Ray Wu Power supplies

Nath_From_NT

Nath_From_NT

Apprentice elf
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
55
Location
Yarralin - NT
Hi all,


I'm just looking for some advice on power supplies from Mr Wu. I have a mixture of 12 volt and 5 volt lights, mostly 12 volt. Ray sells waterproof supplies, like this:
http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209855560-432634971/12V-25A-300W-waterproof-power-supply-AC110-220V-input-CE-approved.html which says it's 12 volt in the title but 24 volt in the description, but anyway.


He also sells:
http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209855560-301816971/waterproof-switch-mode-power-supply-90-250VAC-input-12V-200W-output-P-N-NV12200C.html


Disregarding all the watts, volts and amps, which should I be getting? They are both waterproof, the second is switch-mode. Is there any other differences that I'm over looking that will get me zapped? Will they both do the same job? Do I even know what I'm talking about? (Don't answer that)


Should I even be buying something that supplies power from China, with their strict quality control.


Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.


Cheers,


Nathan
 
Nath_From_NT said:
Should I even be buying something that supplies power from China, with their strict quality control.
Click to expand...

Many people have bought cheap power supplies from Ray and other vendors, but I'm not keen on them myself. Especially after seeing one of the popular 5V 350W types go flash-bang-smoke first hand recently.

Personally, I'd go for a known brand like Mean Well. Beware that there are many (inferior) copies that have a similar "M W" logo on them. Usually if the PSU is dirt cheap, it's a copy. The real ones cost 2-5 times as much as the copies sometimes go for.

It's not the "made in China" part that's inherently bad. China makes some really nice electronics too. It's more a case of that's where the majority of the cheap fakes come from so you need to be careful.
 
All my power supplies are from Ray, but I have never bought the waterproof ones nor would I trust the waterproofing. I much prefer to place them in a dry spot and run the power from there. I haven't had any go bag yet but I have had a couple that when they arrived had pieces rattling around inside. But it is a case of you get what you pay for They went straight in the bin.
If you get the cheaper ones order some spares. Nothing worse than one dying 2 days before Christmas
 
With the cheap chinese power supplies its a case of do you want something cheap that will do the job but maybe unreliable or do you want something more expensive that will be of higher quality and more reliable.

For me i chose the cheap path as I am budget restricted, but also i did buy a spare as a backup as in the end i could buy 3 or 4 cheap chinese power supplies for the price of one meanwell. This option suits me because i work in the electrical field and take the appropriate precautions by having my power supplies mounted inside a steel enclosure and ensuring my earth wire is firmly connected and the PSU is conneted to an RCD protected outlet.

For you the other issue is the connecting up of the power supply which is the only part of running DC lights that really requires an electrician as you are working on the 240v side. If your not 100% sure of the dangers then this work should be done by a qualified electrician, remember electricity kills. and if you were going to attempt this yourself then the very minimum you require is a RCD device(earth leakage safety device) protecting the power circuit your hooking your PSU up to, that way you are protecting yourself. I would also test the operation of the RCD before playing around with any 240v to ensure the device will trigger if elctrocution happens.

But in the end the best, safest and most compliant way is to use an electricain for the connections of the 240V side or use computer power supplies that just have a standard 240v plug in lead and that way you dont need to touch the 240v side.
 
I believe Nathan is specifically after waterproof power supplies for outdoor use. I'll ask the Mean Well agent what they have for you.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, I'm looking into the Mean Well supplies that David suggested, but given that money is always an issue (for the Wife), I'll keep Rays in mind. I'm not really concerned with waterproofing, I was just trying to conserve cabling and make life easier for myself, but I wouldn't trust Rays IP ratings anyway.


Thanks again.
 
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