Electrical people: why doesn’t this AC adapter work with my pump?

[workhz]

I’m actually kinda surprised it doesn’t work. You’d think it would just run it faster especially since what you have is spec’ed with more amps.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

The orientation of the connector matters though, you're completely correct. I think they are pretty standardized though?

Usually they are standardized. I ran into something recently and the polarity was flipped. It was a total what the heck moment.

I screwed up on the transformer recommendation, older eyes on a cell phone misread the 2.75a as 2.5a.

Op you'll probably will find a 3amp transformer before you find a rare hen 2.75a.

 

[JachPot]

Usually they are standardized. I ran into something recently and the polarity was flipped. It was a total what the heck moment.

I screwed up on the transformer recommendation, older eyes on a cell phone misread the 2.75a as 2.5a.

Op you'll probably will find a 3amp transformer before you find a rare hen 2.75a.

That's what I was thinking. 3A seems much easier to find.


I think I remember finding exactly 1 brick ever where the polarity was flipped.

 

[Miami Reef]

Im confused. Which one is the transformer and which one is the adapter? The jebao vs the ai?

Also, I just ordered this one. I have 2 pumps. One is missing the power supply thing, and the other is missing both the power supply and the controller. I will just buy one power supply and replace the other one.

ALITOVE AC 100-240V to DC 24V 5A Power Supply Adapter Converter with 5.5 x 2.1mm 2.5mm DC Output Jack for 5050 3528 LED Strip Module Light
Making sure, this will work, right?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

That adapter is cool.

Id go with this tho: cheaper and will get the job done.

Edit: the jebao and AI pictures in the original post are both transformers, the AI just has a different output voltage & amperage than the jebao setup.

 

[workhz]

It’s been a while since I’ve taken any circuit classes and was never really very good at it so perhaps some of you that say the voltage has to be exact can explain the concept to me?

Let’s say that particular pump has a resistance of 12 ohms for a simple calculation. At 24V, current draw would be 2amps. At 36V, current draw would be 3amps.

Why would the pump not run? It will run faster and perhaps burn up and that’s not likely a good thing to do but why would it not actually run?

 

[Miami Reef]

The controller blinks when I plug it into that transformer.

 

[JachPot]

It’s been a while since I’ve taken any circuit classes and was never really very good at it so perhaps some of you that say the voltage has to be exact can explain the concept to me?

Let’s say that particular pump has a resistance of 12 ohms for a simple calculation. At 24V, current draw would be 2amps. At 36V, current draw would be 3amps.

Why would the pump not run? It will run faster and perhaps burn up and that’s not likely a good thing to do but why would it not actually run?

Things I should know the answer to, but I haven't done basic circuits in a long time as well.

You're correct with Ohm's law that V = iR and your values.
Now with P = iV (Power = current x voltage) you get 48 Watts with the lower voltage and with the higher voltage you get 108 Watts. Probably just a case of not enough power outright. Maybe if you tried to use something like a 28V transformer you could get it to run at a much lower power level, but a lot less effective then.

 

[workhz]

Things I should know the answer to, but I haven't done basic circuits in a long time as well.

You're correct with Ohm's law that V = iR and your values.
Now with P = iV (Power = current x voltage) you get 48 Watts with the lower voltage and with the higher voltage you get 108 Watts. Probably just a case of not enough power outright. Maybe if you tried to use something like a 28V transformer you could get it to run at a much lower power level, but a lot less effective then.

Didn’t realize the original was 2.75amp. The one not working is 3.6amp. Guess you’d need 4.1amp. For some reason I thought the original was a little lower.

We’re not even looking at what the pump requires just brick specs. The controller itself might be doing something to protect the pump hence not taking a higher voltage. Didn’t realize it was going into a controller first.

 

[Freenow54]

I use jebow OW50 powerhead. They come with this adapter:

It works great, but I need another one for a Jebao pump that lost its original adapter.

I have this adapter that I used for my AI hydras. It fits in the socket, but the pump will not work when using this adapter vs the original one it came with.


Please tell me why so I can buy one and not worry about it not working with my specific pump.

This is the Ai hydra adapter that doesn’t work with the pump for some reason.

Hard to read but one puts out 37V DC, the other 24 V DC if I am reading it correctly

 

[Miami Reef]

Update! The Jebao pump is working excellent with the adapter that you guys recommended me!!

New question: someone lost my adapter for my skimmer, so can you guys tell me exactly which one I need?

The parts I circled in red is what I need.

Here is my exact skimmer model: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/regal-250int-10-internal-protein-skimmer-varios-reef-octopus.html

 

[Miami Reef]

I think I found the original adapter. Can someone confirm?

 

[gbroadbridge]

I use jebow OW50 powerhead. They come with this adapter:

It works great, but I need another one for a Jebao pump that lost its original adapter.

I have this adapter that I used for my AI hydras. It fits in the socket, but the pump will not work when using this adapter vs the original one it came with.


Please tell me why so I can buy one and not worry about it not working with my specific pump.

This is the Ai hydra adapter that doesn’t work with the pump for some reason.

The first is 24V DC and the second is 36V DC.

They're not compatible.

 

[Miami Reef]

Yep. It’s the one!