dell da-1 getting hot

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

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lesticx
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Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 3:31 am
Location: Finland

dell da-1 getting hot

Post by lesticx » Fri Jul 16, 2010 4:22 am

Hi,

I'm using a picopsu and dell da-1 for power. The build I'm running eats around 80-100w, depending on load. Da-1 is rated for 150w.

It keeps getting pretty hot, it's still ok to touch etc, but it could run a bit cooler.
I thought about opening the cover, and drilling some holes on the cover panels for better ventilation. Is this a horribly stupid idea?

dukla2000
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Re: dell da-1 getting hot

Post by dukla2000 » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:11 am

lesticx wrote:Is this a horribly stupid idea?
Not at all - exactly what this forum is about :twisted:
On the one hand you kiss your warranty goodbye, risk breaking the thing and could find out the residual charge storage in the capacitors.
On the other the cooling has to be radically improved. Have had a similar thought for my Delta brick - figure the sealed ABS enclosure is patently sub-optimal for cooling. For my setup the brick is on a shelf in a book-case and my plan is to remove the case completely and mount the residual bits on the underside of a shelf, perhaps with a bit of finger guard to try stop accidental brushes with high voltages. Next step - search the web for pictures of the insides to see what they look like, and also if there are any hints to cracking the case.

Strid
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Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Re: dell da-1 getting hot

Post by Strid » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:25 am

lesticx wrote:It keeps getting pretty hot, it's still ok to touch etc, but it could run a bit cooler.
So what's the problem?? :D Seriously, though, these things are designed to be a bit hot. Also, usually, they have some thermal interfacing to the brick-casing, so even if you open it/cut parts of the casing off, it won't necessarily mean, that you get more efficient cooling.

dukla2000
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Post by dukla2000 » Sun Aug 22, 2010 12:23 pm

OK - I've de-frocked my Delta.

WARNING - the heatsink sheet around the internals is live!

Things are all working fine and still need to take some pics and work out where to place it.

Cracking the case: not sure there is a way that is non-destructive. Basically the 2 halves are glued together with the bottom half having a lip that is glued into a slot in the top half. I just used a small screwdriver and a variety of other flat blades and bits to try first unclip the two halves (without success) and later got a bit physical until I had a slight opening which I then levered open all the way around.

Internals: The psu itself is mostly shielded inside a sleeve of aluminium sheet, which is obviously a basic heatsink as it appears to be properly connected to some/many of the heat generating components. Haven't played with this aluminium shield (yet). There is no thermal connection between the aluminium sheet and the outer plastic/ABS case - the only mounting is via the 2 cable connectors (AC in, DC out). The AC wiring is completely exposed so this is NOT a recommended procedure for anyone. One thing I may do is remove the plug/socket bits and solder the patch cable direct to the PCB. Interestingly enough the PCB has L(ive) & N(eutral) markings, the standard 2 pin plug obviously doesn't honour this expectation by design, only by luck!

In operation: The aluminium sleeve gets very hot under use (running 65W at the wall). Very hot = able to touch and pick up, but need to put it down within about 5 seconds. I discovered it was 'live' when I was trying to place the brick back neatly where the AC stuff wouldn't assault casual passers by and brushed the coax connector on my cable modem. And got a shock. My house has a 35mA RCCB which doesn't trip so not lethal to me - YMMV!

The top (AC socket on left)
Image

The underside
Image

edited to add pics. While I was at it checked AC L(ive) is connected to PCB L(ive) which it was.

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