Bottlehead Forum
General Category => Technical topics => Topic started by: Deke609 on August 31, 2020, 02:03:10 AM
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My PSUD model of the power supply of my Kaiju rebuild shows that the voltage doubler caps briefly draw a ton of current at turn on. I've doubled the capacitance of the doublers to reduce ripple even lower, but the increased capacitance causes even greater inrush current. I'm a bit concerned by this and want to explore using a current limiter. Thermistors seem to be the go-to device.
But before I explore thermistors further, I'd like to pick the brains of the BH experts as to possible pros and cons. Are there any reasons not to use thermistors with a voltage doubler? Are some thermistors "noiser" than others and to be avoided? This is new territory for me and I'd appreciate any pointers that people may have.
many thanks, Derek
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How much is the inrush current?
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The initial spike at turn on is around 18A.
many thanks, Derek
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A UF4007 can handle a peak current of 30A briefly.
The power transformer is also going to have a ton of voltage drop if you try to pull 18A through it, though PSUD doesn't take that into account super well.
A CL-90 between hot and the power transformer primary will slow this down, but it wouldn't seem to be explicitly necessary based on the information you're providing.
-PB
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Thanks PB. I'll be using some beefier SiC Schottky rectifier diodes rated for 42A non-repetitive surge current, and for 21A of repetitive surge current: FFSP05120A. I'm more concerned about the life of the doubler caps. I'll be using some long life Rubycon BXW 220u 400V caps. Datasheet attached. The datasheet doesn't mention max instantaneous ripple current -- maybe that doesn't exist? (But I thought I read about that somewhere when I was selecting caps a few months ago). According to PSUD, peak current drops to below 2A after 1500 ms, so maybe I don't need to worry about the doubler caps heating up. Dunno. I'm totally ignorant here.
Good point about voltage sag @ 18A draw. PSUD shows a modest sag, but nowhere near as low as I would expect based on my limited experience.
Thanks for the suggestion of the CL90. Is there a particular brand you would recommend? I may install it just out of an abudance of caution.
cheers and many thanks, Derek
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IMO you're miles away from needing a precharge circuit. You are using 4x220u/400V caps for the doubler filter node? (since you said more capacitance than stock)
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Yeah, 4 caps: 2 pairs of paralleled 220u's.
many thanks, Derek
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A follow-up on this. The caps are rated for 1.2A rms of ripple current at 120Hz. Since I'll have two in parallel, I assume that they will split the current - perhaps not equally, but hopefully not entirely lopsidedly. PSUD shows peak current at the doubler caps after 1500 ms of approx. 1.85A - so approx 1.3A rms. So as long as one caps takes at least 100mA of that, I should be good after the turn-on surge. What I'm concerned about (out of ignorance) is that first 1500 ms when current bounces pretty high. Is there no cause for concern?
many thanks again, Derek
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What is the actual RMS current displayed on the data table for each of the doubler caps in PSUD? I would doubt that it's 1.3A RMS. That's a lot of ripple current for a high voltage supply.
If you believe the current bounces that high, multiply that AC current value times the DCR of the transformer. That's instantaneous loss, and I bet it is several times as high as the transformer voltage rating.
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Huh. PSUD shows about 465mA rms. I just took the peak value and multiplied by 0.707. Guessing it's not a sine waveform? But whatever the reason, that's a relief. I was a little surprised by the the high current peaks -- but I'm surprised by so much of this stuff, so didn't think to question my RMS calculation.
cheers and thanks, derek
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It is most definitely not a sine waveform! There's not really a negative peak ;)
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Right! It's recitfied.
So to cap this off: no reason to worry about inrush current?
cheers and thanks, Derek
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You should always worry about everything, but the next step should be to quantify what you're worried about, then reexamine your paranoia.
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... then reexamine your paranoia.
You're freaking me out, man! How did you know I was paranoid?!!! ;D
Many thanks again - I can get back to putting the amp together now. Finally finished the metal work (more than 300 holes!), so now on to the fun stuff.
cheers and thanks, Derek
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You should always worry about everything, but the next step should be to quantify what you're worried about, then reexamine your paranoia.
Somebody ought to put that on a t-shirt