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Does the heatsink have power in it?


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Posted

Lets see, the controller was on. (First thing I did wrong!) And I was connecting the grounds to each other. One of the grounds was touching the heatsing and when I got it to connect it, I thought I felt a slight vibrating like that was carrying power. So is their somthing their or was I probaly touching somthing else?




---Daniel L

Posted

Heat sinks are usually tied to chassis ground, and have no power to them. Maybe what you felt was a 60 cycle hum as the controller powered up.

Posted

This is in the front of the instruction manual , I dont think you should be touching it with power applyed .

"

[align=left]" CAUTION: This product requires that the customer have an[/align]
[align=left]understanding of electrical wiring. It requires connections to 120/240[/align]
[align=left]VAC. The board has many exposed high voltage connections which[/align]
[align=left]are potentially dangerous. The CTB16D should be placed in a safe[/align]
[align=left]enclosure ensuring safety to children and pets."[/align]

Posted

Technically you should be 99.9% safe touching the heatsink with power applied.

It's that .1% that doesnt make it worth trying though for me! lol

Better safe than sorry everyone. Just unplug the darned thing when doing anything to it!



Luke

Posted

RayNMesa wrote:

This is in the front of the instruction manual , I dont think you should be touching it with power applyed .

"

[align=left]" CAUTION: This product requires that the customer have an[/align]
[align=left]understanding of electrical wiring. It requires connections to 120/240[/align]
[align=left]VAC. The board has many exposed high voltage connections which[/align]
[align=left]are potentially dangerous. The CTB16D should be placed in a safe[/align]
[align=left]enclosure ensuring safety to children and pets."[/align]


Are you saying that I dont know how to wire somthing up? Yes, I know ALL the warnings, I know the basics on home electrical systems, I know what electricty can do. And I take resposibility for my actions. Yes, I have been shocked a few times, most people here has been also! The only thing I do not know is what ine internal componets of a circut board are so....


Is a 60 Cycle hum the transformer getting jucied up?




--Daniel L
Posted

The heatsink should NOT be carrying any power. Are you using a metal enclosure, or plastic (or wood)? If metal, make sure you're using a 3-wire, grounded power cord, and bond the grounds to the enclosure (which should in turn be bonded to the heatsinks).

If you're feeling a tingle, I'd be very wary that you're somehow getting live power there. Use a multimeter to test between the heatsink and a known-good ground. You shouldn't measure any voltage. If you do, something is bad -- don't use the controller until you figure it out!

Are you saying that I dont know how to wire somthing up?


I think he's saying it's generally a bad idea to be mucking inside an electrical enclosure with the power on... That same "tingle" can kill you if you had touched a good ground (like a water pipe, the outside of a grounded appliance, etc) with your other hand and the current be allowed to cross your heart...

-Tim
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