HotSwappable Power Supply Question

[simon389]

Hey will this power supply need any special hook-ups for powering my peltier?

For instance, do i need to splice an AC power cord and solder it onto some pins or something?

Has anybody else had any eXPerience with rackamount or hotswappable power supplies?

SiSi

[Since87]

I've had experience with a lot of different power supplies, but I don't see any links or anything else showing specifics of the one you are interested in.

[simon389]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1758539982:burn:

[Since87]

It looks like this supply was a custom design for whomever was originally using it. It doesn't appear to match the standard products on the manufacturers website.

There are a lot of unknowns here. The biggest one is that this type of powersupply may need a 36V to 72V DC input. Not easy for most peope to come by. If it can be powered by AC, it is meant to be powered through two of the lines on the 47 pin connector. You could probably solder AC input leads directly to the PCB where the socket pins connect.

Aside from that issue, there would be a lot of additional things to connect up other than just the 12V output. There are "sense" connections listed for most of the available outputs. these would need to be tied to the appropriate voltage outputs. There is an enable output that needs to be tied to ground.

There's not enough information available to be much more definite. If it is the AC input version it would be useful as a pelt supply, but I think it likely that it is the DC input version.

[simon389]

Here is a spec sheet which contains the #TPCH code. Hope this helps!

http://www.unipowercorp.com/Unipower_Corporation_Complete_/TPCH-12.pdf

edit: And from the look of the spec sheet it seems to be AC input! :)

[Since87]

So do you have one of these Simon?

If so what is the full model number printed on the supply, better yet, can you send a legible picture of the label on the supply.

From that data sheet it still isn't clear to me that it's an AC input supply. The data sheet says, that if it has the Q option code, it is meant for 48V DC input.

Any Q's on the label?

[CrystalMethod]

Ok, from the looks of the pic, that's just part of the power supply. the swapable part. You're still missing the actual power supply unit itself.
http://www.servercase.com/ImageFiles/MR2F.jpg

See one of the parts with the handle on it? That's what it looks like you bought. You can wire it to work, but as a hot swap, you're still missing the main unit.

[Since87]

I don't think he was interested in being able to hot swap supplies. He just wanted a supply that was usable with a pelt.

[simon389]

Originally posted by Since87
So do you have one of these Simon?

If so what is the full model number printed on the supply, better yet, can you send a legible picture of the label on the supply.

From that data sheet it still isn't clear to me that it's an AC input supply. The data sheet says, that if it has the Q option code, it is meant for 48V DC input.

Any Q's on the label?

Yes I do. My model number is TPCH32900-R-286.

AND IT IS AC INPUT! :D Here come the pics!

[simon389]

#1

[simon389]

#2

[simon389]

#3

[simon389]

#4

[simon389]

#5

[simon389]

and #6!

[Since87]

Looks like you've got a great supply. Did you get it for that $8.67 price? If so that's a fantastic deal.

Do you understand what you need to do with the sense connections?

[simon389]

Yes I did get it for 8.67.

No I do not know what the sense connections are. What do I need to do to turn this puppy on?

[simon389]

Okay I think that what I do is this:

My 12v Pelt needs 24amps.

1. I think that I tie the [pin1] +V1 Out (+12vdc) to the Red Pelt wire and the [pin7] V1 & V2 Return to the black pelt wire.

2. I attach the [pin30] +V1 Sense to the [pin 31] -V1 Sense.

3. Finally I Short pin 27 (enable) to pin 22 (signal ground) for the unit to turn on.

Is this right?

[Since87]

Originally posted by simon389
Yes I did get it for 8.67.

No I do not know what the sense connections are. What do I need to do to turn this puppy on?

Technical explanation
The sense connections are used to detect the voltage at a specific point so that the power supply can regulate the voltage at that point. Doing this eliminates the voltage drop on the power cable between the supply and the point the sense connection is tied to. The main reason to do this is to keep the voltage at the sensed point constant regardless of the current draw of the load.

Suppose your load is drawing 19 Amps from the 12V rail. (About what the DD 226W pelt draws at 12V.) If your 12V and Ground wires between the power supply and the pelt were 3 foot each, and 16 Gauge copper, the actual voltage across the pelt would only be 11.5 Volts. 0.5 Volts would dropped across the 6 feet of wire connecting your pelt to the PS. Connecting the sense inputs of the PS close to the pelt, would cause the PS to put out about 12.5 Volts at it's output terminals in order to maintain 12 Volts at the sense contact point near the pelt.
Technical explanation off

The easiest thing to do is connect the sense wires to the power signals right at the supply, but you won't get as much power to your pelt that way. To get more power to your pelt you should connect the sense wires to the power wires where the power wires connect to the pelt leads. You need to keep the power cables between your supply and pelt short though. 3 feet Max if you are using 16 Gauge wire. I would recommend using 12 Gauge wire.

To keep everything stable and happy you need to connect the following:

+V1_Sense to +V1_Out
-V1_Sense to V1_&_V2_Return
+V2_Sense to +V2_Out
-V2_Sense to V1_&_V2_Return
+V3_Sense to +V3_Out
-V3_Sense to V3_Return

There's a problem though. The data sheet only lists one pin for +V3_Out and V3_Return, but the label says that V3 is a 3.3V 40A supply. I seriously doubt they would put 40 Amps through only a single pin on that connector. The reason they use multiple pins for +V1_Out, +V2_Out, and V1_&_V2_Return is that a single pin is not going to handle the current. I don't think it's very likely that the pinout shown on that datasheet is going to match the pinout on your supply. I am curious about what is on the left side of the panel the fans are on. Could that be the V3 output? Or is that for an AC input? I can't tell from the picture.

I suggest you contact Unipower Corp and ask them to send you the spec sheet for that specific supply. I suspect the R-286 in the model number is specifying a custom engineered variation of the TPCH32900. I'd suggest calling and asking for an applications engineer. You want to talk to a techie willing to help a geek in need. You don't want to talk to someone from marketing who's going to realize very quickly that he's not gonna make a sale by wasting time with you.

You will also need to connect the Enable pin to Signal_Ground in order to start the supply up.

Good luck.

[simon389]

that black connector by the fans is the AC in. Thanks SO MUCH for helping me.

[simon389]

Stupid Question: Do I connect the red pelt wire to the "+V1" and the black to the "+V1 Return"?

[simon389]

Yeah the pinout is the same on my pelt as the supply.

[simon389]

And do I need to connect the sense wires for the 5v and 3.3v lines even though I'm not using them?

[simon389]

I used a small piece of wire to test the enable and ground connection and the supply turned on! :)

[simon389]

like this?

[simon389]

I'll test it tonight with a 12v fan.

[Since87]

Yes, +V1_Out goes to the plus lead of the Pelt and V1_Return goes to the black lead of the pelt.

It would be a good idea to connect up the V2 and V3 sense connections just so that the supply stays stable. It may not be necessary but I would do it anyway to be on the safe side.

I would connect your power leads to at least 4 of the +V1_Out pins and 4 of the V1_Return pins.

Your drawing looks right.

Be sure to mount your waterblock and coldplate to the pelt before powering it up, otherwise you might burn up the pelt.

[simon389]

I noticed when looking through the grill that inside my hotswap power supply it is grounded to the chassis. My computer supply is also grounded to the chassis. Is it okay to have both supplies grounded to their chassis and their chassises touching each other??

My new hotswap is attatched to my ATX tower case so this is my situation?

[simon389]

You don't need to take a whole bunch of your time and explain what the following mean, but I was just wondering if I need to connect them anywhere.

1.V1 & V2 External Trim [pins 29 & 32]
2.Global Inhibit [pin 39]
3.Overtemp. Warning [pin 40]
4.V1 & V2 Current Share [pins 35 & 41]
5.AC Power Fail [pin 42]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!:) :)

[Since87]

1.V1 & V2 External Trim [pins 29 & 32]

These are probably used to adjust the output up or down. You shouldn't need to use them.

2.Global Inhibit [pin 39]

The manufacturer's recommendation is to connect a 10 kOhm resistor between this pin and +5V_Standby. The supply may not operate reliably without this. You can probably get away with directly wiring this pin to +5V_Standby, but I would recommend using the resistor. The resistor should be readily available at Radio Shack.

3.Overtemp. Warning [pin 40]

Warns you that the supply is too hot, but this shouldn't be an issue. Don't need it.

4.V1 & V2 Current Share [pins 35 & 41]

These are used when the supply is used in a hot swap setup so that the output current will be shared evenly between all of the supplies. You don't need to do anything with these.


5.AC Power Fail [pin 42]

This pin is to signal other circuitry that the AC power has failed. You don't need to do anything with this.

[Since87]

Originally posted by simon389
I noticed when looking through the grill that inside my hotswap power supply it is grounded to the chassis. My computer supply is also grounded to the chassis. Is it okay to have both supplies grounded to their chassis and their chassises touching each other??

My new hotswap is attatched to my ATX tower case so this is my situation?

This shouldn't be a problem.