More on my "exploded" Antec TruePower New 650W
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From: Man-wai Chang to The Door (24000bps) on 4 Feb 2010 01:24 TP-650 uses modular cable management. But I didn't use any one of them. I only used the default set of cables coming directly out of the unit. In one rail of 4-pin molex connectors, I connected the following: 1. ThermalTake DuOrb VGA cooler (2 fans with 6 blue LED) 2. One 80mm case fan 3. Asus Xonar Essence STX 4. One LG H62L DVD burner Could this have overloaded the 4-pin molex rail and caused the "explosion"? -- @~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY. / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you! /( _ )\ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.32.7 ^ ^ 14:23:01 up 4 days 22:29 0 users load average: 4.48 3.88 2.65 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa
From: Paul on 4 Feb 2010 03:51 Man-wai Chang to The Door (24000bps) wrote: > TP-650 uses modular cable management. But I didn't use any one of them. > I only used the default set of cables coming directly out of the unit. > > In one rail of 4-pin molex connectors, I connected the following: > > 1. ThermalTake DuOrb VGA cooler (2 fans with 6 blue LED) > 2. One 80mm case fan > 3. Asus Xonar Essence STX > 4. One LG H62L DVD burner > > Could this have overloaded the 4-pin molex rail and caused the "explosion"? > No. If you overloaded a Molex connector, eventually it would get hot enough to melt the plastic. The load you state above, isn't even close to doing that. The Molex connector is probably good for somewhere between 8 amps and 10 amps of current flow per pin - the exact rating depends on the gauge of wire connected to the pin. A heavier gauge of wire, draws more heat from the pin, which is why more current flow is then allowed. Inside the power supply, overcurrent limiter and thermal limiter circuits protect the supply. The overcurrent would likely be actuated at a load of around 130% of rated. So if 12V1 was rated for 20 amps, overcurrent should trip around 26 amps, protecting the supply. The power supply should stop if an overload is detected. Overcurrent is set above the value printed on the label, to prevent accidental tripping of the circuit. You need a definite overload to get it to work. If the supply gets too hot inside, there should be at least one thermal monitor to detect that. If you had bought a $20 650W supply, there might not be any protection features on it. But Antec usually provides protection features on their products, so I doubt your supply was completely unprotected. Your power supply would have one or two capacitors on the primary side, and a larger number of small electrolytics on the secondary side. Based on your description of the amount of electrolyte that was released, it sounds like the primary one opened up. The capacitor has a rubber seal on the bottom, and it can pop out of the bottom of the metal can that holds the guts of the capacitor. The capacitor also has pressure relief lines stamped into the top of the can - they release if too much gas pressure develops inside. So liquid can escape from either end, if gas pressure is present. A properly designed electrolytic capacitor can last for 15 years, before the rubber plug in the bottom allows the electrolyte to dry out. A failure could be due to improperly prepared materials, too high a voltage applied to the capacitor (lightning or AC transient). Or the cap could even be damaged by an adjacent component exploding and punching a hole in the cap. Paul
From: Man-wai Chang to The Door (24000bps) on 4 Feb 2010 03:55 > If you overloaded a Molex connector, eventually it would get hot > enough to melt the plastic. The load you state above, isn't even > close to doing that. The Molex connector is probably good for > somewhere between 8 amps and 10 amps of current flow per pin - the > exact rating depends on the gauge of wire connected to the pin. > A heavier gauge of wire, draws more heat from the pin, which is > why more current flow is then allowed. OK. > A properly designed electrolytic capacitor can last for 15 years, > before the rubber plug in the bottom allows the electrolyte to dry out. > A failure could be due to improperly prepared materials, too high > a voltage applied to the capacitor (lightning or AC transient). > Or the cap could even be damaged by an adjacent component > exploding and punching a hole in the cap. Thanks -- @~@ Might, Courage, Vision, SINCERITY. / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! May the Force and Farce be with you! /( _ )\ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.32.7 ^ ^ 16:55:01 up 5 days 1:01 0 users load average: 1.20 1.26 1.21 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_pubsvc/page_socsecu/sub_addressesa
From: Guy on 4 Feb 2010 11:07 In short, No. The common cause of the failure you describe is a build-up of hydrogen gas caused by a bad electrolyte mixture. This is a manufacturing failure. Approach this as a consumer, not an engineer. UL should not clear anything that can stay nominal to its operating profile and still go "boom." You should have to modify the PSU to take it out of its safety margins, and what you plugged in is not a serious overload anyway. You should contact the manufacturer and report the explosion. Unless the component is old and far out of warranty, you should request compensation. If you have any contamination or damage inside your case, tell them about it. And... if you think you might have overloaded the cables, use a second cable next time.
From: kony on 6 Feb 2010 15:58
On Thu, 4 Feb 2010 10:07:55 -0600, Guy <Guy.45ytr9(a)no.email.invalid> wrote: > >In short, No. > >The common cause of the failure you describe is a build-up of hydrogen >gas caused by a bad electrolyte mixture. This is a manufacturing >failure. > >Approach this as a consumer, not an engineer. UL should not clear >anything that can stay nominal to its operating profile and still go >"boom." You should have to modify the PSU to take it out of its safety >margins, and what you plugged in is not a serious overload anyway. > >You should contact the manufacturer and report the explosion. Unless >the component is old and far out of warranty, you should request >compensation. If you have any contamination or damage inside your case, >tell them about it. > >And... if you think you might have overloaded the cables, use a second >cable next time. > Capacitors venting in PSU is a fairly common occurance, the manufacturer sees plenty of this from the warranty replacement program. UL cannot test everything for the extended amount of time it often takes before a capacitor explodes, but for that matter anything using an inadequate capacitor (per the circuit and heat), or of course a defective one, can have it vent. |