How does a Power Conditioner Work? + Dimmer Repair - Furman PL-PLUS E
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- What does a power conditioner do and how does it do it? What is RFI and EMI, and how do you avoid it? What is a surge pulse and how do you protect yourself from it? You will also learn how a dimmer circuit works.
00:00 introduction
00:39 Furman PL-PLUS Overview
02:35 Line Voltage Indicator Calibration
03:33 Surge Protection
06:18 RFI/EMI Filters
11:50 Light Module Troubleshooting
12:28 How a Dimmer Circuit Works
15:57 Dimmer Circuit Troubleshooting
17:41 Dimmer Circuit Repair
18:14 Light Module Testing
19:21 Conclusion
20:09 Light Module Demonstration - Наука та технологія
In reality, cleaning up "dirty electric" is usually negligible to zero in the vast majority of so-called power conditioners. I have an expensive Furman 15A PL-PLUS DMC Power Conditioner and the dirty electric signal in my wall outlet is 56 mV and any outlet on the Furman itself is worse at 169 mV. So yeah, according to my Greenwave EMI Dirty Electricity Meter, the Furman is NOT cleaning up the dirty electricity at all. Basically, it's an expensive surge protector.
I had this PL-PLUS model, from the early 1990's with the unpainted body and the black anodized front face.
Så bra!
Great video. I have 2 PL-Plus, one of them the lights are not working. Will follow your method. The other one the Line voltage LED's are all off. Any guesses on why that might be? Cheers!!
Thank you! I could not find a schematic for the Line voltage indicator module, but I have two suggestions on where you could start troubleshooting. 1. Make sure that none of the large power resistors has "opened". It happens sometimes that power resistors fail, without any obvious visual indicators, in such a way that they stop conducting completely. This could prevent the line voltage from reaching the sense circuit. Measure the resistance of the power resistors using a multimeter.
2. Make sure that the full bridge rectifier is intact. There are 4 diodes on the Line Level Indicator PCB, that I assume forms a full bridge rectifier, which I suspect powers the ICs. Make sure that non of the diodes has shorted. This could be done with the continuity test on most multimeters.
Great video, Thanks. The incandescent lights on my PL-8 turn on and off but they do not respond to the dimmer. I thoroughly cleaned the potentiometer, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Any suggestion of where to look next? Thanks.
Hi Cee-Jay, if the potentiometer seem to work as it should, it could be that the triac has failed and shorted the 2 main terminals together. This would cause current to flow through the lightbulbs at all time, regardless off the dimmer setting. You can do a resistance measurement across the 2 main terminals of the triac with a multimeter. If it shows a dead short (O Ohm) the triac will most certainly need to be replaced. Thanks!
Hey, nice video, thank you. So I ordered two light bulbs for the "PL-Plus E". I have got E12 "110V/6W - 140V/10W" bulbs - very hard to find - and the whole lamp tube is getting very hot (~53°C). So I wanted to ask if that's normal or if I should try to get some Chinese dimmable LED bulbs? There were 120V/5W bulbs in there. Does +2W make such a huge temperature difference? I think it should not be that hot.
Hi annafan83! If you have the E-version it is intended for 220-240 V AC. From the manual: "Versions of the PL-8 and PL-PLUS
with the “E” suffix are intended for use in countries with nominal 220 to 240 volt AC lines."
The light bulbs you mention seem to be intended for 110 - 140 V AC. If you use the PL-Plus E with the intended 220 - 240 V AC you are greatly exceeding the rating of the light bulbs when the dimmer is turned all the way up, which will make them consume a lot more power and produce a lot more heat than intended, until they break.
If this is the case, i recommend that you do not run the unit with these bulbs, as it will draw more current from the dimmer than intended, which could potentially damage the circuit.
According to the manual, the unit was originally supplied with 5 W light bulbs. If you replace the bulbs with 5 W/220 - 240 V AC (or close) they should produce a more acceptable amount of heat.
@@SunandWeather Thanks for your answer. Yes, it's the 220 - 240 V version but it's printed below the light tubes "USE 120V BULBS". The light bulbs I have got are also quite dim even with the dimmer control cranked all the way up. So using 220-240V would not help is my guess.
@@annafan83 I measured on my unit to be sure and when the dimmer is turned all the way up it supplies the light bulbs with 230 V AC. They are connected in parallel, so each bulb receives 230 V.
Perhaps your unit has been modified in some way. Maybe the light bulbs have been rewired to be in series instead. In that case each bulb should receive half of the total voltage instead.
You could test this by removing one of the bulbs. If the other one keeps shining, they are probably connected in parallel. If the other one goes out, they are probably connected in series.
@@SunandWeather No, the unit seems untouched. I measured the voltage exiting the dimmer control, it's 62V - 123V. Also, the lines under each tube "USE 120V BULBS" is printed like the other things. Also, what I noticed, my bulbs now are more dim than in the first 30 mins. Man, where do I get dimmable LED replacements... this is crap... too hot, too dim....
Mine shows semi high line voltage? How do I find out what's wrong? Can I get a close-up of what your turning?
Hi comicbookjerk! It sounds like it just needs to be calibrated. On the right side of the line voltage measurement board (when the unit is facing you) there is a trimmer potentiometer for that purpose:
sunandweather.com/media/Misc/FurmanLineVoltageCalibration.png
The trimmer potentiometer has a hex socket. Measure the line voltage in your wall outlet using a reliable multimeter and turn the potentiometer until your Furman unit displays the same voltage as the multimeter reads.
Please note that this procedure involves dangerous voltage levels. Make sure to take all necessary precautions.
@@SunandWeather thank you so much! I was slightly worried!
my lights work, but the dimmer does not once I go down from full, they turn off. would the fix be the same?
A shorted capacitor, in the position presented in the video, would not allow the lights to turn on, unless there are something else wrong with the circuit as well. Although, if the lights are dim even when the dial is turned all the way up, it could be that the values of any, or several, of the passive components has drifted in value, causing the control circuit to charge more slowly.
There is no way for me to say with certainty what the problem with Your unit is, but I would say it is unlikely that You are facing a similar failure as the one presented in the video.
@@SunandWeather thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Ya it’s weird. All the way up, lights are on. Everything else is off.
Okay thanks.