Adjust meanwell voltage

[cwah]

Hello,

I've found some small meanwell I thought would be great to carry with me:
http://uk.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=PCD-60-700Bvirtualkey63430000virtualkey709-PCD60-700B

It says the voltage is adjustable, but I can't see how. Am I to expect a trim pot? Or do I have to open it and something inside?


Ps: Same question for these 2 more powered meanwell:
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/LPC-150-1750/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvV8Y9YugmIghfk3dwUqP2K%252b%2fQV%252bVdCje4i6jEgfjU6Eg%3d%3d
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-120H-C1400A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvV8Y9YugmIgmy193Qkqm18HJgdjjUNcpU%3d

Thanks

 

[dnmun]

first line of the data sheet says AC phase cut dimming. did you read it?

these are led drivers, not chargers.

 

[NeilP]

To expand on what dnmum said,
It does not say they are actually adjustable, from the links you have given.

I can see how you have been confused though, as it does show a variable output voltage.

I'd guess that, that is the voltage range the unit will self regulate the output to, to achieve the stated Constant Current.



Looks, from the data sheet, that the dimming function is provided by a 'standard triad based lighting dimmer. I guess that this is designed to allow dimming of new light fittings, in an existing incandescent dimmable setup.


But you may well be able to open one up and there may well be a pot inside ..only one way to find out.

 

[cwah]

first line of the data sheet says AC phase cut dimming. did you read it?

these are led drivers, not chargers.

I know these are led drivers and at home I'm using a 24V led drivet with a step up converter to charge my battery....
but why can't I use a led driver with right voltage to charge?

 

[cwah]

To expand on what dnmum said,
It does not say they are actually adjustable, from the links you have given.

I can see how you have been confused though, as it does show a variable output voltage.

I'd guess that, that is the voltage range the unit will self regulate the output to, to achieve the stated Constant Current.



Looks, from the data sheet, that the dimming function is provided by a 'standard triad based lighting dimmer. I guess that this is designed to allow dimming of new light fittings, in an existing incandescent dimmable setup.


But you may well be able to open one up and there may well be a pot inside ..only one way to find out.

Isn't there a simpler way to know? People with led should know that before they buy i suppose

 

[NeilP]

For some one running it as it is intended, there is no need to know.

They will just connect it up to the household triad light dimmer circuit, take out their old incandescent fitting, fir their new LED fitting and it will work.

they don't need to know how it adjusts, or if It can be re purposed for other applications. We do lots of things with the other meanwells that are also not documented on the official paperwork

 

[icerider]

Actually, I think it could be used as a charger if the battery voltage is within the specified voltage range.

It is a constant current supply and will provide 700ma at whatever voltage it takes to get the 700ma, provided that the voltage is within the operating voltage range listed (and probably a little bit outside that range on both the high and low end).

The problem is that it will NOT stop when the battery is full, it will continue to raise the voltage (again, within the operating range)trying to keep the current at 700ma and it will do that until the expensive lithium battery is ruined, or catches fire, or some other equally obscene thing.

But, in an emergency, it could be used. For instance, for a 60v battery, it might safely do the first 80% of the charge provided that the 700ma does not overheat the battery. To try something like that I would first want to know the charging curve for my regular charger -- especially, at what point does my regular charger drop from 3.5A down toward zero at the top of charge. Then, I would be semi-comfortable using the constant current supply up to the voltage where my normal charger dropped below 700ma. But I would watch the voltage like a HAWK and tie little reminder strings to each of my fingers, and set a timer to remind me to check the voltage and...on second thought, this sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to hook up to an expensive battery.

 

[cwah]

Obviously, this post is to know if the voltage can be set. That's all I need.

Set a maximum voltage. and the question is... is it possible or not?

 

[icerider]

There will not be an externally accessible trim pot.

There might be one internally but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[dnmun]

no, this is not a charger. there is no CV stage. it says that right there. constant current. that is what an led driver does. you can adjust the brightness of the led by cutting the top off of the AC input phase voltage. it says that in the first line of the data sheet. have you still not read it yet?

 

[cwah]

Sorry I have not much knowledge on these sort of thing.

I am looking for a charger of this size, fanless so that I can carry it with me on the road.

Do you know where I ca find an equivalent?

 

[fechter]

It may be possible to modify the circuit to have a CV setting. Can you open it and take a picture of the board?

Meanwell makes a model with both voltage and current adjustment pots on the outside. I forget the model, but there's a thread on it somewhere.

 

[cwah]

It may be possible to modify the circuit to have a CV setting. Can you open it and take a picture of the board?

Meanwell makes a model with both voltage and current adjustment pots on the outside. I forget the model, but there's a thread on it somewhere.

I haven't purchased it yet so I can't know.

There is this one that says output voltage & current adjustable:
http://www.jameco.com/1/1/49409-hlg-60h-c700a-hlg-60h-c-70-watt-single-output-led-power-supply.html

Or as CC+CV here:
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-60H-C700A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt5PRBMPTWcaRSJ5hpJAfwro1t31kMdKXM%3d

Can't see on the picture how to adjustage voltage and current as there is only 1 pot on the picture

 

[NeilP]

There is this one that says output voltage & current adjustable:
http://www.jameco.com/1/1/49409-hlg-60h-c700a-hlg-60h-c-70-watt-single-output-led-power-supply.html

No it doesn't. it sort of possibly implies it... it is badly written

The actual Meanwell data sheet only mentions current adjustment.


it says current adjustable...not voltage.

The voltage output shows a range, because that is the range that the unit automatically can range up and down between, depending on the load.

Or as CC+CV here:
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-60H-C700A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt5PRBMPTWcaRSJ5hpJAfwro1t31kMdKXM%3

Can't see on the picture how to adjust age voltage and current as there is only 1 pot on the picture

There is no mention of CV, only CC. that is why there is only one pot . You set the current, and the voltage adjusts automatically to give that current through the load that is connected to it.

You can't adjust the voltage yourself manually....IT MAYBE possible, if you open it up and see what is inside, but it is not part of the 'user interface'.



These are designed to run LED's, and it has been pointed out earlier that they like a constant current. Combined with that constant current, they drop a certain voltage across each one...say for sake of argument 2 volts. OK

OK so one LED is drawing 700mA and drops 3 volts across it. So string 20 of them in series within a fitting. that string will need 3 x 20 = 60 volts across it. SO the PSU you refer to will put out the required 60 volts to push the 700mA through the LED's.

Stick another 10 of these LED;'s in series, and the voltage requirement will go up, it is now 30 x 3 = 90 volts..your PSU will now be putting gout 90 volts, but still at 700mA.

But the big question in my mind, is why ? Why would you want to charge at such a low rate? Even a 1 C charge rate on any decent e-biek battery pack is going to be 10 -15 amps. So you are looking at a charge rate of 0.1C. Great if you were building an individual cell recovery charger, but otherwise, pointless as far as I can see. No use as an 'at work charger', as you will put so little back in the pack over at 8-10 hour working day, at such a low rate, , you'd probably get more power back in the battery with an aggressive regen setting.

If you had been given a pile of these things for free and were trying to make use of them, fine...but to goo out and buy a PSU that only charges at 0.7 amps...even the bigger ones..1.6 amps... Why ? Shit, I even charge my single 18650 cell flashlight at 1.5 amps.

 

[fechter]

I haven't purchased it yet so I can't know.

There is this one that says output voltage & current adjustable:
http://www.jameco.com/1/1/49409-hlg-60h-c700a-hlg-60h-c-70-watt-single-output-led-power-supply.html

Or as CC+CV here:
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-60H-C700A/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt5PRBMPTWcaRSJ5hpJAfwro1t31kMdKXM%3d

Can't see on the picture how to adjustage voltage and current as there is only 1 pot on the picture

I think they're lying. It only has one pot for current adjust. The ones I'm thinking of have two pots next to each other, one for voltage and one for current. I'll try to find a link.

 

[cwah]

I was only charging my battery at 50w before it has been stolen. It's a 1000wh pack but most of the time I was only using around 500wh.

i stay at home long enough to allow the battery to be fully charged overnight.... and that's all I need.

I tested cells before, and I've noticed that the lower the charging intensity and the better the lifecycle....


So logic is clear... to charge at lowest power required!! 50w was plenty, sometime on a rush I increase to 300W but it's not common.


And also, it allows me to have mini charger I can carry with me!

 

[NeilP]

Much better solution for you.
Any spare PC PSU you have lying around...a little 19 volt 65watt HP unit will be just fine.

Paired with a CC CV board from flea bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-40V-to8-80V-DC-Boost-Converter-Regulator-Constant-Current-Voltage-Charger-400W-/161383820302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259339ac0e
6 to 40 volt in, 8 to 80- volt out. and you can set the current to what you want , 0 to 9.99 amps .

Shame current set is via button presses rather than a pot, but still usable ., as it seems to have a memory of the settings


I have some of the smaller ones with potentiometer settings,but they are only good up to 35 volt.

 

[fechter]

The one I was thinking of is the MeanWell CLG series:

http://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/ProcessItemSearch.aspx?topbarsearchvalue=clg&itemquantity=1

Has both voltage and current adjustments. IP67, Class 2 (waterproof)

Datasheet here:

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/clg100.pdf

 

[cwah]

Much better solution for you.
Any spare PC PSU you have lying around...a little 19 volt 65watt HP unit will be just fine.

Paired with a CC CV board from flea bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-40V-to8-80V-DC-Boost-Converter-Regulator-Constant-Current-Voltage-Charger-400W-/161383820302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259339ac0e
6 to 40 volt in, 8 to 80- volt out. and you can set the current to what you want , 0 to 9.99 amps .

Shame current set is via button presses rather than a pot, but still usable ., as it seems to have a memory of the settings


I have some of the smaller ones with potentiometer settings,but they are only good up to 35 volt.

I'm already using one (and sold one of them):
[youtube]xJuNM_-TgVo[/youtube]

The problem with this kind of set up is that it's big and bulky so not portable. But also because this chinese DC converter tend to fail (I change them every few months). And real world power is about a third of what is advertised.

 

[cwah]

The one I was thinking of is the MeanWell CLG series:

http://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/ProcessItemSearch.aspx?topbarsearchvalue=clg&itemquantity=1

Has both voltage and current adjustments. IP67, Class 2 (waterproof)

Datasheet here:

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/clg100.pdf

Yes, these are nice but limited to 48V

I'm currently using this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-60V-5A-Precision-Compact-Adjustable-Digital-Switching-Power-Supply-110-220V-/311068842937?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item486d25dbb9

It's a great and (relatively) small power supply. Fanless and I use it for my bikes. Unfortunately, it's limited to 60V

 

[NeilP]

The video shows it working normally, from what I can see. The output voltage will drop as shown in the video as it will be in CC mode so the 1.6 amp is flowing, so no more voltage . You shoild not expect to see 80 volt once connected and charging until pack comes up.


In the video, what input voltage are you using?

If it is a 12 volt supply, I'd say 1.6 amps is too high. 1 amp is all I'd look at running at with 12 volt in to 80 out.

 

[NeilP]

If you were to run one of those little units at the same lower current as the one you specified in the first link, so 0.7 amps, with a 65W 19 volt laptop supply I'd reckon that videoed unit would last longer.

At 19 volt input the CC/CV unit is limited to 190W , but the laptop PSU is only 65 Watt.

So 80 volt out at 0.7 amps, so 56 watt output.
They claim 95% efficiency, so going to be needing 59 watts input , which is nicely inside the HP laptop supply voltage.

 

[fechter]

Yes, these are nice but limited to 48V

I'm currently using this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-60V-5A-Precision-Compact-Adjustable-Digital-Switching-Power-Supply-110-220V-/311068842937?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item486d25dbb9

It's a great and (relatively) small power supply. Fanless and I use it for my bikes. Unfortunately, it's limited to 60V

You could put more than one in series. How much voltage are you looking for?

 

[cal3thousand]

Why don't you get a Mean Well CLG or HLG series? They are CC/CV led supplies and are quite suitable for charging lithium packs. I used a CLG, but now have a HLG-240-48A.

It's IP65 water resistant, adjustable voltage and current (within some range), and puts out about 240W. All you have to do is solder an IEC cable for AC power and then whatever DC connectors your battery takes.

 

[cwah]

Yes, these are nice but limited to 48V

I'm currently using this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-60V-5A-Precision-Compact-Adjustable-Digital-Switching-Power-Supply-110-220V-/311068842937?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item486d25dbb9

It's a great and (relatively) small power supply. Fanless and I use it for my bikes. Unfortunately, it's limited to 60V

You could put more than one in series. How much voltage are you looking for?

I'd like to get between 80-84V. I suppose I need to put them in serie but it would double size and I may need to do some mod?