Putting DC ATX PSU into "production"
Jan. 6th, 2023 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
muwlgrIn my earlier post, https://muwlgr.dreamwidth.org/47435.html , I described my initial experiments with [Realan?] LR1106 250W DC ATX PSU.
I found that it required really stable 12V on its DC input, and preferred it to be adjustable within some limits (I checked BIOS reporting of its measured 12V voltage).
So, when conditions pushed me to putting this PSU into "production" use (probably you heard something about this full-scale Russian invasion into Ukraine and associated blackouts), I decided that it is time to move.
Earlier, my power supply chain included : 220V 50Hz mains socket -> APC SmartUPS 1000 -> FSP ATX400PNF -> Asus B85M-G (with Core i3-4130T CPU , 3*3.5" SATA HDDs, 1*5.25 SATA DVD-RW and some smaller add-on boards and devices).
When our blackouts got quite long (4+ hours), I found that my FSP ATX PSU, having got cooled down, can not start the Asus motherboard properly on AC power resuming, triggering its protection against power surges. Probably it just showed its age, as I bought it in 2007. So I replaced it with older ATX PSU Enlight ENP-0730 (made around 2000), which provided proper cold starts, but had lower efficiency and so, higher wasted heat and reduced life on UPS batteries.
From the "apcaccess" printout, I saw that FSP PSU created 7.8% load, ENP PSU, about 9.3%, and LR1106 - less than 6% (5.2% as usual).
Now my power chain looks like : 220V 50Hz mains socket -> APC SmartUPS 1000 -> S-120W-12V AC/DC PSU -> LR1106 ATX PSU -> Asus B85M-G with the same add-ons as before.
As LR1106 has only a single Molex, SATA and floppy power outputs, I had to buy 1->2 Molex and 1Molex->5SATA extenders from the local market.
The next step would be, to feed my smaller boxes (a switch and a pair of optical-to-Ethernet convertors) from a battery-backed-up [Carspa?] SC-120W-12V PSU I mentioned in my previous post, so as to move them off SmartUPS feed and to reduce its load even further.
The ultimate step would be, to eliminate SmartUPS AC invertor and pre-ATX AC rectifier from the chain, to get even more efficiency, but I am not sure if I could find anybody who knows proprietary APC circuitry well enough to attach to it in the proper place (so that the DC voltage is cut off on low battery charge, not discharging them down into the ground). Or may be, to attach a pair of big 12V car accumulators to the UPS instead of its smaller internal batteries, to make mains AC downtimes negligible compared to its increased battery life.
I found that it required really stable 12V on its DC input, and preferred it to be adjustable within some limits (I checked BIOS reporting of its measured 12V voltage).
So, when conditions pushed me to putting this PSU into "production" use (probably you heard something about this full-scale Russian invasion into Ukraine and associated blackouts), I decided that it is time to move.
Earlier, my power supply chain included : 220V 50Hz mains socket -> APC SmartUPS 1000 -> FSP ATX400PNF -> Asus B85M-G (with Core i3-4130T CPU , 3*3.5" SATA HDDs, 1*5.25 SATA DVD-RW and some smaller add-on boards and devices).
When our blackouts got quite long (4+ hours), I found that my FSP ATX PSU, having got cooled down, can not start the Asus motherboard properly on AC power resuming, triggering its protection against power surges. Probably it just showed its age, as I bought it in 2007. So I replaced it with older ATX PSU Enlight ENP-0730 (made around 2000), which provided proper cold starts, but had lower efficiency and so, higher wasted heat and reduced life on UPS batteries.
From the "apcaccess" printout, I saw that FSP PSU created 7.8% load, ENP PSU, about 9.3%, and LR1106 - less than 6% (5.2% as usual).
Now my power chain looks like : 220V 50Hz mains socket -> APC SmartUPS 1000 -> S-120W-12V AC/DC PSU -> LR1106 ATX PSU -> Asus B85M-G with the same add-ons as before.
As LR1106 has only a single Molex, SATA and floppy power outputs, I had to buy 1->2 Molex and 1Molex->5SATA extenders from the local market.
The next step would be, to feed my smaller boxes (a switch and a pair of optical-to-Ethernet convertors) from a battery-backed-up [Carspa?] SC-120W-12V PSU I mentioned in my previous post, so as to move them off SmartUPS feed and to reduce its load even further.
The ultimate step would be, to eliminate SmartUPS AC invertor and pre-ATX AC rectifier from the chain, to get even more efficiency, but I am not sure if I could find anybody who knows proprietary APC circuitry well enough to attach to it in the proper place (so that the DC voltage is cut off on low battery charge, not discharging them down into the ground). Or may be, to attach a pair of big 12V car accumulators to the UPS instead of its smaller internal batteries, to make mains AC downtimes negligible compared to its increased battery life.
