Mean Well RSP-500-15 Switching Power Supply
IT just arrived. Initial impressions: Much heavier than the cheapowatt 1/2" wider, 1/2 inch longer and almost 1/2 inch less High than cheapowatt. The casing is about 50 to 75% thicker aluminum t...
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That grease MW used on assembly, well it was not hard to clean up like the white grease the cheapowatt came with. I used a q tip and 91% rubbing alcohol on that heatsink and applied arctic silver after filing the screw holes flat. Arctic silver, and the cheapowatt's thermal grease laugh at alcohol, determined to stay in ones fingerprint valleys forever.
I did, on desoldering, file the soldering tip to the shape needed for maximum surface area, and I did use paste flux, and I did have plenty of light. I have a Nitecore HC50 headlamp that can do 565 lumens, which is pretty much too bright, but there are 4 other brightness settings.
Part of the issue was that the trim pot was flush to the top of the circuit board, and solder had gone all the way through from the bottom.
I did have a alligator clamp on the trim pot with a Needle nose pair of vice grips clamped on the wire to act as a weight, but I pretty much needed 3 soldering irons on the feet at the same time. It did allow enough of a gap to open I was able to get a small screwdriver under it and heat and pry, but then 2 legs left the trim pot and stayed in the CB. They were the ground legs. the hot leg pulled through and left a tiny hole. I do have tiny drill bits, but for some reason clipping the stranding to a narrower diameter crossed my mind first.
I was able to suck the solder about half way through the circuit board, but was then relegated to heating and prying. I was very afraid of overheating, imagining a 127 dollar bill going up in flames.
Anyway, the job is done but certainly could be cleaner. I incorporated some strain relief so pulling on the wire to the pot cannot stress the joints on the CB.
I am happy with the lowered minimum voltage from 13.34 to 13.12, very happy.
I am very happy that the 60MM fan pushing, in combo with the 80MM fan pulling, kept the 40MM high pitched turbojet fan from firing up. I am OK with steady white noise even when loud, but cycling on and off of such noise is annoying. Freaking parakeet, may it die a fast painful death and be chased by a madman with a sledgehammer and a bleach filled squirt bottle in parakeet hell.
I was happy to see that extra amp when charging the AGM battery vs the flooded. I thought I lost it, or it was just instrument error/inaccuracy, but the GTpower recorded a 41.05 Amp peak. And when it was holding a reading of 40.97 amps for that first half hour or so, my clamp on ammeter meter read 40.88a. I think this extra amp is interesting.
I am happy that the GTpower meter now stays cool. The 8awg wire stays cool, the 45 amp power pole connector stays cool, and the 40MM turbojet fan might never turn on again.
I can feel that some expelled air from the 80MM fan does a U turn and gets sucked into the 60MM fan. Not an insurmountable obstacle, and apparently does not matter much anyway.
I still want to mount the 10 turn pot a bit better, and the wiring from the front is kind of messy, but not much to be done about that.
The GTpower's display is not the easiest to read from odd angles, so I think leaving it in its case so I can twist it upwards to read would be better than removing it from the casing and hard mounting it. Hard mounting would require angling it upwards, or having to lower my eyes to cabinet door level to read it. Which is what I was doing when It was zip tied to the aluminum arms. More than a bit annoying.
Anyway, last night when the AGM was accepting only 0.5 amps at 14.7v, I slowly lowered voltage to 13.6v. The solar is now holding the 13.6v, and 0.0 amps are flowing into the AGM. Guess I'll flip a switch and let the screwy 31 have a drink of some 13.6v too.
Kind of cathartic knowing the batteries are bursting full.
I did, on desoldering, file the soldering tip to the shape needed for maximum surface area, and I did use paste flux, and I did have plenty of light. I have a Nitecore HC50 headlamp that can do 565 lumens, which is pretty much too bright, but there are 4 other brightness settings.
Part of the issue was that the trim pot was flush to the top of the circuit board, and solder had gone all the way through from the bottom.
I did have a alligator clamp on the trim pot with a Needle nose pair of vice grips clamped on the wire to act as a weight, but I pretty much needed 3 soldering irons on the feet at the same time. It did allow enough of a gap to open I was able to get a small screwdriver under it and heat and pry, but then 2 legs left the trim pot and stayed in the CB. They were the ground legs. the hot leg pulled through and left a tiny hole. I do have tiny drill bits, but for some reason clipping the stranding to a narrower diameter crossed my mind first.
I was able to suck the solder about half way through the circuit board, but was then relegated to heating and prying. I was very afraid of overheating, imagining a 127 dollar bill going up in flames.
Anyway, the job is done but certainly could be cleaner. I incorporated some strain relief so pulling on the wire to the pot cannot stress the joints on the CB.
I am happy with the lowered minimum voltage from 13.34 to 13.12, very happy.
I am very happy that the 60MM fan pushing, in combo with the 80MM fan pulling, kept the 40MM high pitched turbojet fan from firing up. I am OK with steady white noise even when loud, but cycling on and off of such noise is annoying. Freaking parakeet, may it die a fast painful death and be chased by a madman with a sledgehammer and a bleach filled squirt bottle in parakeet hell.
I was happy to see that extra amp when charging the AGM battery vs the flooded. I thought I lost it, or it was just instrument error/inaccuracy, but the GTpower recorded a 41.05 Amp peak. And when it was holding a reading of 40.97 amps for that first half hour or so, my clamp on ammeter meter read 40.88a. I think this extra amp is interesting.
I am happy that the GTpower meter now stays cool. The 8awg wire stays cool, the 45 amp power pole connector stays cool, and the 40MM turbojet fan might never turn on again.
I can feel that some expelled air from the 80MM fan does a U turn and gets sucked into the 60MM fan. Not an insurmountable obstacle, and apparently does not matter much anyway.
I still want to mount the 10 turn pot a bit better, and the wiring from the front is kind of messy, but not much to be done about that.
The GTpower's display is not the easiest to read from odd angles, so I think leaving it in its case so I can twist it upwards to read would be better than removing it from the casing and hard mounting it. Hard mounting would require angling it upwards, or having to lower my eyes to cabinet door level to read it. Which is what I was doing when It was zip tied to the aluminum arms. More than a bit annoying.
Anyway, last night when the AGM was accepting only 0.5 amps at 14.7v, I slowly lowered voltage to 13.6v. The solar is now holding the 13.6v, and 0.0 amps are flowing into the AGM. Guess I'll flip a switch and let the screwy 31 have a drink of some 13.6v too.
Kind of cathartic knowing the batteries are bursting full.
