I received this unit this week from China and I ran some tests and took a look at the inside of this unit.
First of all: it works! I tried with input voltages from 200 to 260 Volts from my old Philips variac and the output is always close to 220 Volts.
When I looked at the inside I noticed quite a number of issues:
I think you will be able to see most of this on the pictures. My conclusion is that this unit is NOT according to EU standards and potential unsafe to use.
I will be able to fix these safety issues, but I would never use such a unit out of the box without modifications.
Regards, Gerrit
First of all: it works! I tried with input voltages from 200 to 260 Volts from my old Philips variac and the output is always close to 220 Volts.
When I looked at the inside I noticed quite a number of issues:
- On the website the unit is offered with a VARIAC with a motor for continuous changes. However I received a unit with a TOROID with multiple voltages, switched by 3 relays. So I did not get what I ordered! Grrrrr!
- The soldering of the internal wiring is terrible.
- One wire, soldered to a PCB nearly touches a metal screw.
- The unit comes with a 2 wire mains connection, in other words without proper grounding.
- The grounding screw on the back of the unit is connected to the enclosure, made of PLASTIC. The top shield is not connected to the ground screw in any way either.
- The TOROID’s mounting screw was loose and the toroid was hanging by it’s wires.
- The internal wiring should be good enough for 2500VA. This means the thin wires should be able to carry more than 10 Amps. I cannot believe this is true.
- The power cable’s strain relief is just a knot in the cable.
- The output socket is not OK for our European grounded power connectors.
I think you will be able to see most of this on the pictures. My conclusion is that this unit is NOT according to EU standards and potential unsafe to use.
I will be able to fix these safety issues, but I would never use such a unit out of the box without modifications.
Regards, Gerrit
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Horrible workmanship! And the seller committed fraud by representing it has a motorized variac. Depending on how you paid for it you should dispute the charges or request a refund.
You can probably clean it up and make it safe(r).
I recommend not posting a link, but providing a generalized warning about buying devices like this from unknown suppliers. You might mention the brand of this and apparently similar devices.
I have bought power supplies on Amazon and eBay that were clearly not safe as delivered, but there are other lower cost retail channels online where you are even more likely to find unsafe products that appear to have been put together by people who clearly don't care about the safety of their customers.
You can probably clean it up and make it safe(r).
I recommend not posting a link, but providing a generalized warning about buying devices like this from unknown suppliers. You might mention the brand of this and apparently similar devices.
I have bought power supplies on Amazon and eBay that were clearly not safe as delivered, but there are other lower cost retail channels online where you are even more likely to find unsafe products that appear to have been put together by people who clearly don't care about the safety of their customers.
Anyway, this kind of equipment has a limited use nowadays: most PSU's are universal and happily accept 90~260V, things were different with tube TV sets of the sixties or seventies: the picture size changed with the mains voltage, etc.
That is not to say that they have become completely useless: there are always niche applications where you need a stable and constant mains, but the domain has shrunk very much
That is not to say that they have become completely useless: there are always niche applications where you need a stable and constant mains, but the domain has shrunk very much
Except for tube gear, and older solid state stuff with linear supplies in environments with significant line voltage fluctuations over the course of the day.
Line voltages here in the U.S. in general are significantly higher than in the heyday of tube audio and in some cases I have had to use buck transformers to get the voltage down to an acceptable range. (Ultimately I asked the power company to change the tappings on the HV distribution transformer and they came out and surveyed a few houses in the neighborhood and asked me to take multiple measurements over a few days - at the end they agreed and dropped our mains voltage which at times approached 130V, range was 24 - 130V IIRC)
Line voltages here in the U.S. in general are significantly higher than in the heyday of tube audio and in some cases I have had to use buck transformers to get the voltage down to an acceptable range. (Ultimately I asked the power company to change the tappings on the HV distribution transformer and they came out and surveyed a few houses in the neighborhood and asked me to take multiple measurements over a few days - at the end they agreed and dropped our mains voltage which at times approached 130V, range was 24 - 130V IIRC)
This unit was purchased on Aliexpress. It wasn’t very expensive, but nevertheless it (1) should be safe to use and (2) be built according to the specifications advertised.
Regards, Gerrit
Regards, Gerrit
The actual reseller on Aliexpress is the company “Vilasting Inverter Store”. Check before buying!
Regards, Gerrit
Regards, Gerrit
Aliexpress's e-mailaddress ChocieService@aliexpress.com is not working any more. Mail cannot be delivered.
According to our mailprovider their mailbox is full (probably with complaints...).
Regards, Gerrit
According to our mailprovider their mailbox is full (probably with complaints...).
Regards, Gerrit
Aliexpress does have a complaint function, if a seller ignores an issue you can file a complaint and then the seller has to settle the issue with you first. My case was a set of small speaker boxes but the seller sent a gas stove. I could show that sending the gas stove back would cost more than the speaker set (sending from Panama, no free return) and the seller agreed to send the set of speakers for $0.1 as sending again required entry of cost.
I know and I did complain, however they don’t understand the problem. The only thing they offer is to return the unit.
I’m now rebuilding it with proper wiring, proper grounding, a grounded power cable, a proper grounded Schuko power outlet and an automated output switching instead of a manual switch. First of all I mounted the toroid properly and stable. The automated output switching can be switched on and off with an extra switch.
Regards, Gerrit
I’m now rebuilding it with proper wiring, proper grounding, a grounded power cable, a proper grounded Schuko power outlet and an automated output switching instead of a manual switch. First of all I mounted the toroid properly and stable. The automated output switching can be switched on and off with an extra switch.
Regards, Gerrit
Gerrit, at Aliexpress "they" is the AI system. If you get an answer like "don't understand" that means translation of your post to Chinese produced gibberish. So never provide details in the first complaint, only phrases like "wrong product", "defective" etc.. When your post has passed the translation to understandable Chinese, you're offered an opportunity to fork out a deal with the human seller and when that doesn't succeed, the issue goes "higher up". The "free return" option is valid for some countries, don't know if NL is included, When not available in NL, you could have received $ back or some products to compensate for the error. Maybe it's still possible, my experience with Alibaba & -express is positive.
Regards, Jan
Regards, Jan
I had contact with Aliexpres’s AI and a “person” (I guess). I tried once in Dutch and once in English. Same result: I can send the unit back.
Fortunately the basic electronics and the toroid work OK, so all I have to do now is to make it safe according to EU standards. It can be made safe…
Regards, Gerrit
Fortunately the basic electronics and the toroid work OK, so all I have to do now is to make it safe according to EU standards. It can be made safe…
Regards, Gerrit
The "send back" with "free return" would have been a good option but unlikely considering the weight. But w/o that option, a human would have offered a settlement with seller, who in return would have made a deal in a way to receive positive feedback (considered important). But if what has been sent still is worth the money, no problem.
Regards, Jan
Regards, Jan
Yes Jan, that’s true. However, I can upgrade this unit to make it safe and much easier to use. I don’t want to push a “start” button 3 seconds after switching the unit on. I already found another solution.
Regards, Gerrit
Regards, Gerrit
Dealing with Aliexpress could be difficult. I bought a pair of 6SL7 tubes and one of them was very noisy on arrival. Seller refused to pay return postage. I contacted Aliexpress support, they said in message chat, just post them back and keep the receipt, they will reimburse me once item delivered. Tubes arrived there in 2 weeks time, but no one knew anything about it when contacted support again,... They just refunded me the cost of tubes and closed case. I had to contact PayPal and finally PayPal reimbursed the postage. I concluded, do not waste time with them when having issues, just open dispute in PayPal direct.
Returning it and finding a safe one maybe is more efficient. This is one of the worst built devices of lately. Who can tell if the transformer itself is safely wound? The switch also does not seem to be a double pole type as required in the EU. Like many hobbyists the chinese manufacturer did not understand that IEC inlets are meant to be used with faston connectors. For 2500 kVA at 230V (China has 220V) normally 2.5 mm2 wiring is used but it is surprising how many Ampères can be pushed through thin cabling for a longer time.
It seems a stabilizing transformer (look that one up, it is special) and the 3 relays for 3 input ranges. These work but often at the expense of 50 Hz hum. The ones with electronic triac based tap control are to be preferred over relay types. Stabilizing transformers are somewhat unusual to many and they are also harder to understand.
It seems a stabilizing transformer (look that one up, it is special) and the 3 relays for 3 input ranges. These work but often at the expense of 50 Hz hum. The ones with electronic triac based tap control are to be preferred over relay types. Stabilizing transformers are somewhat unusual to many and they are also harder to understand.
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