EmmienLightFan Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thinking about buying one of these. I have used other cheap Ebay power supplies and they have been extremely good. Voltage regulation is really good. Doing a burn in on one now. 18 amps ramping up and down and voltage stays stable on a 40 amp supply. I saw these in Ray's store. Good price for a 350 watt power supply, and is supposedly rainproof. It has a fan on it, hopefully blowing. I would probably put it inside a case, but do you think that it would be OK under eaves or a porch way? He also stocks power supplies like this Which would probably be fine completely exposed, but are more expensive and are not available in 5 volts. I wouldn't run it above 70%. It makes them last so much longer! The connections have some sort of cover over them. Unfortunately no cable grip/strain relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I have used one of Ray's non-waterproof 5V supplies under my eves for four years without any problems. It would take a lot to get any water on it. Below is a link to the supply and below that is a photo of my installation. It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but water would have to come up a good six inches to touch the power supply. The supply has a vent fan. I have several more 5V and 12V versions of this supply, but they are all in completely enclosed locations. If a power supply has a fan, it's not really rainproof. Even if the PC board is completely potted, the fan motor is exposed to the weather. http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5V-350W-switch-mode-power-supply-LED-power-driver-AC90-260V-input-DC5V-350W-output-constant/701799_1948831534.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 1 hour ago, k6ccc said: I Don't you have problems with moisture? Here in the UK, in December when it is cold, everything is wet. Just tiny little droplets. Under the eaves will be wet, underneath anything will be wet, and even the insides of enclosures sometimes. It is something I am really worried about, hence using these would add just an extra layer of protection. The one I linked is a little cheaper than your one, but a higher wattage. I would have thought that they are similar electronics in different casings, but maybe the voltage regulation on the rainproof supply won't be as good. It doesn't mention anything other than "Overvoltage protection". http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/5V-350W-rain-proof-switch-mode-Power-Supply-AC120V-or-AC230V-input-DC5V-output/701799_1921824268.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 5 minutes ago, EmmienLightFan said: Don't you have problems with moisture? Here in the UK, in December when it is cold, everything is wet. Just tiny little droplets. Under the eaves will be wet, underneath anything will be wet, and even the insides of enclosures sometimes. It is something I am really worried about, hence using these would add just an extra layer of protection. Not around here. It would be VERY rare to have condensing moisture on anything. Particularly on something that is warmer than ambient - even by only a couple of degrees. Although we are entering year five of a drought, we have had heavy rain several times with that power supply mounted up there without any trouble. Sounds like in your weather, moisture is something you would need to take more seriously than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 10 hours ago, k6ccc said: Particularly on something that is warmer than ambient - even by only a couple of degrees. The only enclosures I had outside last year were one RGB controller, a DMX-WS2801 converter and several boxes with connector blocks in. The connection boxes all got water in, but still worked and no shorts. I think this was because the water was not rainwater, it was moisture which had formed on the sides then slowly filled it up. I didn't have a chance to take the Halloween stuff down until two weeks after, although I had powered it all off the day after Halloween. This probably added to the problems because the stuff wasn't warm anymore. The RGB controller got wet but was somehow fine and still works today, and the DMX-WS2801 converter failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I just use real wet location power supplies.. I put them right outside without concern for the elements. They work great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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