I recently got this brand new fanless 550w supply for cheap from the Geeks.com. When I opened it up (it didnt come with a manufacturer warrantly), I saw the dreaded F-word Fuhjyyuuu everywhere -- the primary input caps, output caps and everything in between.
I like this supply. Now that I have experienced fanless, I'm not going back, so I decided to recap, before it has a chance to fail on me. The build quality is also good (except for those F caps), with nice big output transistors (5 S60D40C and 2 S30D100C). The input transistors were scratched out so I dont know what they are, but they have the same package type. It has heavy sinks and an aluminum case.
Here are the capacitor complement:
input:
820uf/200v/25mm LH series (x2)
output:
4700uf/16v/12.5mm TLR series
4700/10/12.5 TL
3300/10/12.5 TLR
3300/10/10 TL
3300/10/10 TM
2200/16/10 TLR
1000/16/10 TLR
5vsb:
1500/10/10 TLR
1000/10/7.5 TL
and several small general purpose caps TNR, TN, and SS series
I couldnt find any details on the difference between TL and TLR series.
The operating environment inside the power supply case is probably around 60C. The outisde heatsink gets to 46C (this is in California summer), so its reasonable to assume that the inside temp is higher. I'm only drawing 150 watts from the wall when the computer is heavily loaded, and it usually sits at 80 watts idle.
Now for some questions.
1. Should I replace the input caps? The LH series is rated for 1000Hours, so I guess I could do better. What would be a good part for this?
2. Given the temps that the caps would see, what would be the best replacements? Note that the caps were soldered "FLOATING", meaning that they are not flush with the circuit board, and are sitting at least 1/2 inch off the board. I think they did this to accomodate a bigger size capacitor, so they could derate with temperature.
So, instead of a 12.5mm cap, we could specify a 16mm cap.
I was thinking of going with Panasonic FM or Nichicon HE, but I'm not sure those are the best alternatives.
This is a great site, I'm glad I found it.
Thanks
I like this supply. Now that I have experienced fanless, I'm not going back, so I decided to recap, before it has a chance to fail on me. The build quality is also good (except for those F caps), with nice big output transistors (5 S60D40C and 2 S30D100C). The input transistors were scratched out so I dont know what they are, but they have the same package type. It has heavy sinks and an aluminum case.
Here are the capacitor complement:
input:
820uf/200v/25mm LH series (x2)
output:
4700uf/16v/12.5mm TLR series
4700/10/12.5 TL
3300/10/12.5 TLR
3300/10/10 TL
3300/10/10 TM
2200/16/10 TLR
1000/16/10 TLR
5vsb:
1500/10/10 TLR
1000/10/7.5 TL
and several small general purpose caps TNR, TN, and SS series
I couldnt find any details on the difference between TL and TLR series.
The operating environment inside the power supply case is probably around 60C. The outisde heatsink gets to 46C (this is in California summer), so its reasonable to assume that the inside temp is higher. I'm only drawing 150 watts from the wall when the computer is heavily loaded, and it usually sits at 80 watts idle.
Now for some questions.
1. Should I replace the input caps? The LH series is rated for 1000Hours, so I guess I could do better. What would be a good part for this?
2. Given the temps that the caps would see, what would be the best replacements? Note that the caps were soldered "FLOATING", meaning that they are not flush with the circuit board, and are sitting at least 1/2 inch off the board. I think they did this to accomodate a bigger size capacitor, so they could derate with temperature.
So, instead of a 12.5mm cap, we could specify a 16mm cap.
I was thinking of going with Panasonic FM or Nichicon HE, but I'm not sure those are the best alternatives.
This is a great site, I'm glad I found it.
Thanks
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