I heard a POP! Then another one!

[tx2sturgis]

Actually, a pop....not knowing what that might be, I looked around...hmmm...

Then about 10 minutes later, POP! It was a very loud POP and I saw some smoke drifting out of this little inverter...

It was still working, the PC and monitor were still operating just fine, after both pops...then I tuned off the inverter, turned it back on, and the fuse blew.....and it was now dead in the water.

Removing 8 little screws, here is what we find....blown capacitors....

If it had been one cap I would just solder in another one...assuming that we had a cap go bad...but TWO blown caps in rapid sequence means that upstream from them we have either voltage too high, a ripple or AC component in the DC, or reversed polarity. Not worth the trouble to repair...and I have a replacement ready to go, but I just thought y'all might like to see inside a cheap, and now dead, inverter.

 

[highdesertranger]

ouch. highdesertranger

 

[user 423]

Dang TX. I thought that farmer had come back and started shooting at your ass for calling the cops on him!

I'm glad it was a different kind of 'poppin' a cap'.

BTW: How old is that inverter?

 

[tx2sturgis]

Delayed reaction huh? Just between you n me and the fencepost.....I would shoot back!

Nah, just early micro-fireworks for the fourth!

The inverter is about 5 years old I'd guess it had been un-used for a few years but recently I've been using it to run my computer and monitor...we have had a lot of power outages due to all the storms here and every time the power flickers or browns out, the PC takes a hit....even the speakers make snapping noises...anyway, I have a 12v battery backup for my ham equipment for the same reasons, but that stuff all runs on 12v directly. The inverter keeps the PC more or less isolated from the electrical outages and protected from surges....

Or so I thought!   :dodgy:

 

[highdesertranger]

Please stay on subject. I deleted 1 post for straying off topic and a few others that replied to it. Highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

On topic, kinda...recently there has been a thread about properly fusing small inverters...I had expressed the opinion that smallish inverters should be 'underfused' for safety. 

This brings home that point...this inverter was only running about 50 to 100 watts constant output for the last month....and it failed. The factory fuse was a 25 amp...which is actually too large for a 200 watt inverter, and still abit large for the 'peak' rating of 400 watts on this inverter. Imagine the carnage if the failure mode had been even more constant, silent, and a small fire broke out inside the unit... and I had 'over fused' it...sizing the inline fuse for large gauge wires.

I might have had a full 4th of July fireworks show in my home where I don't want any such thing!

You really never know what can happen with this stuff.