Paper clip trick - long term

[Sidekicknichola]

I have an oddball question ....

I am working on a project for my company and need to cool some LED panels (not a ton of heat generated) so I planned on running a cheap PSU to 4 case fans all mounted under the LEDs.

My plan is this:
1. PSU with Green / Black wire spliced for a "fixed" paper-clip trick
2. PSU to case fans to move air
3. PSU would be wired in with the LEDs to a proximity switch - lights and PSU will only get power during the inspection that requires the lights -- The PSU won't run 24/7

.... so the PSU will turn on with the lights, stay on for the inspection cycle 10-15 mins, then shut off when part is removed. Are there any major concerns with doing this splice and running the PSU this way?

**Using case fans for their size - the location I need them mounted so very small - I've looked at other fan types but nothing has a footprint that will work for me **

Setup on my desk with just one of the fans

 

[imagoon]

It won't hurt the supply but you would want something better than a paper clip like a proper switch etc. I have seen plenty of people do this to power large racks of disk drives in DIY NAS units.

 

[xero404]

been using one of these for my water cooling loops. Its basically a fancier paperclip and could probably DIY one with some wire. http://www.frozencpu.com/psu-173.html

 

[Sidekicknichola]

but you would want something better than a paper clip like a proper switch etc.

I will certainly clean it up... the remote and ground I'll wire together and run to a prox / whisker swith to only turn on when the unit is on... not nearly as janky as above.

Good to know it won't effect the PSU (not that this POS Diaboltek will last more than a week anyway).

Thanks guys!

 

[imagoon]

As a side note, realize that the supply will be producing standby current and basically running all the time (Off still runs a few things) so don't block air flow etc while the doors are close or the standby circuits could burn out.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

As a side note, realize that the supply will be producing standby current and basically running all the time (Off still runs a few things) so don't block air flow etc while the doors are close or the standby circuits could burn out.

I'll have the power running to the PSU on the whisker switch... so the PSU will only get power when the fixture / inspection is running. If the switch is not engaged it will be equivalent to having the unit unplugged.

 

[jaqie]

if you don't have a lot of fans to power it may be better to find an old linear wall wart with 12-15v or so output DC and use it. fan motors aren't so picky about exact voltage, though far too much can burn them out or wear out their bushings/bearings.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

if you don't have a lot of fans to power it may be better to find an old linear wall wart with 12-15v or so output DC and use it.

That was my first thought, but I'll probably have 6-8 fans, so it was tapping into 3/4 plugs twice each, or just one PSU.... it will also be going into a production area, so less plugs / cords the better.

 

[pm]

I do this with a power supply and it's been running for years. My networking area in the basement of my house has a wireless router, cable modem, gigabit switch, VOIP box, alarm system (12V input), antenna amplifier and at least a couple of other little things so I had all of these wall warts for each one and I thought that it would be more efficient to just power everything with one power supply and it might save me a few watts (which, added up, works out to real money over the course of years... I calculated 1W saved is ~$1/year saved based on local electric rates).

So I spliced connectors for all of my electronics into ATX connectors, used a spare power supply, and then used the paperclip trick - with a paperclip as shown above - to power everything. It actually took the combined power from 27W (7 wall warts) to 9W (one 80+ 250W power supply that I had lying around) so it turned out to save ~18W per year. Not much but it cleaned everything up and saved a bit of money and used a spare power supply.

It's been running like that for 2-3 years continuously without a problem.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have a PSU I use for general random stuff such as powering electromagnetic coils, to testing fans, and what I did is I just soldered it internally. Just find where the wires go, then cut them inside leaving some slack then solder them together and put hot glue so it does not short anywhere. In my particular case I actually cut all wires, then combined each voltage and then have them going through the grill using a piece of romex wire so I can attach crocodile clips to them. Got ground, 3.3v 5v, 12v -5v and -12v.

 

[Binky]

A power supply designed to output 150~250 watts seems like a poor choice for a permanent installation that might take 20 watts or less. The energy waste would be very large, and the power supply itself would take up much more space than needed.

Just find an appropriate wall wart and wire it up properly.