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Georgen
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Joined: 13/09/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 462

Posted: 09:22am 23 Feb 2012

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Hi,

I am concerned with audible arching every time I connect power to my Hi Freq (transformer) power supply for my Laptop (HP DV6)
It is for 110-240V AC input and has output of 18 something Volt DC

What I do now is disconnect power cable from power supply then put plug into AC power supply, then turn power on, then connect cable back to power supply and arching can be heard there.

Should I not worry about this sound/spark, or better should I arrange some kind of sacrificial switch that I can replace after contacts are too badly burned?

George

yahoo2

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Joined: 05/04/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 1166

Posted: 05:33am 24 Feb 2012

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Hi Georgen,
if it is possible the wall socket is the best place to switch the power on, they have a large sliding spring loaded flat plate behind the switch that is designed to snuff out any arcing, providing you don't dither about and half switch it on. Any appliance that has capacitors that charge up as power is applied and the positive and neutral connector pins are the same length will cause problems if you plug in a live socket. If the wall plate or 240v power board has no switch then I would still connect this plug last.
240v 3 pin plugs are designed with a longer earth pin so that the earth is always the first connected and the last disconnected. if you are worried about the 2 pin double insulated plug there is some added personal safety in using one with partially insulated pins (these have been mandatory since 2005)

yahoo

I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not...

Georgen
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Joined: 13/09/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 462

Posted: 08:08am 25 Feb 2012

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Hi Yahoo2,
Thank you very much for help.

Laptop plug has insulated pins as well as bit longer earth pin.

At the moment I have 4 outlet power-board connected to power point,
partially because laptop plug has too short cable.

But that's easy to fix, will get extension cable with 3 pins and connect it directly to power point.

Tried at different power point and as you said: no arching
Looks that I will be OK

George

yahoo2

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Joined: 05/04/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 1166

Posted: 03:10pm 25 Feb 2012

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I read your original post about 6 times and decided you were plugging in the the other end of the AC cable last(transformer/power pack end) and thought that is where you were getting the arcing.

I would guess that the contact clips inside the power board are not making a good positive contact with the pins as you plug the cord in they could be a bit soft or bent. what about one of them ecoswitch things? $20

I'm confused, no wait... maybe I'm not...

Georgen
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Joined: 13/09/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 462

Posted: 09:06am 28 Feb 2012

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yahoo2 said I read your original post about 6 times and decided you were plugging in the the other end of the AC cable last(transformer/power pack end) and thought that is where you were getting the arcing.

...

Yes this was the case.

Reason was, that because it was arching on the power board that internet modem was connected too and I did not want arching to do something bad to it, so I thought that if I move arching further away from modem it will not get affected.

George

Gizmo

Admin Group

Joined: 05/06/2004
Location: Australia
Posts: 5078

Posted: 12:37pm 28 Feb 2012

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Yeah its not ideal to plug and unplug a lead thats live. Inside a 240VAC switch there is a mechanism ( consisting of not much more than a tiny spring and ball ) thats switches the contact open or close very quickly, even if the switch is operated slowly. This is to quickly make/break the circuit and minimise arching.

In comparison, pushing or pulling a plug in or out of a socket is a very slow process. If the socket is live, and the lead has a load at the end, then you get much more arching than you would in a fast acting switch.

If there is no easily accessible switch in circuit, then you need to add one. The Eco-Switch Yahoo mentions is the best solution. You can make your own eco-switch if you know what your doing, as I have, of have a sparky mate, but for the price, you may as well buy the genuin article. Plus its a Ozy product

Glenn

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now.
JAQ

Georgen
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Joined: 13/09/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 462

Posted: 11:16pm 01 Mar 2012

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Because I need about a dozen of 240V outlets (desktop, speakers, scanner, 2 screens, printer, shredder, desk lamp, ... 2 mobile chargers, ... modem, ion generator ) in my study room, it is difficult to designate 1 power point for laptop out of 2 available (double power point) in the whole room, it was bit difficult, but did it already and it works OK (no sparks)

Down the track "Eco-Switch" makes sense.

Not all devices are used at once or all the time, but kind of lazy to pull one plug out to put another in.

I prefer to have everything plugged in and just flick the switch.

George

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