Of These. I’ve Been Waiting On Someone To Test It cause Like You I Really Didn’t Think It Could Do 1200w.
Thanks For Your Time.
Excellent video, I really love and am very happy to see these type of videos again, thank you
Nice to see you posting videos again!! hope to see you working again in Power Inverters... I plan to make a custom made my self from the scratch...
A very useful review, thanks. I was considering a Tenma bench power supply.
Hello! I only just noticed that you were back and will happily spend some time catching up on your videos. Glad to see you making content again and hope things are well for you. Your videos have always been very thorough and informative, so thanks for the "new" content in 2020 and have a great 2021!
One of my own Korad power supplies tested under 10mv ripple @ 30V at work (I have the 30V/5A model). I'm really satisfied with it, I bought mine off Amazon. I wish I could have taken a picture of the monitor but you don't take pictures in the lab... Mine was able to sustain full load on the load bank for a while pretty safely at that ripple. I haven't tested it for hours on end though.
Thanks for the info. I am satisfied with my Korad supplies also though mine do not provide 5A for extended periods of time without overheating and shutting down. Still, a 3-4A supply of a quality build for that price? I still think they're a good buy given how much junk there is available for similar prices.
Thanks, I was looking at this line of supplies for the same purpose. Very informative.
I've used it for a while now and I can say it performs very well. It was a good purchase for me and I'd still recommend it.
@@knurlgnar24 Yes, I have the TekPower 15v 40a supply that looks like a rebadged version of this (Amazon had them on sale for under $200) and from my memory, the boards look pretty nearly identical. I just checked and the must have been on sale to get rid of them for "newer" models, since the page is no longer found.
smile.amazon.com/TekPower-TP3030E-Adjustable-Switching-Digital/dp/B00PWSDH8C/
That's the closest I could find, but like you, I was very impressed with the build quality, it was better than I expected. I definitely like my Riden RD6018-W, those are darn good supplies if you are interested (but looks like you already have a 60v 20a supply). I of course am using them for the same purpose you are, to charge and test LiFePO4 cells and packs.
I'm still waiting on mine to arrive, but I'm going to try out this for testing cells (40 amp charge and 40 amp discharge):
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001971982159.html
That was a lot of work 👍
Welcome back!
I feel like I am getting to the point in my life where I have had enough of these "it looks very cheap" things. Where yes, they are inexpensive. But that my endless frustration when the "rather interesting" random variations in the accuracy and the actual rated values from their expected rated values. That I sort of spent so much time chasing my own tail. Where I was trying to figure out why my electronics project was not working well, but then later finding my power supply was misbehaving today. Ah ok. change it out. now it works. grrr..
On the other hand, I still can't afford to buy the nice power supplies. So I sort of went down a rabbit hole of building my own supplies. and this is where I am at now. Like most of this year was building power supply kinds of things. But. I guess as long as I am keeping busy and happy :) But yea. Thank you for the video. It gives me hope to try again someday to get another aliexpress power supply :)
I hear you, sometimes it is best to spend the money and purchase quality kit. I would never purchase something like this for the business I work for but, well, I just don't want to spend $1000 for a supply I'm only going to use to charge batteries and test inverters on occasion.
for what it is I agree that it is a good deal, 1200W digital PSU that remembers the output parameters once off, not bad. maybe you can get a supercapacitor bank to put on the output, that way you can test pulsed loads.
One of those Riden (buck) front ends might give you more functionality and precision from the rather simplistic controls on your PSU, you could adjust the voltage input voltage to it as a bonus as the "recommended" PSU for it is a constant 60V type smps.
My thoughts exactly, too!
Many switching power supplies work from 80-265V AC. I have a 40A one here which DOESN'T. I plugged it into 110V while in Canada (its a 220V model) and it didn't work. Funnily enough, you got an Australian / New Zealand power cable. Made me chuckle when I saw it as I'm Aussie and recognised it instantly. Least they sent the right power supply.
Thanks for the interesting tidbit. I never did bother to look up where that plug style was used. Not a big deal to get the wrong plug but it's interesting that they'd choose that one to send to North America.
@@knurlgnar24 they didn't send wrong cable. That plug type is used in U.S. for 110v 50amp service. 50 amp is probably over kill. 30 amp is probably enough. BUT! the typical household outlet is only rated for 15amps. This thing at max voltage and max amps is probably more than 15 amps. If you using this thing at upper limits it needs its own dedicated outlet. Not only are you overloading the outlet but the wires in the wall are also only probably rated for 15 amps. I would like to see more testing on this to see what the input amps.
Thank you for another vid
There are pots inside to tweak the voltage so you get a true accurate output. One for voltage and one for current.
There are but the primary issue is not out-of-cal adjustment of the pots and instead linearity issues. A cheap supply like this one may be accurate at x voltage and y current and get inaccurate at high/low currents/voltages. Adjusting the pots will only dial in the accuracy at a particular set point and may make other set points worse. In addition the primary accuracy issue with devices like this is the pots themselves as they tend to drift over time. Often times a device without trim pots is more accurate than one that has them. In this video it can be seen that the voltage accuracy is different at different voltage ranges. I don't know if the difference is in the supply or my meters but the accuracy changes depending on the voltage setpoint.
@@knurlgnar24 didn't consider that 👍
Good video. I agree about the front panel. Could have been laid out better.
The front of it screams I am cheap LOL sounds like some of the girls working the streets
Those two variable pots on the main board might set voltage and current. I have a few cheap 12V, 2 A supplies that needed to be adjusted.
Yep, they are the trimmers!
The ruideng/riden RD60xx family of buck converters lab supplies(you need to provide the PSU) is also an option, now they have the 18A version and said they are working on the 24A model.
They have a decent UI and an output with a series diode especially for charging batteries.
I have one of the 12A versions and I supplied a PS that goes up to 52 volts, which is enough for me. Works well!!
That's an interesting option, thanks for sharing. I did try connecting this to a battery and turning it on/off, unplugging it while on, turning the voltage up and down, etc. It seemed to work fine. Other failure conditions? I guess I'll find out.
I considered Riden before bought this model which has very good temperature regulation. On 5 A constant load (filled car battery) vent go occasionaly for 15 seconds and is not noisy. Most of the time vent is off. Abandoned Riden because power supply is weak point and in most cases i would have jumbo jet on my desk which i considered as annoying. So i trade little comfor in use for good themal design and quiet working environment.
Just to mention, for 220 euro 1200W power supply was best i coud find. Worth to mention is top left button when active and current limit is reached ps disconnect load which is must have safety feature for repairing jobs.
Interesting video...looks good inside and works well...prob cost another £50 or more for a decent case plus labour fitting it out and active PFC.
That loose connection was probably caused by moving the heavy output wire about....I thought the worst had happened when I heard the splat. 8-) Glad it was OK.
I worked with the Go-Power inverters after your reviews a few years back. I have since found that Giandel is more efficient, cheaper (around 60% of the cost) and they have 2 to 3 decade newer inverter design technology. Also lower noise on the output waveform. Do you have any experience or comments on these inverters?
I don't. Can you elaborate on the newer design technology comment?
Dear K24. Nice test, thanks! As I am a ham I am allergic to polluting the aether otherwise than with my transmitters. How does this ps scores on rf compatibility? Good luck!
I would guess it performs poorly in that respect. :) I didn't test it for radiated emissions but if that is a concern I would recommend a linear transformer based lab supply. They don't come in 1200W sizes very easily but if you can get by with a lower wattage that would be quieter.
Hello, is this a programmable power supply. Can it switch automatically from CC to CV after a set period of time for example?
Why not to add fans inside to get them working with cooling?
From my experiences with cheap multimeters the problem with your Harbor Freight unit is likely one of two things. Most likely the rotary switch is dirty. Mine even had plastic shavings get in. If not that maybe there is a poor connection on the banana jacks as these tend to be very poorly soldered.
On some of these meters the input jacks are on separate daughterboard and the connection to the mainboard is achieved with a solder bridge. In this case you can augment the connection with a piece of actual wire.
Could be, thanks for the tips. I tried working the dial back and forth multiple times as well as plugging and unplugging the banana jacks multiple times and it seemed to randomly work and then not work. The thing always worked before just fine. I dunno. Just today I tightened up the contacts on my Extech thermocouple meter that were loose so I plan to use that in the future instead.
One important test that was missed is to connect a scope to it and at various settings switch the unit off and then on and see if there are spikes above the voltage settings with a load connected. Some cheap supplies can kill or damage 5 volt or 3.3 volt logic devices when switched off or on.
It had inrush protection I doubt that it will put out a large spike when turning on.
I agree with you, this would be a good test. Graceful startup, shutdown, and error handling are 3 places where inexpensive or otherwise poorly designed power supplies often fall on their faces.
@@knurlgnar24 Did you end up doing the test, and what were your conclusions?
That first relay and NTC is for soft start.
Probebly yes
13:00 wait that relay is part of the inrush circuit? It will engage after the NTC did the job of limiting the inrush current.
I didn't look at the bottom of the circuit board in much detail but I believe the power portion of the power supply connects directly to the output of the NTC, so the relay only controls the logic portion I believe. It looks like the text on the relay didn't show up on video so I can't read the current rating, but it'd have to be a 20A relay if it switched all of the power. I guess I'm not completely sure.
@@knurlgnar24 I think they copied that section of circuit board layout directly from Mastech.
Did you also measure the efficiency of the power supply?
thanx Knurlgnar
8:00 What meter with LCD screen and what blue screen rigol instrument are they?
Link to the Rigol load in the description. The multimeters are both harbor freight specials. meaning they are nothing special... The larger one was a good purchase/value for a non RMS meter though.
From personal experience 200-240v psus are more efficient and will lead to better results over time, you should also consider wiring a nema 6 socket there if you're messing with power supplies and whatnot would also give you a bit more power to work with vs 120v. I know i'm european biased here but i've had situations where i had both voltages available and same power supply with universal input and on 120v it could barely do it's rated capacity at 240v could easily do it's rated and way more. But I'm surprised at this chinese psu it's better than i expected, i was expecting fumes. I also remember once I had a little 15W 12v brick from a router i was testing it with a 20w halogen bulb, on 120v it would cycle on and off and on 240v would stay on.
Universal input (100V to 280V type) supplies generally are a few percent more efficient at 240V than at 120V, so I agree with your experience. Their power factor generally suffers though which can negate some of the benefit. On power supplies like this one that are not autoranging and are hard designed for one input voltage there shouldn't be a significant efficiency or functional difference though. Shouldn't. Doesn't mean there isn't! From a designer's perspective it is often easier to make one design that can be used worldwide (and it has to be the 240V or 277V option to support higher voltages) and this results in countries with 100V or 120V applications getting worse performing AC/DC supplies. But it goes both ways - motors and light bulbs tend to like lower voltages more so you win some and you lose some. :)
I would recommend you go with the 18amp Riden RD6018 that has a nice LCD display and programmable usb interface. Costs around 130 dollars for self assemble kit.
That appears to be a DC/DC module and not an AC input lab power supply. This is not a reflection on the quality/value of that product only a comment on the type of product that it is.
@@knurlgnar24 its a dc/dc module sold with a ac/dc PSU you screw together as a kit. By the end of the day you still use the same tech but the difference is whether you have an option to get a different ac/dc psu, or have one pernanetly wired in the same box.
I seen the reliable inverter there. What is your opinion of that overall? What would you consider to be an appropriate value for that item?
I haven't tested it out yet so I can't give a detailed opinion but my initial impressions are good. It seems well made for the price.
Hello Knurlgnar in the video Episode for the UPS you connected 2 UPS in Parallel with the same big battery , I want to do the same , is there is any precautions or i can connect 2 or 3 300 watt UPS with big Lifepo4 200Amh battery ?
There is no issue connecting multiple UPS units to the same lead acid battery. For a UPS that uses lithium batteries I would not do this until I fully understand their charge behavior. I wouldn't recommend using LiFePo4 battery on a UPS unit designed for lead acid. This is because the float voltage on them is too high and the life of the lithium battery will be reduced. For true float operation on LiFePO4 you need a float of 13.6V - perhaps cheated up to 13.8V or so for a quicker charge at the expense of shorter life. 14V is too high. Telcom Lead Acid to Lithium conversions (more capacity in the same battery room which saves considerable money on building a new/larger room) change the float setting to 3.40V per cell to continue using the same lead acid equipment that was pre-existing. You'll see some minor deviation from 3.40 if you look around but those are due to warranty differences, optimizing for different variables, etc. It's not a chemistry/construction difference.
@@knurlgnar24 Thank you very much taking the time to respond and for your great knowledge pouring on me ,
Do you recommend to attach Lifepo4 BMS and connect the 3 UPS to the BMS so it control the float charge ? And the BMS is 40 AH that means i will not pull from the lifepo4 200 Ah more than 40ah BMS ?
great video! Do I see a New Inverter review coming :D
Wonder what the switching output noise looks like on a spectrum analyzer.
I suspect given the high efficiency of this unit the FETs switch pretty fast/dirty. The output is filtered somewhat but it is mostly just an LC cap/choke setup without any additional filtering. My personal opinion is that I think it would be OK for any application where a switching power supply is acceptable and unacceptable for any application where a linear power supply is needed. I have those Korad supplies for more noise sensitive needs and unless I borrow something from my employer I don't have the equipment to measure noise to a level that would be adequate to give any meaningful information.
Speaking about the ocp, what did you mean by hiccup mode?
With power supply overcurrent terminology:
Latch off: When overcurrent is detected the supply turns off and requires a power cycle or manual reset to start back up.
Hiccup: When overcurrent is detected the supply shuts down for a brief time then attempts to restart. If the overcurrent event is still preset the cycle repeats indefinitely. This limits average current to something low, say 10% of the current limit.
Constant Current: If overcurrent is detected voltage is lowered until current drops below the current limit level. This may be very close to 0 volts in a dead short situation.
Stepping through frame by frame it looks like when the display flickers it says "OTP" - maybe over temperature protection?
Wow, good eye! Thanks for catching that! Definitely looks like OTP is displaying. They must not be filtering the temp sensor well enough. That gives me comfort knowing that it isn't likely to cause the voltage or current to do something stupid when I'm not expecting it. I can handle it if it simply decides to protect itself and shut down unexpectedly.
one example is at 26:36 +28 frames and stepping through frames is done on a paused video with the , and . keys
You bought from Alibaba? So you are supporting the repressive Communist regime? That's anti-American.
@@rogeronslow1498 gtfo dude I'll buy what my money is worth. Don't give a fuck what country it comes from.
@@therealb888 But your countries success is based upon capitalism which is diametrically opposed to communism. And the reason you have that money is because of the success of capitalism over communism. Yet you choose to support a communism regime hell bent on Americas destruction just to save yourself a few measly Dollars.
@23:00 why didn't you take the knurled knobs off and fit the lug on the post(s)? Maybe the post was too big to fit in the hole in the lug? What are the posts, M6 maybe? Maybe your lugs had only M4 holes? I ask because, based on your excellent video, I ordered a 15V 100A version of the KPS 2kW power supply, and even their sales couldn't tell me what size the posts are, so I ordered some premade cables with M6 lugs on them. Here's hoping.
You are correct, the post was larger than the lugs. I was just using cabling I had laying around and it wasn't ideal.
@@knurlgnar24 Thanks for the reply, I since found out that the one I have on order uses an M8 post. Quite chunky.
Hi knurl I have a question I have a 650ah forklift battery that I charge with a mpp solar inverter with built in mppt chargers.the charger is only capable of 58.4 volts max.my question is can I float the battery at 58.4 volts? Just don't want to under charge the battery
I will assume your battery is lead antimony chemistry since it is a forklift battery. 58.4V is reasonable for a bulk/absorbtion stage but it a little high for float. You will see some positive plate corrosion and high water usage at that voltage. Float would normally be around 55V. The major caveat here is that every month or so an equalization step will be beneficial and that requires well over 60V for a few hours. If your charger isn't capable of equalization and you are not going to be doing that step then a valid alternative is to slightly overcharge the batteries during float. Overall I'd say it depends on your specific situation and while your setup isn't optimal according to manufacturer datasheets it could be a decent solution for your application.
@@knurlgnar24 thank you so much for responding.i have 9kw in solar panels.the panels produce enough power I'm thinking I may go purchase anouther charger that can hit the voltage I need.so in your opinion what would be a good voltage to equalize this battery at?
Also I only discharge the battery to 50%
Dude you are alive!!! What state are you residing in?!! I had heard you had been really sick on one of the old comments.
I needed a PS as well.. now I know whatto look for.. hey what are your thoughts about this reliable electric inverter .. build quality .. is it realy reliable as clamed .. ;)
I haven't tested it to date so I can't answer. Initial impressions seem OK for whatever little that is worth.
Am I to surmise you are going build a lithium battery out of 3.60 cells? Would love to see you assemble and test some of the 280 AH eve cells. I built four 12v, connected to common bus limited to 120 amps from 4 over kill solar bms's that power a 3,000 watt low frequency inverter. Runs RV AC compressor's and any medium draw motors. Anyway would love to see it
The plan is for 16 cells of 280Ah LiFePO4 cells (they look like EVE in the listing - not sure) and connect it to a LF inverter. Sounds similar to what you did. We'll see if AliExpress comes through or not.
I have one of those HF meters (mine is red) but don't know what kind of TC to use. Can you help a dummy out? Looking for a Fahrenheit readout, if that is important. Glad you're back, dude!
I assume type K but I don't know for certain, and while I verified that both probes read the same in both meters at room temp in the video I noticed that one indicated the PSU had a fan trip point of 60c and the same probe in the other meter 50c. I haven't characterized them and intend to just use the probe I got with the respective meter. I'd recommend just buying something like at the link below if you want to know for certain.
amzn.to/2IRoRqd
@@knurlgnar24 Thank you for the swift reply.
@@knurlgnar24 When you said that your meter came with the T/C leads, I took a closer look at your meter in a freeze frame because my meter came sans leads. I see now that yours has a Temp C switch position that mine doesn't have, so it's not the same meter. Therefore, thanks for the link to the dedicated meter.
@@mrhalfstep Harbor Freight has a number of different "free after coupon" style meters - the same ones you see on Alibaba from a hundred different companies for $2 each. I'm sure they just buy from whoever distributes them for a penny cheaper each shipment. I have a red one as well. I really like having cheap disposable meters that actually work quite well but, yeah, I really shouldn't be relying on them. To be clear I do not have or have used the meter I sent a link to, but I considered purchasing that one before realizing I already have an Extech that can be repaired.
When it flashes its putting out OTP. I dont know if u knew that or not. Idk what it means though. Maybe means output?
Good eye. Another viewer pointed this out earlier and I'm pretty sure it is over temp protection. The temp sensor input is probably noisy and not filtered well enough. It seemed to happen only at high load and once warmed up. For my purposes that's not a big deal but I could see it being a problem for more sensitive applications if the power goes 'unstable' when it shows the error.
You have the sense inputs (4-wire setup) on the electronic load, why don't you use them, and instead use an external meter?
Exactly my thought too
Easier to just use an external meter.
Hello, do you have a coil whine when in CC mode?
No whine in CC mode on mine unless the load is pulling unstable current, but that's true of any power supply.
We need more knurlgnar!
Interesting. You provided a link for the Korad 5A but not THIS Wantek PS
I wanted to provide a link but wasn't able to find a stable one to provide. If you go to Aliexpress and search that will be your best bet.
You should use thermal paste between the thermocouples and the UUT
They're usually glued with a conductive adhesive and cut off after use for accurate testing. Based on my experience if well taped the results you get are within 1c for these type of components... These were NOT well taped and done with the wrong tape so, yeah, it's not terribly accurate. I don't think it mattered for this purpose though.
I found the same thing on TaoBao, 60V 20A, the prices is 900RMB (around $138.85).
For 0-60V, 0-30A, 1800W, the price is around $242.01.
If I were you, I would spend $405.9 to buy 0-60V, 0-50A, 3000W.
What are shipping costs, taxes, customs, and tariffs to USA?
Would you class a fluke multimeter as a good accurate meter
Yes, they are the gold standard for reasonable cost portable DMMs.
For that price very good deal..I'm missing sense terminals..but for that price..also quality of those caps..well i don't expect much.. If nothing else it has fuse..I would be interested about temperature of that choke..because as you said if it has high temperature it could be problem too well problem for capacitors they are very close by..
I am assuming that magnet wire can handle 150c+ for hundreds of hours before breaking down and the core even if it is powdered iron can handle the same for hundreds of hours. For my purposes it should be OK, but that said I am kind of curious too if it was designed well or if that component was getting too hot.
@@knurlgnar24 Hi friend. Yes you are correct..would be interesting to see some video and then some measurements..Btw even you are right that wire could handle even 150 degree ..well let say 100 just to be on safe side..i'm not so sure about those capacitors close by..and all that heat would go just to them and also to heatsink..but i'm sure they would see a lot of heat from it..if nothing else there should be some barier to prevent that heat transfer..that might fix the long term stability of those poor capacitors..
I’d slap a makeshift airflow director tunnel out of cereal box cardboard or something over the main heat sink to capture and direct the full airflow of the discharge cooling fan over the fins so it maximizes the cooling capability, but otherwise it seems a reasonable little unit !
Good thermo design is to have the fan always sucking air through the heatsink and expelling the hot air out through the fan. Fans are much more efficient in suck compared to blow. The thermo design of that fan and heatsink looked really good to me, which is probably why it performs so well. 👍🙂
@@wizrom3046 don't know what school of fluid dynamics you went to, but efficiency in airflow does not equate to efficiency of heat transfer. The higher energy transfer via turbulent fan exhaust into a heatsink far outweighs any marginal static airflow efficiency improvement. Grab any nearest CPU heatsink fan made since 1972 and marvel in astonishment ;)
@@fiveangle umm yeah I've been an electronics professional for almost 40 years... 🤫
With a configuration like this PSU the purpose of the fan is to extract the hot air from the cabinet, so the cool incoming air goes over the pcb then heatsink then expelled from the cabinet as hot air.
It's a different deal in a PC, that's a very concentrated source of heat on the CPU and PCs always have a cabinet fan to extract the hot air from the cabinet. Have a nice day. 🙂
Like #219. Thx for teaching us!
a 30A 60V power supply aliexpress url ?
Hello sir! how is the supply holding up through time ? =D i'm thinking of getting one after seeing your video. Kind regards!
Very well. I have used it quite a bit to charge batteries and test inverters. It has been an excellent power supply for me that exceeded my expectations. If you can get past the cartoonish look and fragile front-panel it performs nearly flawlessly.
@@knurlgnar24 thank you very much for your reply!
are you planning on doing any more videos?
Lots of plans, little motivation.. I have a 20kw powerjack inverter behind me as I type - I thought that would be interesting as I've never seen a proper review/analysis of them. I also have a lithium battery video series I intend to do since there is so much misinformation out there on that subject. Not sure if China will come through on the parts that were ordered months ago. We'll see. Thanks for the question and your interest.
@@knurlgnar24 if it helps any i have even from the beging looked forward to all of your videos. I especially like all the completly imparshall views and the fact you give information how it is wether or not it is what one wants to here
could you provide a link to that product?
Would be handy, my google skills have failed me :(
The fan on your inverter sounded like a jet engine. I don't get why these Chinese companies always have the cheapest looking plastic face plates on otherwise decent gear. This thing even had proper metal standoffs under the PCB. I think front output connectors would have been nice. I am looking for a decent programmable PSU like this that isn't too expensive.
they really cheaped out by not paying 5cents extra per unit to fake the caps and remark them to 105decC :)
The big filter capacitors are Panasonic
Spare no expense on that plastic case, buttons, and knobs!
I literally just burned out one of my power supplies this morning. Most chinese PSU always seem to fail at 3-6 months. Everything on your unit looks beefy. Very nice. The ripple would be awesome to test. One of my viewers stated that using a diode will prolong the life of these units when using them to charge batteries. Obviously, diode voltage drop must be considered when setting absorption. Do you think that would help? These should theoretically charge batteries all day long, but for some reason it destroys them. What do you think?
I honestly don't expect this supply to last all that long if used continuously since I don't trust this low cost Chinesium that much, but temps seem to be well controlled so hopefully it outlasts my low expectations. My primary concern is that flicker in the control display - it might that cause an incorrect output voltage at some point? I'm not sure about the diode in series. Voltage regulation will be pretty poor with a diode since voltage drop across it depends on current at low voltages (e.g. 3.5V applications) so I'd probably not do that myself, but everything is application specific. Backflow into the PSU is something I'm always concerned with on switcher based PSUs since they usually use active rectification and that can have problems causing a smoke event that a diode would potentially prevent. I think I'll just take the risk though. If someone wants a high quality supply that will last for years one can get a standard industrial power supply and hack the adjust pot circuit and current limit shunt. I've done this to make a 100% duty battery charger but not to make a variable power supply. There's probably a video out there somewhere on that subject..
I've been using gopher tech PSUs (Chinesium grade (ave aVe)) they're pretty robust. I've one as a mains input to my van MPPT charge controller for 4 years now, the combo works better than most mains chargers. I've another in the workshop. Yes Will, the diode helps prevent damage to the PSU. In normal operation the PSU voltage opposes the battery (as long as it's higher) If you turn off the PSU with the battery connected you can damage the PSU. I have done.
Have either of you gents investigated LFP memory effect? I've just discovered it and I'm seeing +10% usable after a memory release cycle. It's a major pain in the bottom that's not well known (but is well documented).
For me it's really making lead more attractive given the application implications.
There's an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson says we'll all be driving Chinese cars in 10 years. The only catch is buying the car comes with a kick to the nuts. Chinese Stig appears and kicks James May right in the balls. I now totally understand the context of that joke.
@@vincei4252 And upon buying the bargain-priced car you'll have to check youtube to see which mods should be done to make the brakes *or* air-conditioner functional; your choice.
There is quality by price and price by quality
Where is the link to this product so we can buy it?
Unfortunately I couldn't find a good link that I could trust to post, but if you go to aliexpress and search for 'wanptek power supply' you should be able to find a listing for it. Make sure it is a reputable storefront with a vendor with history. Aliexpress is kinda shady if you're not careful. Pricing is still pretty reasonable despite all the inflation we've been having so unless they've cheapened it between when I bought it and now I think it's an even better deal today then when I bought it.
@@knurlgnar24 I bought it. It was funny that the error in voltage readings that you saw is about what I saw. So it is consistently inconsistent.
yay i liked that
Looks okay during the testing but my best guess is that those electrolytic capacitors will eventually fail sooner than later. Electrolytic capacitors made in China are the most common component to fail because of poor quality control and exaggerated temperature rated specifications in alot of consumer electronic products made in China. Lots of pre-90s electronics that were made in Japan are still working today, especially their well known stereo gear.
I work in the electronics industry and I have seen major improvements in capacitor quality from China. In fact many chinese manufacturers source capacitors from other places if they want to appear higher quality while many outside companies which don't need to worry about their quality credentials as much now purchase Chinese capacitors. Electronics quality is a sad state today and I wouldn't trust non Chinese brands much more than USA or German brands anymore when it comes to capacitors in their products.
After watching this video, I search for "程控电源 (Program Control Power supply) " on Taobao.com, and the first result is right this one, no surprise it float to the top as I scroll down the results, this one is marked with "ad", which means it will be rank higher. I expect the price will be much lower in China, but I find it's 166$. Considering the shipping cost, it's almost the same price as it's 200$ on amazon.
One thing I notice about the power supply is the cut out part in the back panel, it seems that there isn't such hole on the chinese model. I have to say this one is literally the most cheap look one for this price.
If they are going to cut costs, it seems like the front panel is a comparatively good place to cut.
Not that I disagree with you, but from a marketing perspective the consumer facing interface is generally the last place costs are cut which is why it surprised me.
@@knurlgnar24 Maybe among "sophisticated" capitalists, but Chinese newcomers to the game.....maybe they haven't picked up all the nuances yet?
@@mrhalfstep Maybe, but they sure do seem to be kicking our butts recently. I personally think American companies could be well served to ditch the pervasive "focus group" or "design by committee" CYA liability limiting method of product design. But what do I know? I didn't go to business school to learn how to properly run a company into the ground while giving myself fat stock options before moving on to another opportunity. :)
@@knurlgnar24 Don't get me started! I worked in a major appliance factory from early 1974 to the end of 2015 as an Industrial Maintenance man and got to watch it happen from the inside. And if I hear one more person say, "Safety First" I'm gonna smack 'em with a Sawzall blade shield!
@@mrhalfstep I agree completely. If safety was truly first we'd never do anything. Did you know that falling down causes over 20% of all injuries requiring medical care? I'm going to get myself a wheelchair. Standing up is just too dangerous. Can't let getting things done get in the way of absolving people of legal liability!
The power cable you got with the power supply is for Australia.
Good info. Thanks.
@@knurlgnar24 And Australia is not 120v so the supplier messed up!
Actually the U.S. uses it for 110v 50A service. Typical household outlet is rated at only 15A. Pushing the upper limits with this thing probably exceeds 15A, so they needed a different cord than typical. Using this thing with a typical 110v cord is a fire hazard.
You should try out Riden RD6018W. I have two of theese and one of Riden RD6006W. It seems to be a mutch better choice.
Why is it better? That is a controller that interfaces with a switching power supply. I'm not sure why someone would want a kludge vs an integrated product specifically built to do the job. A lot of people have commented the same thing though leaving me wondering - however I know that typical switching power supplies (unlike ones specifically built to be bench power supplies) are absolutely terrible and inappropriate for lab uses as they are designed for a different purpose.
@@knurlgnar24 display is much better. More information. The accuracy seems to be a lot better on the RIden too. More functions with memory buttons and higher resolution. A settings menu with many options. Possibility to connect an phone to the power supply and control it via an app. The price is almost the same etc.
I Googled kps6020d and got nothing resembling this product. Including 'wanptek' the psu was way different. This product, with the brand and/or model printed on it, does not appear! And I didn't see a link here to the product, either..
Go to AliExpress and search for wanptek DC power supply.
Hey man. I feel like you have really been grinding out youtube for a long time. You should take a look at other channels like yours. Your vids are good just very niche.
Thank you! I've tried to not make this a job and I don't do it for the money in order to keep it a hobby, but it pains me to see an opportunity passed by on my own choice. What also pains me is seeing that what I consider my best videos have only a few thousand views while some of the ones I consider to be quite poor quality and recorded in an hour on a whim have millions. I don't get it - but I suppose few if any content creators do.
Hello, I too am happy to see more of your video's, I see in the comments section that you plan to do a review of your WZRELB Reliable Electric inverter, I have been considering purchasing a 48v of this brand, at least for a back-up, if my Cotek goes, and I see some of the more recent Reliable inverters look quite improved. In the meantime, I purchased a SunGoldPower 4000w 48v low frequency split phase w/ transfer switch, and so far has been working good, but just 2000w per side, so over 2000w, it pops a built in circuit breaker, like when starting a window AC unit. I wonder how they claim it has 12000w surge / 6 per side, yet the circuit breaker pops a little over 2000w? Anyway, just a hint, would love to see a review of this inverter, as there are none on youtube, and just a few Amazon reviews. Also looking forward to hear how the lithium battery you ordered works out, I'm from Minnesota, and it seems risky using these in cold weather because of damage to the cells if a battery heater would fail, or the constant winter cloudy weather means less solar charging available half the time, yet with prices coming down, far better charging efficiency, about twice as much usable power per amp hour rating, much evidence of them lasting at least as long as most lead acid without sulfating issues, they are becoming harder to ignore. So thanks, happy to see your good work.
Most of those LF inverters available are scams - hopefully yours works well as some really do what is claimed but most don't. The issue with LF inverters is that good transformers are very expensive. The boost FETs are largely the same cost between HF and LF, you omit the output FETs in LF (which are less expensive), and replace the small transformers in HF with a large and expensive single LF transformer at many times the cost. That LF transformer then has a poor volume to surface area ratio and is thus very difficult to cool compared to the smaller HF transformers. For perspective a 2kw distribution transformer weighs 60lbs or so, is fully potted, is 96% efficient, and gets too hot to touch at full load at room temp. So if you see a LF inverter and it isn't at least 2x the cost of an equivalent HF inverter you know something is up. Per phase power will "always" be limited to the max current of the full winding, so it is normal for 2kw to trip the breaker on one phase of a 4kw inverter. This is one of the reasons I got a Magnum PAE4448. Much more expensive but it can do 30A per phase. Cold temp is definitely a risk for lithium. They can be used in cold temps at reduced performance but at the expense of lifetime. My 14kwh lithium battery bank likely won't be here for a few months if it ever gets here at all, and I plan to pair it with that Magnum inverter as it is a good match for their output current capability. And I expect the cells to end up being 2nds or used. AliExpress and all...
Just like your saying you can't believe the price point of something of that nature that obviously means they have to save money somewhere and the front of that case looks like is exactly where they saved money
no way, wont even consider using this to power our company TI TDA4
Why not put a link for the unit?
I tried but didn't find it except for on Aliexpress or Alibaba. Those links are ephemeral and tend to change frequently. I don't update descriptions often enough for it to be worthwhile vs a simple search.
They use quality where it matters...
19:00 I have an O-scope 😁 but I'm not going to measure ripple 😖
Perhaps I should have tried to measure it but I realized that my x10 probes had no chance of measuring a ripple of a couple of mV and I didn't want to direct BNC it to the meter. I could have still done the load step test but, well, it really didn't matter for the purposes I intended to use it for so just skipped the whole thing. I'm sure it's fine. (I think I saw that on a tombstone somewhere...)
@@knurlgnar24 I understand, and thank you for the review (and the quick reply). It's just that some of us may want to use it for other purposes and need to know if that couple of mV ripple stays a couple of mV throughout the ranges.
Hello, how should we contact you? There are no traces on your profile.
I know this is off topic, but what is your car collection as of 2024?
Yes, definitely off topic. Why do you ask? 1988 Buick Lesabre with 60k miles that's all original aside from belts and hoses and tires etc, 2003 Buick Century in excellent condition that I'm using as my winter car now - you may not believe me but it's a beast in the snow with the oversized cookiecutter tires I put on it, a 2005 Cadillac STS with 60k miles that's entirely impractical but fun in the summer, and a newer Nissan Rogue. I planned to make videos about restoring the 1988 but decided to just get it done instead.
Wow, really appreciate the fast and detailed reply. I watched a lot of your older videos about fixing cars and was curious about if you still have them or what happened to them. Hope your doing well, have a good one.
@@Arta-nd7wfThe 1991 LeSabre I had ran and drove perfectly with 260k miles on it but it was so rusted out that I sold it for cheap a while back.
I would reverse the fan to blow the hot air out instead of blowing the hot air against the capacitors and so draining the electrolyte of the capacitors
In that case it may be better to build a shroud around that cooler to draw air across it as you exhaust the air out of the unit. I would be worried about air getting sucked down from above the cooler and not going through the fins.
23:10 ??? you're kidding, that the kind of crap I pull
Great video. Let me know if you are interested in lithium batteries for cheap. Thanks
I may be if they are LiFePO4
Nice video, the title says AliExpress, but you say AliBaba 00:55, where actually from then ?
AliExpress. AliBaba is the parent company. It's like saying I have a GM truck when it's a Chevy Silverado.
How does this compare to the riden power supplies?
Also what's up with these Chinese allergy to earthing?! Everything from their soldering station/iron to power supplies, etc lack earthing.
I wonder that too sometimes but then I realize the answer is likely too obvious to be easily seen: It costs an extra 20 cents or so. That's my theory anyway.
I have this Korad power supply that overheats and doesn't meet its specs, so I bought another one 🤣😂
I realize it sounds stupid but the thing is well made, meets my needs, and is a good value in my opinion. I don't like that it doesn't meet spec but I expect that from supplies at this price point.
Unless I missed it, which is extremely likely, I don’t believe the screen was flickering when you had it on your load but def did when you used to to power the converter/heater. I’m no expert but I’d say you were taxing that whole equation fairly hard and the flickering is due to it being thirsty.
Could be. Good observation.
You should have included ripple testing.
Yes. I should have. I can't disagree.
Precision, not accuracy which is a measure of repeatability or statistical error.
I frequently use those terms incorrectly/interchangeably in common speech.
@@knurlgnar24 (actually same person). the best anecdote I can use...
Imagine 4 archers
1) The first archer is an expert and his bow is in good condition - they are both accurate and precise : they put 5 arrows in the centre region.
2) The second archer is also an expert, but their bow has been damaged - so has a left bias - a systematic error. The archer sends 5 arrows, they all are clustered close, but to the left of the target. In this case the archer is accurate (repeatable) but not precise (misses the centre).
3) The third archer is not very good, but has a good bow. They send 5 arrows and they are spread all over the place on the target, but centred on the middle of the target - they are precise - since the mean is correct - no bias, but they are not accurate - as the repeatability is bad.
4) The fourth archer is poor also, and has a bad bow with a bias to the left. This 5 arrows hit the target all over the place, and centred to the left of the target. They are not precise and not accurate.
Precision is a measure of systematic bias, accuracy is a measure of spread - or random error.
@@Tom55data Sounds like me when playing darts. I'm really good at putting a couple darts in the triple one. Multiple times...
@@Tom55data You've mixed it up.
socraticcoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Accuracy-vs-precision1.jpg
just get a 50a LED PSU and 4-5 buck boost converters with displays for arround 100 bucks. and you gat a stupid amound of power
That's one option and can be a good option, but consider that a supply like this is simply a PSU with variable control on the current and voltage with a display. Why convert twice? That's just waste. This is the simplest/cheapest way to make a product that does what this product does which means there are 'hidden' tradeoffs/sacrifices people are unintentionally making when piecing together their own bench supplies from DC/DC converters and power supplies.
So cheap in fact that the 2 7 segment displays don't line up properly :D
That's funny. I didn't even notice. That goes to show just how demanding I am as a customer!
for half the price you could have gotten a 48v 600 ps and a digital controller with USB and Bluetooth...
I wanted a bench supply that is simple and fully self contained which has no interfaces that will go obsolete in a few years. This supply will be perfectly useful until it breaks, even if that is 20 years from now. If it had USB or bluetooth I'd specifically avoid it. I want that stuff in my phone and earbuds. I don't want it in my water heater or power supply.
posted before seeing nick lucas' comment
th-cam.com/video/bDDyMFpZoV0/w-d-xo.html
If you change the playback speed to 0.25, pause the video with K and step forward frame by frame (with > key)
I think the display flicker is due to the display changing to Otp (over temperature protection ?)
Two big caps right in the hot air flow is not a good design.
I noticed that as well. It isn't ideal but there are likely practical design considerations that resulted in them being placed there so I didn't flag this as a problem. If this was intended to be a 24/7/365 application I would have been more concerned.
You can never be sure about what the real name of the chip on the board is. They even make fake plastic rice.
Very true, yet I doubt they'd bother counterfeiting components inside this supply. That isn't to say their sourcing department won't happily purchase fake ICs if the price is lower, but I doubt it would be intentional. I've worked with gray market distributors and while you can't trust them they do make at least some attempt to vet their sources.
efficiency issue with the device APS605H Wanptek: studio.th-cam.com/users/video8GLAOxNEzH0/edit
Thanks for the video. The power supply in this video is efficient and does not have any issue with high loads - and I have used it for more demanding applications than shown here since the video. I'm pretty impressed and happy with it. In fact it is running right now charging some batteries. Other models may have deficiencies and later runs of this model may be different.