Modify 110v printer PSU to accept 230v? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: mndrn
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:08:54 pm
content: Hi,I have a US laser printer/scanner which only accepts 110-120 V input.Would it be possible to modify it to accept 230-240 V?I've disassembled it and taken out the PSU, with pictures of it below.QuoteFrom what I can see, all (?) components that are fed with mains voltage are spec'd for >250 V max, except:• The main cap, which is 200 V / 200 uF• The transformer core, which I don't know the specs of. Its label says: "MP-130i (04) DELTA"I experimented/tried to use the printer directly with 230 V (using a European cable), but that blew the main cap and filled the room with (toxic?) smoke. Hehe.The printer started though, installed properly and even printed a page before the cap blew.I've now replaced the cap with a new one and the printer works with one of those heavy & more expensive 230 V to 120 V step down transformers.The question remains. Would it be possible to modify it to accept 230 V natively? Maybe the main cap just needs to be a beefier one?Thanks.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:13:20 pm
content: It would be safer not to try

author: 22swg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:17:48 pm
content: I would consider yourself lucky you did not start a fire ! 230 into 120 ! this psu basically rectifies the mains work out what you get rectifying 230v ac....

author: madshaman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:28:08 pm
content: Agree with Simon, but to answer your question: yes, it could be modified.

author: Legit-Design
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:37:01 pm
content: Quote from: mndrn on May 20, 2014, 09:08:54 pmIt takes input 100-120 V AC and output has also 100-120 V AC. Also 100-120 V AC / 8.8 A is a lot of power, you would need hefty mains stepdown transformer, if you went that way.Depends what the actual printer looks like inside? Since it also uses 100-120 VAC and probably doesn't use that directly. Can you take pictures inside the actual printer power supply?You need at least 400V mains cap...Short story is you can't just directly whack 230V AC into that brick and expect the printer to work. Not without first making sure what is inside the printer.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:38:00 pm
content: You need to change the PSU and the fuser. You can't just quickly modify them.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:41:48 pm
content: It's not worth the effort. You would also need to replace the fuser and some other parts with the 240V models.

author: Legit-Design
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:48:29 pm
content: So the fuser takes 120VAC directly? Or 230VAC with normal printers?

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:50:17 pm
content: Quote from: Legit-Design on May 20, 2014, 09:48:29 pmCompare the 'input' and 'output' numbers on that PSU. Where the hell is the other ~800W going?Oh, right, into the part which gets very very hot, very very fast.

author: mndrn
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 09:59:07 pm
content: Quote from: Monkeh on May 20, 2014, 09:50:17 pmOh crap, the fuser. Forgot about that. Makes this a no-no then.Just for educational purposes though (disregarding the fuser entirely), how would one modify the rest of the board to accept 230 V?

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2014, 11:05:34 pm
content: From my experience working on laser printers, they had different fuser modules for different voltages.