Does our offline PSU need to be IP67 rated? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 12:51:27 pm
content: Hi,We have a product like the following, it has the same kind of inline offline PSU, as you see at 00:52 (in left hand)https://youtu.be/PFyUw9e-PgcDoes it need to be IP67 rated?Or can the plastic body have air vents?...or Does it just need to be sealed like an offline laptop PSU?Could the enclosure actually be metal?Also, can you think of any Household consumer product, which is mains powered, and has an offline PSU in line with the mains cable, then another cable leading from the PSU to the product?(We can only come up with laptops and the device in the video above)

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 03:29:52 pm
content: Not following random video links, but the legal question can't be answered without defining the environment the product is to be used in and the relevant sets of laws you have to comply with. Once you figure that out, you can read the law to find the answer.Also, you're not communicating when you use the word "offline" in this context, since I've no idea what you mean by it. How is a power supply ever offline, unless you mean turned off?

author: jc101
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 04:27:36 pm
content: Isn't anything with an external PSU this kind of PSU?If you mean a brick with a main cable and low voltage cable to the device, then some TVs and monitors, set-top boxes (freeview boxes), and every current UK Virgin media cable box - all have an external brick PSU.All the ones I've encountered are sealed boxes, often ultrasonically welded. I don't remember the last time I saw one with vents or one made of metal.However, any rating required will be mandated in the standards the device is required to comply with.

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 05:45:48 pm
content: QuoteThanks, but a PSU thats connected to the mains is known universally as an "offline" PSU.As in "Off the Line"....Line being the accepted word for the mains line, ie L1, L2 , L3.

author: Rat_Patrol
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 05:57:08 pm
content: Quote from: Faringdon on May 06, 2023, 05:45:48 pmInteresting terminology. Internal/external PSU are the terms we use; relative to the device it is powering. Your tower PC: Internal PSU. A laptop charger: External PSU.Anyway, I've never seen one for a consumer good that was vented. That said, the external PSU for my Prusa 3D printer is external and vented, heavily. My other Prusa (Prusa Mini) is more like a laptop charger with a sealed PSU.Since you are not in the US, I'd say take a look at the laws that cover the application.

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2023, 07:49:41 pm
content: What level of water/debris resistance it needs is all going to depend on what it is powering and where it is operating. The original post doesn't mention this, without it answering seems virtually impossible.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2023, 07:36:00 am
content: Quote from: Faringdon on May 06, 2023, 05:45:48 pmI don’t think it’s used as universally as you think.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2023, 07:37:08 am
content: Quote from: Rat_Patrol on May 06, 2023, 05:57:08 pmI also find it to be somewhat unusual, but it’s apparently the terminology in at least some areas:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_line_regulatorBut it seems to cause confusion:https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/242130/why-off-line-power-supplies-are-called-so-like-they-are-off-the-lineI guess to me the question is, if some power supplies are “off-line”, what do we call the ones thataren’t? Batteries?