choosing/understanding the right powersuply for the TS100

[paulca]

You do not need to rate the cable for 100W.  The TS100 will pull 90W or so for about 10 seconds to reach 330*C, then it will go into modulation and pull a handful of watts.  Maybe a short spike each time you do a solder joint.  I can only see if hitting 90W constantly if you try and solder your plumbing pipes with it!

So you only need a cable that can handle 4A for short bursts.  So a cable rated for 2A would be fine.

I just used the cable that came on the laptop supply 19V 4.5A (IIRC) I bought with a bit of 20AWG silicon 2 core flex on the end that was more fexible than the laptop lead.

[No_Shorty]

Can I just check I have read and understood this thread correctly and if I choose to use this PSU: https://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=MPM-65#1

In the PCB mount version, then this:



Is an acceptable wiring diagram and will earth the iron?

[Gyro]

Welcome,

That looks like a decent quality choice. As the PSU is plastic encapsulated that is fine (with a metal cased psu, you would want the mains earth to the chassis too).

If you are mounting the PSU in a metal case, it is important to securely connect that to your mains earth lead too. Also take care to use appropriate strain relief on the mains cable so that the live and neutral wires can't be stressed or detached.


P.S. It's often a good idea to put a combined IEC socket and fuse holder on the enclosure rather than a flying mains lead. At the very least, ensure that your mains plug has a 3A fuse in it rather than a 13A.

[No_Shorty]

Thanks for the reply, I chose it as I'm trying to keep the whole thing compact and it's a really nice small size.

I am going to make a 3D printed base for it. I was thinking about an IEC socket for the AC inlet but as far as I can tell the smallest/thinnest version of these is the IEC320 'cloverleaf' style, which would make the base needlessly deep I think. So I nay just run a (fused, as you say) lead directly into the base I'm making.

[Gyro]

Fine. As I mentioned, just make sure your mains lead mechanical retention is up to the job.

Make sure you use some nice flexible silicone cable for the output, it makes all the difference to the handling. 

[No_Shorty]

I will do! - and I also picked up some of this silicone cable: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAPP-%C3%96LFLEX-HEAT-180-SiHF-0046001-CABLE-SILICONE-2-CORE-0-75mm-Per-m-3-28ft/321501332805?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=512959129428&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

for the run from the PSU to the iron 

[Gyro]

I had a quick scan of ebay (and CPC, Farnell and RS) too. It appears that the original 2 core cables linked in the various threads are no longer available in UK listings (there are some from China).

In the event that the 0.75mm² one you bought isn't flexible enough, I found one on Amazon. The seller (Designacable) looks familiar, I think they were the original seller on ebay.  Worth keeping the link in reserve anyway, it's for a 2m length so you would get 2 reasonable cords out of it (mains and battery?)...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silicone-Rubber-Wiring-Cable-2x0-25mm/dp/B07TFLQTT7/?th=1

Hopefully you'll find the one you bought ok (please feed back if so), but at least it provides a 'just in case' option.

[No_Shorty]

Thanks I actually found that cable a couple of times but I didn't think 0.25mm was adequate?

[Gyro]

The cable is rated at 4A (higher than it would be in PVC). The TS100 manual indicates a consumption of 2.7A at 24V so you have some leeway. Also, the only time it is going to be pulling full current is during warm-up, it might get close if you're soldering something with high thermal mass, but on average, the current will be much lower.

Irrc, the supplier also used to do a 0.4mm², rated at 6A. I have one of each, I use the thinner one on a 6S Lithium battery pack (Lidl drill one) now but I originally had it on my 24V mains supply without problems.

[djnz]

If anyone needs power supply barrel jack converters from 2.1 mm diameter to 2.5 mm diameter and vice versa, check out element14 / Farnell order codes 2801275 and 2911017.

Also, for those considering power bricks:

MeanWell GST series does not have -ve DC output connected to earth ground and should be avoided for the TS100.
The medical grade GSM B series is only 2 pin so do not get that either.
However the medical grade GSM A series does have -ve DC connected to earth ground, so that is good.

I think the MeanWell GSM90A24-P1M is a good candidate to consider.

[No_Shorty]

The cable is rated at 4A (higher than it would be in PVC). The TS100 manual indicates a consumption of 2.7A at 24V so you have some leeway. Also, the only time it is going to be pulling full current is during warm-up, it might get close if you're soldering something with high thermal mass, but on average, the current will be much lower.

Irrc, the supplier also used to do a 0.4mm², rated at 6A. I have one of each, I use the thinner one on a 6S Lithium battery pack (Lidl drill one) now but I originally had it on my 24V mains supply without problems.

Should amperage be calculated across both positive and negative, or should each cable be rated to carry the load?

The cable I think we are talking about is this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TFLQTT7?tag=duc08-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

Which describes the cable as 4amp (2x0.25mm) - which I assumed to mean 2amp per wire, which is lower than the rated spec. I couldn't find the 6amp cable version, hopefully the one I got wont feel too weighty.

I did also check a 1m run of cable at 24v 2.7a with this tool:https://www.solar-wind.co.uk/info/dc-cable-wire-sizing-tool-low-voltage-drop-calculator
Which suggested 0.5mm as an acceptable conductor (edit: I have just realised 0.5mm is the lowest size cable that tool will suggest  (edit2: yea this tool: https://www.fabhabs.com/dc-cable-sizing-calculator says that 0.22 is the min... dang). I went for 0.75 just as 0.5 was harder to find (plus I wanted it in orange  )

edit: Just picked up the 0.75mm cable I bought. I think it will do nicely. I may yet pick up some 0.25mm cable as well but the 0.75 is lovely and flexible and its got a good thick jacket which will be nice and safe from any burns.

I'll pop up a pic once I have the power supply all wired up.

[No_Shorty]

The Mean Well MPM 65 24 is a very neat little PSU!

Unfortunately the wire I bought is much too thick to fit the barrel jack adapters, so I need different wire.

I hooked it up for a test in any case and it powers the TS100 no problemo.

Here are some pics, along with its potted internals as I cant quite resist taking things apart:

[Gyro]

Ha, you had some fun with that casing. 

Unfortunately the wire I bought is much too thick to fit the barrel jack adapters, so I need different wire.

That's a shame. I see that the 0.25mm² has popped up on ebay again (yes it was designacable). Yes, it will handle the current, the resistive voltage drop isn't significant unless you overdo the length. It is very light and flexible and doesn't weigh down the back of the iron. It is a loose fit in a standard DC jack (1 layer of 2:1 heatshrink makes it a snug fit). As it is now an ebay listing (rather than Amazon) you have the opportunity to contact the seller to see if they still have any of their 0.4mm² 6A cable, which is a perfect fit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Core-EWK-Silicone-Rubber-DC-Wiring-Cable-4-amp-2x0-25mm-Flexible-LED-Solar/163699838807

[ledtester]

Idea for TS100 power cabling:

https://youtu.be/ncmFMPiKLtE

https://youtu.be/RYJ6abc84lo

[Gyro]

That second video is a bit of a dog's breakfast.    All that faffing around with screwing the 1/4" jack outer shell onto the outside of the DC jack, ending up with a heavy counterweight that's larger diameter than the iron! With all that twisting I'd lay odds that he made the connector intermittent. He didn't even use an appropriately rated DC jack.

The first guy at least used the proper Yellow tipped jack with the forked centre contact to firmly grip the centre pin, that one is rated for Amps, not ~100mA.

Yes, that tattoo machine cable looks ok, the insulation to copper ratio looks quite high though (small conductor area for the overall size). I wouldn't bother with any bend relief other than what is provided by the DC jack (a proper Yellow tipped one), or maybe a short length of heatshrink. Thumbs up for heat resistance but round section rather than twin is always nice though, it doesn't have a preferred bend direction.

[No_Shorty]

I bought the 0.25mm cable in the end and even that needed the barrel jack widening a little to accommodate it!

The 0.25mm cable is lovely and flexible however, and I like the orange!

Here are some pics of my finished PSU:

[Gyro]

Nicely finished. 

One mod that I've found really makes a difference to ergonomics is putting a plastic washer (I used PTFE) up at the top of the tip, up against the TS100 body. This provides a positive stop for your fingertips and allows you to use a little more pressure without having to grip as tightly. It also keeps the tip off the bench if you simply lay it down. Irrc, there are plenty of candidates that can be reamed to size on ebay...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/ts100-soldering-iron-test/msg1343465/#msg1343465

[No_Shorty]

Thanks, yea I saw this I think earlier in the thread, I'm considering options for resting it at the moment and thats defo high on my list of easy and simple solutions!

[PetersNL]

Would you be willing to share the STL or STEP file of the model? I'm considering making this myself after seeing your result

[ozbird]

I've been thinking about getting a TS100/TS80P soldering iron for a while, and keep asking my wife for one for Christmas.   

I don't have a suitable USB-C power supply for the TS80P (yet), so the TS100 seems like the better option for me.

My laptop has a 180W(?) 19.5 volt power brick with a "DC5525" jack - I assume this is fine for the TS100?
(180W is OTT, but I assume the TS100 will only draw what it needs.)

Cheers!

(BTW, I have a Weller WTCPT-style soldering station which I love.  The TS100 would be for those times I don't have access to the Weller, or just need to make a quick fix.)

[Gyro]

Yes, that supply should be fine, and should net you just over 40W, very similar to the WTCP (by coincidence, that's my combination too). It would be best to check that the power brick has a 3 pin mains input, with the outer barrel of the DC jack connected to the mains earth pin.

The only usability issue you might have is he physical weight / stiffness of the wire from the brick, but that can be tackled later using a short length of silicone rubber cable as discussed above.

USB-C is ok, but the TS100 lends itself to hooking up to 18/20V power tool batteries and chargers (such as the economical ones that Lidl sell) - assuming you don't have something already. Probably the cheapest way of achieving true portability with bench grade heat output. I modified a battery pack with a 5525 socket, but if you have access to a 3D printer, there are now several designs for slide-on adapters, some of them including stands.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/teardown-lidl-20v-2ah-lithium-battery-pack-and-charger/msg3541810/

Edit: If you use the Ralim TS100 Firmware (now called IronOS as it supports more models), it includes battery monitoring and auto shutoff features to prevent battery pack damage.

[ozbird]

Thanks for the reply, Gyro!

I'll have to double check the earth pin, but from memory the power brick has a 3 pin "Mickey Mouse" style connector (with a 3 pin Australian power cable.)

Using the laptop power brick directly was going to be a quick hack if a) my wife bought me a TS100, and b) she asked me to demonstrate it.   
A "burn proof" flexible silicone cable like the Weller is the way to go for regular use.

I saw Adam Savage's TS100 video with the power tool battery adapter - love it!



Cheers!

[Gyro]

I hadn't seen that video, thanks.


P.S. Welcome to the forum. 


EDIT: Having watched the video I think Adam has made a bit of a mistake there. I can see his motivation for doing it, but using that aftermarket Dewalt battery adapter limits him to a 12V supply to the TS100. This reduces his output power to around 17W - still equivalent to a little pencil style Antex of whatever, but pretty poor compared the the 40+W that he could get from direct battery connection (obviously not to a 60V one!).