AC to DC converters failing

[Seas The Moment]

Bottom line, I have had three AC to DC convert chargers fail within the last 5 months. I'm wondering if it is related to my electric pattern usage?

Issue is two Braun toothbruch chargers and one Dremel charger have stopped functioning. I leave them plugged into the AC outlet all the time. Sometimes I'm plugged into shore power, sometimes I'm using my generator for AC power and sometimes under sail or motoring there is no AC power.

Is the manner that I keep supplying AC power causing any of these failures? Has this happened to any one else? Is there an expert opinion, other than defective chargers?

Thanks for your help.

[john61ct]

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do, this… "
Doctor: "Stop doing that!"

_____
May be spikes / surges if you're wiring directly from the various AC sources.

Do you have a DC House bank? Run a line from a small but quality PSW inverter for sensitive devices.

Or just unplug when not in use.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by Seas The Moment

Bottom line, I have had three AC to DC convert chargers fail within the last 5 months. I'm wondering if it is related to my electric pattern usage?

Issue is two Braun toothbruch chargers and one Dremel charger have stopped functioning. I leave them plugged into the AC outlet all the time. Sometimes I'm plugged into shore power, sometimes I'm using my generator for AC power and sometimes under sail or motoring there is no AC power.

Is the manner that I keep supplying AC power causing any of these failures? Has this happened to any one else? Is there an expert opinion, other than defective chargers?

Thanks for your help.

So my inverter-charger (Magnum) presumably like most provides AC on demand. It ~sniffs the AC circuit every X amount of time until it sees a load of Y (or greater) and then the inverter kicks on and delivers electricity to the AC circuit. When the load disappears, it goes back into standby (or whatever) mode where it sniffs for the next load.

With my inverter-charger I can change the set point (the "Y" above) at which the inverter kicks on. I can imagine that little loads like a toothbrush or dremel charger are right near the threshold to cause an inverter to cycle on/off frequently . Maybe that's a cause of failure? Maybe you can adjust the set point for yours?

Otherwise when buying inverters, check the Amazon reviews for ones that look like the one you want to purchase. Lots of these Chinese inverters are given one star for smoking, frying, dying, etc and they often come from the same factory. Also not a fan of leaving stuff like chargers plugged into an outlet.

[Seas The Moment]

John and Singularity, thank you both for your comments. Just as an fyi, all three of these charges came with the original equipment. I'll unplug in the future, but that doesn't explain why it happens. Thanks again

[s/v Jedi]

The damage points to a modified sine wave instead of pure sine wave. This is known to kill electric toothbrushes etc.

Upgrade to a pure sine model

[AndyEss]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

The damage points to a modified sine wave instead of pure sine wave. This is known to kill electric toothbrushes etc.

Upgrade to a pure sine model

Ditto.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

The damage points to a modified sine wave instead of pure sine wave. This is known to kill electric toothbrushes etc.

Upgrade to a pure sine model

his post mentioned shore power, gen power, and no ac power while sailing. to me that means no inverter...

[billknny]

Originally Posted by smac999

his post mentioned shore power, gen power, and no ac power while sailing. to me that means no inverter...

Ah, come on... you want people to READ the questions they are answering? That will cut down the volume of posts here by 80%.

[john61ct]

Yes I was positing a quality PSW inverter as a solution, assuming none was present.

[AndyEss]

Originally Posted by billknny

Ah, come on... you want people to READ the questions they are answering? That will cut down the volume of posts here by 80%.

You Sir, are funny.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by smac999

his post mentioned shore power, gen power, and no ac power while sailing. to me that means no inverter...

Originally Posted by billknny

Ah, come on... you want people to READ the questions they are answering? That will cut down the volume of posts here by 80%.

You underestimate me. Let’s see if the OP has an inverter or not and if he has, if it is MSW or PSW. I think that the “convert chargers” (doesn’t exist) may actually be “invert(er) chargers”. I may have read it more detailed than some

[john61ct]

He is super clear, stated three chargers, which convert from AC to DC failed. Some call those converters.

Two are of the type with the toothbrush, the third is for the Dremel.

[SwellGuy]

Originally Posted by Singularity

... and then the inverter kicks on and...

Originally Posted by smac999

...to me that means no inverter...

Keep up the good work, detectives.

[Seas The Moment]

John61ct has it right. When (and very infrequently) I use my boats charger/inverter to create some AC power while sailing, I "usually" unplug everything from the AC that I don't need to use. I might have forgot to unplug these devices at one time. My inverter is a Freedom Marine 20, not sure if that's a Pure Sine Wave or not.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by billknny

Ah, come on... you want people to READ the questions they are answering? That will cut down the volume of posts here by 80%.

Originally Posted by SwellGuy

Keep up the good work, detectives.

80% of posts trying to further enlighten (if only the self), 20% of posts seeking schadenfreude entertainment from the parents' basement or somesuch.