ShellNZ
Senior elf
I used to have it mounted on the outer weatherboard wall last year but it kept my daughter awake lol, its now on the shingle roof instead 
How much is too much?
- Thread starter sck1ng
- Start date
Gilrock said:
It not where something is made that makes the difference but instead its the processes they use and the types of external markets they deal with.
Meanwell are a great brand because they follow good design and process and market extensively to the international markets and normally carry the correct certifications
Ray Wus power supplies would come from factories that would mainly deal with the Chinese markets and thus their processes in quality and design are not to the same level.
Ive seen this first hand many times, dealing with a company that markets to the international market compared to a company where the bulk of the market is with in the Asia region and the differences in both quality and design are very obvious to me
I have never had a meanwell fail yet, but ive seen many of Ray Wu fail. Its in the things you don't see is where the differences are made.
Gilrock
Full time elf
And I've never had a Ray Wu supply fail. I live in the desert and it gets just as hot here as you guys in December. I have a EE degree so I know about power supply design and the differences in cheaper supplies. I'm saying for what we use them for its not really worth it to pay triple.
I guess it comes down to a balance of cost and reliability. Someone earlier mentioned paying double for meanwell vs ray Wu which isn't such s big deal if that's all the difference is where you live. For some of us a meanwell costs 5x a ray Wu so for some it might make the difference between being able to have a light show vs not able to afford to do one. If I was reliant on meanwells I wouldn't be able to justify the cost of a display based on the cost of meanwells in NZ. This is year four with the Ray Wu supplies and so far so good ( hope I didn't just jinx that). The main thing is that they are not health hazards/ fire hazards and so far I haven't heard anyone call them dangerous.
Gilrock said:
I agree for hobby based use the Ray Wus are great value because time and repairs are not a cost, but in the commercial world, time and repairs can cost dearly and its far cheaper to use trusted power supplies than to get a call back.
Plus many people have to do this on a thin and tight budget instead of having a cashed up client that has expectations
So nothing wrong with the Ray Wu power supplies for what the hobby uses them, but I would suggest that people keep a spare, at that price it wont break the bank
But there is one thing that people do not really think about in Australia because most cheaper power supplies sold from China do carry US certification, but don't carry Australian certification and this is where there could be some risk, because if there was an incident caused by one of these power supplies like a fire or electrocution then because it doesn't carry Australian certification then you may not be covered by insurance.
ShellNZ said:Here here Gil, my one Meanwell is super annoying and loud. My other 432 Chinese ones are super and no failures. I was just kidding before, I dont go over 80%
Gil, I use lots of both SE-350-5 (60 amp) and SE-450-5 (75 amp) real meanwell power supplies hat I get from TRC electronics in Pennsylvania. This is Meanwell's biggest USA distributer. They are shipped right to my front porch in Colorado for a reasonable charge.
The lower current SE-350-5 internal fan only comes on when needed and the SE-450-5 the internal fan is always on regardless. This is EXACTLY how they are supposed to work. This is stated clearly in Meanwell's specs. See below. If you want a power supply that the internal fan only comes on when needed then it has to indicate this in the specs.
Forced air cooling by built-in DC fan with fan on/off control. (Fan will only come on when needed. )
If however it indicates this:
Forced air cooling by built-in DC fan. (Fan is on all the time)
Then the fan will stay on all the time.
Below are specs for the SE350-5 and the SE-450-5. I should mention that I have NEVER had any of my Meanwell power supplies go bad including some of the din rail power supplies that I use for my lower current stuff. I try not to use a lot of white when I program and also my enclosures where the power supplies reside have automatic fan cooling that enables chassis fans to come on when the chassis temp exceeds 20C (70F) and they shut off at 15C (55F) This works perfect in the wintertime in Colorado.
http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/SE-350-5.shtml (My favorite go to power supply. It's nice & quiet!!)
http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/SE-450-5.shtml (I used these when I needed to 'push' the envelope.
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Gilrock
Full time elf
Sorry I just don't have the energy to talk about this anymore... I forget here you better only talk LSP, Meanwell, and Pixlite...lol.
Gilrock said:
I thought this was a great constructive thread discussing the differences, so im a little surprised about this comment.
But to add to the fan noise issue then the issue here is that these types of power supplies (both meanwell and Ray Wus) are actually designed for industrial use where they are either mounted inside a panel or enclosure, so the noise of the fan is not an issue, they are not primarily designed for domestic use
But they are noisy in a quiet environment like a suburban house
I've never regarded the fan noise to be an issue with my display.
I have two controller boxes with 4 power supplies each and you only notice the fans when you're up close.
I have two controller boxes with 4 power supplies each and you only notice the fans when you're up close.
livetoride
Full time elf
Gilrock said:
Dont talk about LSP you may upset some more people
Gilrock
Full time elf
I'm running the power supply beside my computer in the house for testing. That's why the noise is bothering me. Yes I could care less about it in the yard other than if I hear it running I assume the box it too hot when it's happening while no lights are on. Ok I'm out...how much is too much? My post here was one post too many for this topic...lol.