Combining 24V Power Supplies to get more Amps

GaryS · Apr 28, 2020

Just paralleling Dc supplies will not d it
no 2 power supplies will produce exactly the same output voltage and any difference in the voltage will overload the one supply
some power supplies have the ability to parallel the have a connection to allow for a master
the master regulates the output voltage for all it slaves
I don't remember the brand name but I have seen them advertised

Esieli · Apr 29, 2020

GaryS said:
Just paralleling Dc supplies will not d it
no 2 power supplies will produce exactly the same output voltage and any difference in the voltage will overload the one supply
some power supplies have the ability to parallel the have a connection to allow for a master
the master regulates the output voltage for all it slaves
I don't remember the brand name but I have seen them advertised

Understood. Puls has what I need, I was just looking for cheaper options.

OkiePC · Apr 29, 2020

Esieli said:
Understood. Puls has what I need, I was just looking for cheaper options.

Check with Meanwell USA. They have much better pricing than Puls and probably offer hardware that can match up with your needs.

the_msp · Apr 29, 2020

Esieli said:
The application is a bunch of 24VDC linear actuators that pull up to 5 amps each. It's not 1 device pulling all of the power.

Thanks for the info.

Why not supply 4 actuators from one PSU and another set from a separate PSU?

drbitboy · Apr 29, 2020

the_msp said:
Why not supply 4 actuators from one PSU and another set from a separate PSU?

yeah, although ...

Redundancy? Would one more PS than needed allow for a single PS failure and replacement with no downtime?

geniusintraining · Apr 29, 2020

OkiePC said:
Check with Meanwell USA. They have much better pricing than Puls and probably offer hardware that can match up with your needs.

I buy a LOT of mine from here, I have not found anyone that has them at a better price https://www.trcelectronics.com/ this is their 24vdc https://www.trcelectronics.com/24-volt-dc-power-supplies

They sell Meanwell and others

BobB · Apr 29, 2020

Try Meanwell - they have power supplies with load sharing lines you can connect between them.

Esieli · Apr 30, 2020

the_msp said:
Why not supply 4 actuators from one PSU and another set from a separate PSU?

I think I addressed this earlier.

I don't want someone to accidentally cross the two supplies in the future on accident. I would prefer it all come from one place.

Esieli · Apr 30, 2020

OkiePC said:
Check with Meanwell USA. They have much better pricing than Puls and probably offer hardware that can match up with your needs.

I'm liking these. Have you had any issues with them? They are half the cost of Puls, even after OEM Pricing.

OkiePC · Apr 30, 2020

Esieli said:
I'm liking these. Have you had any issues with them? They are half the cost of Puls, even after OEM Pricing.

I have been using their lower end power supplies in our simple RTU panels for a couple of years. The only failures we have seen have been due to lightning strikes which tend to blow up everything in the box.

I use the MDR-100-24 and MDR-60-24. I have been getting them from Allied for $35 and $19 respectively. They include a handy OK contact that I wasn't getting with the lower end units from other makers. I have some applications with battery backup and few with solar power and I can use that contact to alert the operator when the AC power has been lost and they're running on battery.

The only Puls we have been using lately is their battery control modules, but I recently switched to the Rhino version of it that has 3 distinct advantages over the PULS.

Last week, lighting blasted a water tower RTU and destroyed everything in the box...except the Puls UB10.241 which looks like it came from a coal mine now, but still was working. We swapped it out anyway since a return trip costs more than the hardware. So I love Puls power supplies and if I have a customer that will pay more for high end equipment I will still spec them.

Esieli · Apr 30, 2020

OkiePC said:
I have been using their lower end power supplies in our simple RTU panels for a couple of years. The only failures we have seen have been due to lightning strikes which tend to blow up everything in the box.

I use the MDR-100-24 and MDR-60-24. I have been getting them from Allied for $35 and $19 respectively. They include a handy OK contact that I wasn't getting with the lower end units from other makers. I have some applications with battery backup and few with solar power and I can use that contact to alert the operator when the AC power has been lost and they're running on battery.

The only Puls we have been using lately is their battery control modules, but I recently switched to the Rhino version of it that has 3 distinct advantages over the PULS.

Last week, lighting blasted a water tower RTU and destroyed everything in the box...except the Puls UB10.241 which looks like it came from a coal mine now, but still was working. We swapped it out anyway since a return trip costs more than the hardware. So I love Puls power supplies and if I have a customer that will pay more for high end equipment I will still spec them.

Well I just got off with their "Tech support", and it didn't leave me with a good feeling. The guy stressed that I need to make sure they're within 100mv of each other or the other supply will take over all of the load.

I asked him how is this different from any other power supply being run in parallel and his responce was it's not really different at all. He said the overload would kick in and prevent it from running a long time like that.

Here's the link:
https://www.meanwell-web.com/content/files/pdfs/productPdfs/MW/TDR-960/TDR-960-Spec.pdf

If someone would look at the diagram and let me know what they think, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you!

L D[AR2P#0.0] · Apr 30, 2020

The way I read it is that the output voltage is adjustable between 24-28V, so if you are paralleling them, you must adjust all of them to output the same voltage (within 100mv).

GaryS · Apr 30, 2020

Not so even 100mv will cause current to flow from one supply to the other
both supplies will be damaged
you can only have one regulator controlling the voltage

BobB · Apr 30, 2020

GaryS said:
Not so even 100mv will cause current to flow from one supply to the other
both supplies will be damaged
you can only have one regulator controlling the voltage

Not so - I have been combining power supplies through bridge rectifiers and diodes for 20 odd years without an issue.

Meanwell also have diode combiners for sale and power supplies that can just be paralleled with load sharing lines connected between them - just commissioning a job now where I have used them without issue at all. The power supplies are 2 redundant sets of 24VDC 100AH battery sets.

OkiePC · Apr 30, 2020

The pdf posted by the OP was for power supplies with 3-phase input. I have not researched to see if Mean Well makes a 3-phase version built for parallel operation right out of the box, but that might explain why their tech support gave the advice that the OP reported.

Combining 24V Power Supplies to get more Amps

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