Download fusion 2000w psu

Author/Photographs: MARK DANEK
FUSION
2000W PSU
Following on from his recent Emperor L712B charger
report, Mark Danek tests this adjustable 12~26 V
‘high’ Power Supply Unit from Logic R/C
POWER STRUGGLE
It was only recently, while reviewing Logic RC’s top of the
range Emperor charger, that I realised that my trusty Fusion
600W Adjustable PSU was not going to be man enough for
the task. In fact, it would provide only about half the maximum
power demanded if the Emperor were to be used to its full
potential.
A quick trawl around the Web for suitable Power Supply Units
(PSUs) soon uncovered the fact that this sector of the modellers’
PSU market is not at all well catered for and that modellers were
resorting to potentially hazardous DIY solutions. Fortunately for
me (and the review), Logic RC themselves came to the rescue
with an impressive monster of a PSU, their Fusion 2000W
Adjustable.
Now, I’ve been using Fusion PSUs for many years now and
own both a Fusion 200W and Fusion 600W, both of which have
served me well in their own ways. As I hadn’t heard about the
2000W model before or seen it in Logic RC’s advertising, I was
delighted to borrow one for a closer look.
The front panel is very simple with an on/off rocker switch,
a pair of rotary controls and a big, bright red LED display
displaying voltage and current. The display itself is different
to those found on the lower-power PSUs, which have much
smaller backlit LCD displays; the LCDs are usable enough, but
the larger red LED display is easier to read from any angle and
even from across the workshop.
The rotary controls allow the output voltage and current to be
set from 12 V to 26 V and 0 A to 80 A respectively. The LCD
displays the voltage as it is selected but any current limit is
only evident when the PSU is in use. These rotary controls are
smooth in operation, but selecting an exact voltage to 0.1 V
required a delicate touch.
A feature that I particularly liked is the power output socket
design (just like the 600W’s), which can either accept standard
4 mm banana plugs or act as screw-down terminals.
IN THE BOX
TOWER OF POWER
The PSU comes securely packaged in a fairly plain cardboard
box with a no-frills, stick-on label indicating (to me at least) the
practically industrial nature of this item. A separate ‘kettle-style’
C13 IEC Socket power lead is provided for connection to the
mains, and that’s it!
Once unpacked and on the bench, apart from the size, the
family resemblance to the existing range of Fusion PSUs is
immediately apparent. The 2000W PSU is just over twice as tall
as the 600W though it has very nearly the same footprint being
only about an inch longer so you should still be able to find room
on the bench for it without difficulty.
The Fusion 2000W PSU provides its maximum power using
a combination of high voltage and high current. If you don’t
already know, the power (represented in Watts) is calculated
by multiplying the voltage by the current. Hence, the product of
26 V x 80 A is 2080 W, simple! Those who didn’t bunk off too
many maths lessons will also have spotted that it is possible to
achieve a given Wattage in more than one way.
For example: 12 V x 20 A gives 240 W but so does 20 V x 12 A
or 24 V x 10 A.
Strong family resemblance. Apart from the
overall size and red LED, the Fusion 2000W is
very similar in appearance to the Fusion 600W
and sports the same type of 4 mm banana plug connector which can
also act as a screw-down terminal
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The 2000W PSU, with the Logic RC Emperor L712B Pro charger as used
in the tests. Seen here charging a pair of 6S 4500 Storm LiPos at the
Emperor’s limit of 20 Amps per channel. The LiPos are taking 940 W
between them and the PSU is providing 1153 W (26.7 V x 43.2 A)
WWW.RCMODELWORLD.COM
30/4/12 14:35:06
PRODUCT REVIEW
The Emperor display shows the 6S LiPos taking 494.5 W and 497.8 W for
a total of 992 W, not far off its 1000 W limit but only taking a little over
half the 2000 W PSU’s capacity
With the Emperor charger running flat-out charging a pair of 6S LiPos
the 2000W PSU at 1218.5 W (26.9 V x 45.3 A) is only at a little over half of
its capacity of 2000 W/80 A!
Fusion 2000W only requires a current of 22.6 A (the Fusion
600W would be at its limit at 15 V x 39.2 A). Bearing in mind
that this is a peak requirement, the Fusion 2000W (capable of
delivering 80 A) could cope with four chargers (or two Emperor
twin-output chargers) simultaneously fast charging four such
cells at 20 A – well almost!
HIGHER VOLTAGE, LOWER CURRENT
SUPPORT
Now that we are using LiPos with 6-cells or more, the charge
voltage required is quite high and this has to be stepped up from
the PSU supplied voltage by the charger. Quite apart from any
step-up power losses, the power delivered by the charger has
to be provided by the PSU. To support a given charger output
current at the higher voltage a much greater input current is
required at the lower voltage.
For example, a Fusion 600 W PSU can only supply a maximum
of 15 V, which has to be stepped up to almost 30 V by the
charger for a 7S LiPo. If such a LiPo is being charged at 20 A
it is drawing 30 V x 20 A = 600 W. The Fusion 600W PSU is
supplying this at 15 V meaning the current draw is 40 A (15 V x
40 A = 600 W).
If we tried to do this using a 12 V PSU we would need 50 A
(12 V x 50 A = 600 W). As the Fusion 600W has a 40 A current
limit, it uses a slightly increased voltage (15 V) to provide its
maximum power.
The Fusion 2000W PSU avoids this limitation by powering
suitable chargers at a higher voltage that requires little or no
stepping up for 6S and 7S LiPos. So for the same example as
above the 2000W only needs to provide 23 A (26 V x 23 A =
600 W).
Reassuringly, all of my dealings with Logic RC have been
a pleasure so far and they have provided unfailingly good
customer service. I think we’ll be hearing even more good
things about them.
VERSATILE OUTPUT
Not all chargers are capable of accepting higher voltages as
they were originally intended to operate from a vehicle battery
source. Very usefully, the Fusion 2000W is designed to provide
a wide variety of voltages and, even when dialled down to its
lowest output setting of 12 V (to operate with older or simpler
chargers), it can still provide 960 W (12 V x 80 A), which is still
enough to simultaneously power several chargers with a total
power demand similar to the Fusion Emperor L712B.
For those chargers that can accept a higher input voltage
then, for a given power requirement, as the PSU voltage is
increased the PSU current requirement drops allowing a
greater load to be supported.
For example, charging a 7S high-capacity LiPo at 20 A
requires 588 W peak. To obtain this from a 26 V PSU like the
CONCLUSION
As the PSU does what it says on the box, I suppose this
section of the review should really address the cost – at
£429.99 this is not a cheap item. Still, I have to say that my
investigations have failed to find any suitable alternative. The
closest I’ve come are specialist computer server PSUs that
come cased for rack use, have no adjustment or power display
and can cost much, much more.
In the Fusion 2000W, Logic RC have provided a PSU
for the top end of the market which, as far as I can tell, is
unchallenged and yet still fairly priced. If you need to power
top-of-the-line chargers then you need the Fusion 2000W!
RCMW
SPECIFICATION
INFORMATION
SCALE:
MANUFACTURER:
DISTRIBUTOR:
PRICE UK:
INPUT VOLTAGE:
OUTPUT VOLTAGE:
OUTPUT CURRENT:
OUTPUT POWER:
Fusion 2000W PSU (O-FS-PS2000ADJ)
Logic RC
Logic RC
£429.99
220 V-240 V AC
12 V-26 V DC
0 A-80 A
2000 W nominal
DISLIKES
Fiddly voltage adjustment
LIKES
Quality
Output power
Customer support
CONTACTS
LOGIC RC LIMITED
WWW.LOGICRC.COM
TEL: 01992 558226
WWW.RCMODELWORLD.COM | JUNE 2012
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