[SOLVED] Overheating PSU?

[Human1234]

Hello there!

So i'm worried that my PSU might be overheating. It's and old CODEGEN 350W PSU (Probably from the year 2007 or 8). The fan doesn't run very fast, and it doesn't move very much air. I'm very doubtful it has any overheating protection, and I don't wanna risk of having it catch fire.
What are the signs that it's overheating?

PS: It's not connected to a computer, i'm using it to power some other things.

 

[Archaic59]

Hello there!

So i'm worried that my PSU might be overheating. It's and old CODEGEN 350W PSU (Probably from the year 2007 or 8). The fan doesn't run very fast, and it doesn't move very much air. I'm very doubtful it has any overheating protection, and I don't wanna risk of having it catch fire.
What are the signs that it's overheating?

PS: It's not connected to a computer, i'm using it to power some other things.

A PSU that old has most of the power on the minor rails. It's probably a stretch to say the +12volt rail can even deliver 200 watts. It likely has a sleeve bearing fan that's designed for 2-3 years of life. If it's running components that have any value toss it in the garbage where it belongs and replace it.

 

[Human1234]

A PSU that old has most of the power on the minor rails. It's probably a stretch to say the +12volt rail can even deliver 250 watts. It likely has a sleeve bearing fan that's designed for 2-3 years of life. If it's running components that have any value toss it in the garbage where it belongs and replace it.

It works enough for what I need it for, I'm just worried cause the fan doesn't spin fast at all.
Is there some kind of safety thing or a signal it needs to see to get the fan up to speed? (I ran a computer with it a month ago to emty the hard drive and the fan was spinning fast)

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would be worried about that unit catching on fire regardless of the fan spinning given the age and poor quality of that unit.

I don't know of a way to tell whether it is overheating without proper testing equipment.

Maybe make sure its not dusty on the inside.

 

[Archaic59]

It works enough for what I need it for, I'm just worried cause the fan doesn't spin fast at all.
Is there some kind of safety thing or a signal it needs to see to get the fan up to speed? (I ran a computer with it a month ago to emty the hard drive and the fan was spinning fast)

Even if it had OTP (over temperature protection) there's no way to find what it was set to or if it even works in the first place. If it did work it would shut off the unit for self preservation. So, if it gets too hot it will shutdown or cook itself.

 

[Human1234]

I would be worried about that unit catching on fire regardless of the fan spinning given the age and poor quality of that unit.

I don't know of a way to tell whether it is overheating without proper testing equipment.

Maybe make sure its not dusty on the inside.

It isn't dusty. but thanks for the reply!

 

[Human1234]

Even if it had OTP (over temperature protection) there's no way to find what it was set to or if it even works in the first place. If it did work it would shut off the unit for self preservation. So, if it gets too hot it will shutdown or cook itself.

On that case is there a way to manually change the fan speed?
Or what is a good and simple way to turn 12V to let's say 10V?

 

[Archaic59]

On that case is there a way to manually change the fan speed?
Or what is a good and simple way to turn 12V to let's say 10V?

No, it's trash at this point. You can continue using it knowing the risk or toss it.

 

[Human1234]

No, it's trash at this point. You can continue using it knowing the risk or toss it.

I guess i'll find another way of getting 12V
Thanks for the help!

 

[Archaic59]

I guess i'll find another way of getting 12V
Thanks for the help!

The only thing you can do is lower the amps it's putting out by limiting what components you have hooked up to it, but the risk still remains of a meltdown.

 

[Human1234]

The only thing you can do is lower the amps it's putting out by limiting what components you have hooked up to it, but the risk still remains of a meltdown.

The only thing I wanna run on it is a 12V DC motor ( I have no idea how many amps it draws, but probably not too many)

 

[geofelt]

The purpose of a psu fan is to keep the unit sufficiently cool under heavy loads.
The fact that the fan is running at all suggests to me that the unit is working as intended.

If you see the fan speed surge to high RPM, that would be an indication that the unit is overheating and reaching it's max capacity.

Sounds to me that you are OK for now.

 

[Human1234]

The purpose of a psu fan is to keep the unit sufficiently cool under heavy loads.
The fact that the fan is running at all suggests to me that the unit is working as intended.

If you see the fan speed surge to high RPM, that would be an indication that the unit is overheating and reaching it's max capacity.

Sounds to me that you are OK for now.

I don't think it ever started to run faster. But maybe i'm just not drawing enough power from it and it doesn't get very hot? Its a 2 wire fan (red and black wire).

 

[geofelt]

12v fans draw trivial power. Think about 5w.

 

[Human1234]

12v fans draw trivial power. Think about 5w.

I'm not sure how much the DC motor draws that I run on it, (Sorry I didn't mention this) but most likely it's not very much.
So I guess it's not getting the PSU very hot and that's why the fan is spinning slowly?

 

[geofelt]

Exactly.