power supplies ran parallel

[Darkskies]

Hi all, is it possible to run two equal amp output power supplies in parallel to increase your total amp output ?

I have two Pyramid 10A power supplies, one powering my radio and the other powering my amplifier and I was wondering if I could just parallel them together to increase total output to 20A to power both the radio and amplifier from one power source.

I was thinking of just setting the two power supplies next to each other (spaced far enough apart to allow proper cooling of course) then jumper from output of one power supply to the other power supply then to a two pole terminal board out of an A/C unit (capable of handling 40A VAC) then wire radio and amplifier directly to said terminal board.

What do ya' all think ?

73's to all...

Darkskies out............

[Tango 7]

It will not give you 20A it would still be 10A.

[Darkskies]

Are you sure ? Let's take lets say two AA 1.5V batteries rated at 150MA each and wire them in series. Total voltage 3.0 total amps 150MA.

Now the same two AA batteries wired parallel, total voltage 1.5 total amps 300MA.............no ?

My 4 years in high school electronics and 25+ years experience in the A/C and refrigeration industry indicates otherwise..


Darkskies out.............

[EC 174]

It will not give you 20A it would still be 10A.

Explain your reason for saying this ?


I have hooked up power supplies that are not even the same amps and YES it will add to your available amperage.. I use a 35 and a 25 amp hooked together to run an amp and it works fine..

Make sure you hook POS to POS and NEG to NEG.. You also need to use cable big enough to support your current draw..

[diralect]

Two power supplies can be ran parallel.

Power supplies are just like batteries in that if you are going to run them in parallel, you should be sure they are the "same" brand/model preferrably, but at the very least same voltage/amperage.

Running them in parallel WILL increase the available amperage, its basic electronics, no offense to whoever it was that disagreed (perhaps just wrong wording, I do that all the time especially on late nights lol).

[Darkskies]

That's what I thought. The last time I had my stuff wired up was a couple years ago and I just couldn't remember how I had it.

getting old, mind slipping........uh what was I talking about ?

Oh right, anyway thanks for reminding me that it will be fine to run them parallel

73's to all

Darkskies out.................

[Tango 7]

I may be wrong, and if I am I am sorry for responding with the wrong answer.

Comparing it to running two batteries’s wired the same way are two different animals. One is a self-sustained power source and one is a generated power source.
Based on what I can remember if you were to test the amps and volts being supplied with no load everything would look OK. When you add a load to the system you would be overworking the power supplies. Under load I don’t think that both units will be working the same. I also think that under a load the voltage will drop. The voltage control systems in the power supply’s will not be in tune with each other.

[Tango 7]

Looks like I am wrong for the most part.

Had to happen once this year

http://www.eham.net/forums/Elmers/40328

[Darkskies]

Good point Tango, the unbalances between the two outputs under a load is exactly what I was concerned about in the first place. I just used the two battery scenario as an example that explains the relationship between running circuits in series and parallel. I used to have my power supplies wired in parallel but I never did check for any voltage drop or amperage draw problems. I really never had a reason to check it because my system was working extremely well.

This time around I will do some investigation and see if there is indeed something amiss.

In closing, I didn't mean to sound like a-hole, and I apologize if I did, I just know quite abit about electricity and your response went against everything I've learned up this point. But then again its like they say "you learn something new everyday"

73's to all......

Darkskies out...........

[distortion69]

My dad has 2 iota dls-55's power supply/battery chargers.. He has them wired up together at 110 amps, then charging a battery.. he runs a 6 pill off that battery.

Been doing it all year..

Also run 1 55 amp iota on a 4 pill, and you'll see 400-500 watts.. plug in a 2nd one, and you'll see 800+ watts. I guess it's obvious that the 2nd one is doing something

FWIW: I suggest running 2 of the same.. I have taken out a pyramid 35 trying to combine 2 unlike before.

Take care,
Josh

[Tango 7]

My dad has 2 iota dls-55's power supply/battery chargers.. He has them wired up together at 110 amps, then charging a battery.. he runs a 6 pill off that battery.

Been doing it all year..



Take care,
Josh

If you run it trough a battery it is better, it works as a power conditioner. It will also regulate the volts and provide a cleaner sign wave.

[209BirdDog]

Good point Tango, the unbalances between the two outputs under a load is exactly what I was concerned about in the first place. I just used the two battery scenario as an example that explains the relationship between running circuits in series and parallel. I used to have my power supplies wired in parallel but I never did check for any voltage drop or amperage draw problems. I really never had a reason to check it because my system was working extremely well.

This time around I will do some investigation and see if there is indeed something amiss.

In closing, I didn't mean to sound like a-hole, and I apologize if I did, I just know quite abit about electricity and your response went against everything I've learned up this point. But then again its like they say "you learn something new everyday"

73's to all......

Darkskies out...........

Don't you guys mean to say that you are going to hook the power supplies in series instead of parallel? I thought series double the power.