AC to DC power supply for WS-12-250-DC

[kennaster]

Hello Forum,
I have a solar sight powering a WS-12-250-DC at a remote mountain location. The station is easily accessible via snow shoes during the winter and I'm thinking about using a Goal-Zero lithium backup battery for an emergency power source. The Goal-Zero has two AC receptacles and capacity to "power a refrigerator for ~3 days". Since the WS-12-250-DC needs a DC input, what power converter could I use to connect the Goal-Zero to the netonix WS-12-250-DC to provide full functionality to the switch.

Thanks again,
AK

[Omniflux]

The -DC models were designed to be connected to batteries, and you may have problems when connected directly to a power supply instead, especially when running near the limit of the power supply.

That said, I have had no issue running them off a Meanwell SDR-240-24 and SDR-240-48 with < 150 W load on the switch.

[KBrownConsulting]

@OmniFlux

Sorry for bumping an old post but do you have any feedback on the long-term reliability of using Meanwell SDR-240-24 and SDR-240-48 to power the WS-12-250-DC?

Also, any thoughts on using something like DC 12V 24V 36V 48V Soft Start Reversible Motor Speed Control PWM Controller? (I'd remove the toggle switch to eliminate the risk of reversing the polarity.)

Thanks!

[Omniflux]

I have been using these two Meanwell models since at least 2013 and had only one failure that I cannot attribute to overloading the unit (attempting to pull > 240W). Even when overloading a unit, they usually work fine once the load is reduced. I think the problem comes in if you are right at the limit - it runs, but heats up, then shuts down and cools off, then starts up again, and repeats until something fails.

The WDR- models I have had numerous failures with, but where I was using them, I am not sure I had clean power. I was taking 480VAC in. I ended up converting the power to 120VAC and then using the SDR- models to resolve the issues.

I have not used the NDR- models.

I have been using the SDR-240 models to power WS-12-250-DC units since at least 2017 and except for the one failure had no other issues, but I don't think I ever used more than 200W at any of these sites (~20 sites).

In 2018 I began using SDR-480 models and have used 250W without issue with WS-12-250-DC.

I have no idea on the PWM controller. It sounds like a bad idea to me, but I don't know why.

[KBrownConsulting]

Appreciate the reply Omniflux.

I decided to test a Mean Well LRS-350-24 power supply (24V 14.6A 350W rated) which only cost me about $36 in January 2022. I ran a WS-12-250-DC off it until about a week ago & it performed great. Now mind you I only power cycled it a couple times and only had a couple PoE devices connected so the switch was pulling less than 50W total but for my use it worked great.

Thanks again for the feedback!