This cheap bench power supply: good enough for flashlight related stuff?

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

I'm about to pull the trigger on a cheap power supply, currently on sale at Banggood.

Since I'm a total noob to this, I'd like know if this would be an okay choice,

This has 30V 10A, and some other have 60V 5A... and I don't think I need anything above 30V, so more amps could be useful if I ever need it.

Any comments on this one?

https://www.banggood.com/TOPSHAK-K3010D-4-Digits-LED-Display-110V-or-220V-30V-10A-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply-Switching-Regulated-Power-Supply-p-1419678.html

or

https://www.banggood.com/Topshak-NPS3010W-110V-or-220V-Digital-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply-0-30V-0-10A-300W-Regulated-Laboratory-Switching-Power-Supply-p-1474957.html

Just to test LVP,

and maybe check if an LED/Driver is dead or what not.

Haven't thought about other use cases at the moment.

2

How to use a bench power supply, HERE , HERE , HERE
.
I purchased a different model HERE. on Ebay.
Wish I had purchased this one instead, HERE
This one is programmable. But I am no electronics guy, so maybe someone will give you some advice. :wink:
.
I wanted this one for anodizing and bench testing high amp leds and drivers but decided its not worth the trouble. HERE
.
Charging lithium batteries, HERE , HERE
.

3

HERE is a review on the Topshak NPS3010W .

4

I have a power supply of the second type, 60V 5A version (different brand, same PS), and a)the lowest currents are not accurate which limits usability when working with leds, b)I get spikes at switch-on that make leds flash so I’m afraid it kills leds.

5

you will need a good current-limiting mode , and go way down to about 1mA at most

which you may find hard to get

LEDs work on current, the cheap power supplies give a good regulated constant voltage, but may not provide low- or any current limiting

wle

6

That makes me think, if you are interested you can have mine and see if it works better for you than it does for me. The brand is Wanptek, it is a 30V 6A version.

Personally I like the Gophert brand power supplies that Banggood sells. The way they operate, digitally adjusting the settings with one knob, is a bit awkward, and may be unhandy for how you want to use it, but they seem very accurate and well-build for a good price. I have the 32V 5A version (it runs my reflow heatblock) and am very happy about it.

7

Thanks for all the info and links.

That's probably why I hadn't bought one before :D ... lack of knowledge.

Have been looking at some local second hand market places, but never pulled the trigger.. And the one time I pulled the trigger, they didn't want to send it... lol

I have some BG points that I want to use, so I'd first love to see if there is one at BG.

Djozz, so you think those Gopherts might be a better deal / better quality?

8

They get good reviews all the time and I have the impression that they are designed by some clever folks. I can not really tell by own experience because I use mine in a rather limited way, I just adjust the current slightly to set the temperature of the heatblock. But it works for years now. So if you can live without the convienience of a complete set of adjusting knobs, yes I think they are a good deal.

But maybe someone here on BLF has one for a second/better opinion?

9

Oh yes, I noticed the missing knob...

Not sure how often I would like to change the output, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to dial things up and down.... hmmmm

10

One of these USB ones may be enough, depending on what you want it for

I have 1 that I use for measuring but haven’t really tried powering stuff with it.