Eurorack Power Supply Module - enough for 19 inch 9U rack?

[waldenpotato]

I am planning on building out a 9U 19 inch rack using the Oakley Eurorack Power Supply Module. This is three rows of 19 inches. I will be using the Yamaha PA-30.

Without planning all of my modules and adding up their power usage, I am curious if this "seems" like enough power for this much space. What do you think? I am not absolutely sure which modules I'll put in this rack so I am uncertain if I should just build out 6U racks instead of 9U racks.


Thanks!

[Synthbuilder]

Without planning all of my modules and adding up their power usage, I am curious if this "seems" like enough power for this much space. What do you think?

The only way to tell is to calculate the current draw of the modules you are going to fill the case with. However, from my own experience a single Oakley PSU is unlikely to power three rows of 84HP, ie. a fully stuffed 9U high 19" rack.

[waldenpotato]

The only way to tell is to calculate the current draw of the modules you are going to fill the case with. However, from my own experience a single Oakley PSU is unlikely to power three rows of 84HP, ie. a fully stuffed 9U high 19" rack.

In your experience does a single Oakley PSU power two rows of 85HP?

[eljay]

I have two 6U 19" racks with a variety of Eurorack modules in each. I produced a spreadsheet to capture the current draw of each module (this information is generally available on manufacturer websites) and there are other resources elsewhere in Mod wiggler that give that information. All my modules are DIY and with the exception of a couple I have had to measure myself, the current draw info has been freely available.

The total current draw in my first case is (on the +12V rail) 728mA, (on the -12V rail) 176mA, in the second case it is (on the +12V rail) 567mA, (on the -12V rail) 350mA. These should both run off a PA-30 (approx 780mA per 12V rail). The figures for each case are quite different and there is a clear bias to the positive rail current draw in the first case driven in this instance by a number of Mutable Inst clones, i.e digital modules rather than analogue.

As Tony says, you need to calculate the current draw of the modules you are putting in your case. I can appreciate this is difficult when you don't know in advance what modules you are going to have.

In my own cases I have implemented the power supplies using an 80VA toroidal transformer, this gives a usable current draw limit of between 1.33A and 1.48A per rail (i.e. nearly double that of a PA-30. However this does mean you have to deal with mains voltage and ensure an electrically safe implementation, this is not for everyone or encouraged by Tony for the obvious safety reasons so don't expect any advice from here.

Overall my advice for planning purposes using a PA-30 is :- 2 rows of 84HP should be OK, a third row will be entirely dependent on your choice of modules and their current draw.

[waldenpotato]

Overall my advice for planning purposes using a PA-30 is :- 2 rows of 84HP should be OK, a third row will be entirely dependent on your choice of modules and their current draw.

Thanks, eljay. I will probably go with 6U racks and measure the power consumption while also checking the manufacturer's website(s). I wanted to get a general feel for the size and you two helped me out.

[Joe_D]

Thanks, eljay. I will probably go with 6U racks and measure the power consumption while also checking the manufacturer's website(s).

For me, that's one of the best features of ModularGrid--with a free account, you can mock up your rack and check the power consumption on each rail (it totals them up for you automatically).