Do Multiple Chinese Power Bricks Cause Fire Hazard & Rat's Nest?

[teched58]

(TL;DR Does the proliferation of power bricks used by the new generation of small Chinese boxes cause more of a problem as far as dealing with the rat's nest of wires hidden on the floor or at the back of the equipment shelf?)

I'm planning to move from my legacy 1970s-1990s traditional large metal boxes to a brand new setup based on the new crop of smaller, sleeker, cheaper [EDIT: Manufactured in China (and manufactured by Schiit]] components now available.

However, the one big downside of this modern iteration of our hobby is that all the boxes are devoid of on-board power supplies and thus all use power bricks. My current rat's nest of wires and power strips is already messy and ugly. But I don't worry so much about fire, because all the resistive heat lost that's vented out (from transformers. etc), takes place at the receivers and amps which are up on a shelf.

Each new [EDIT: Manufactured in China] box will mean another power brick sitting down on the floor where it generates heat. This will result in an overall much hotter situation around the power strip. Which means one has to be more careful when they're near a carpet etc. Not to mention second-order issues like the problem of getting closer to the wall (and also any "I wish it was a right angle plug") will be much more. Also, we'll require longer or more power strips, since while you can put 6 extensions cords into a 6-outlet strip,, you'll be lucky to get 3 bricks pulled into the same space (because of their width).

I don't really have any good "power bricks gone wild" photos, cause I haven't made the switch yet (just bought my first Fosi product). But here are a couple of photos of what I have now, and I'm sure they ring true with what many of us ASR types have.

So my thread starter questions are:

--How are you folks handling this new-age situation of so many power bricks, which is a) a size issue (power strips too small to take many) ?

-- Also, one now has to worry about putting so many bricks in one place due to heat.

--Finally, many of the bricks have shorter output cable lengths so they often can't be placed on the floor, they have to be scooched at the back of the shelf where they equipment resides. Which is messy, ugly, and heat generating.

 

[digitalfrost]

I've started for a while to attach PDUs to the back of most furniture that is not ceiling high, like sideboards and dressers, or hifi racks. Mostly I am using 8-10 outlet PDUs since I have a lot of stuff to connect. I buy this style:



You put two screws behind the furniture and simply hang the PDU in.

This creates a gap behind the furniture for air to circulate, especially since you need to leave enough room to be able to plug and unplug things. And it makes it so the PSUs are "floating" in the air; they are not on the ground. Added benefit is, you do not need to crawl around on the ground if you need to attach something.

 

[Berwhale]

Not audio, but I had a similar requirement for the external PSUs for the little 'home lab' in my study (firewall, switching, virtualization hosts, etc).

Solution = Cable Tidy Boxes... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C288Y81N

External PSU's for my mini-PC homelab (lid removed from top box for photo)...

Mini 'home lab'...

Another option would be to buy some pegboard and cable tie the PSUs to it so that they have plenty of room around them. Something like this could be mounted on the wall behind a unit...

Ikea SKÅDIS would work for this... https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/skadis-pegboard-white-00320803/#content

*edit* One benefit of the oval holes in the SKÅDIS is that they are the right size to accept 12.5mm (1/2") velcro straps. Velcro may be preferable to cable ties if you like to move things around or plan to change components at some point.

 

[Chester]

@Berwhale I have a few of those little Dells too, where did you get that stand? Fits them nice.

 

[Devnull]

Just get yourself something like a Meanwell or TDK/Lambda power supply to replace all of the different bricks. One power cord and you can easily do custom length cables between the PS and the device.

 

[Berwhale]

@Berwhale I have a few of those little Dells too, where did you get that stand? Fits them nice.

It's made from one and a half of the large ones of these... https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008494598188.html

The other half is on my desk with a Topping EX5 and Wiim Pro on it.

 

[Berwhale]

More pegboard...

 

[antcollinet]

(TL;DR Does the proliferation of power bricks used by the new generation of small Chinese boxes cause more of a problem as far as dealing with the rat's nest of wires hidden on the floor or at the back of the equipment shelf?)

I'm planning to move from my legacy 1970s-1990s traditional large metal boxes to a brand new setup based on the new crop of smaller, sleeker, cheaper Chinesium (and Shiitium) components now available.

However, the one big downside of this modern iteration of our hobby is that all the boxes are devoid of on-board power supplies and thus all use power bricks. My current rat's nest of wires and power strips is already messy and ugly. But I don't worry so much about fire, because all the resistive heat lost that's vented out (from transformers. etc), takes place at the receivers and amps which are up on a shelf.

Each new Chinesium box will mean another power brick sitting down on the floor where it generates heat. This will result in an overall much hotter situation around the power strip. Which means one has to be more careful when they're near a carpet etc. Not to mention second-order issues like the problem of getting closer to the wall (and also any "I wish it was a right angle plug") will be much more. Also, we'll require longer or more power strips, since while you can put 6 extensions cords into a 6-outlet strip,, you'll be lucky to get 3 bricks pulled into the same space (because of their width).

I don't really have any good "power bricks gone wild" photos, cause I haven't made the switch yet (just bought my first Fosi product). But here are a couple of photos of what I have now, and I'm sure they ring true with what many of us ASR types have.

View attachment 466239 View attachment 466240

So my thread starter questions are:

--How are you folks handling this new-age situation of so many power bricks, which is a) a size issue (power strips too small to take many) ?

-- Also, one now has to worry about putting so many bricks in one place due to heat.

--Finally, many of the bricks have shorter output cable lengths so they often can't be placed on the floor, they have to be scooched at the back of the shelf where they equipment resides. Which is messy, ugly, and heat generating.

Pretty certain we could categorise the word "chinesium" right alongside "chifi"

'Let's Avoid the Term Chi-Fi'

Dec 9, 2020

I often see the use of the term "Chi Fi" to describe audio products from China. I see the intention and don't think anyone is trying to be racist and what have you. Still, I like us to show the highest respect to products from around the world. As avid readers of this forum know, China-designed products currently top our rankings in performance due to their strong adoption of objective measurements to improve their designs. I think the least we can do is avoid using terms like Chi-fi which may seem derogatory to them. Remember, the test of whether a term is denigrating to another is...

• amirm
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Forum Suggestions and Announcements

• 

 

[teched58]

Pretty certain we could categorise the word "chinesium" right alongside "chifi"

'Let's Avoid the Term Chi-Fi'

Dec 9, 2020

I often see the use of the term "Chi Fi" to describe audio products from China. I see the intention and don't think anyone is trying to be racist and what have you. Still, I like us to show the highest respect to products from around the world. As avid readers of this forum know, China-designed products currently top our rankings in performance due to their strong adoption of objective measurements to improve their designs. I think the least we can do is avoid using terms like Chi-fi which may seem derogatory to them. Remember, the test of whether a term is denigrating to another is...

• amirm
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Forum Suggestions and Announcements

• 

I have edited my OP to remove the term which offends your sensibilities and replaced it with "Manufactured in China." I have also gone in and edited the thread title, something I didn't know one could do and something which will also make this thread less grabby. But I guess in your country what I wrote could constitute an offence.

 

[antcollinet]

Why specify china at all. Is china the only country which manufactures devices with external power supplies?

 

[teched58]

Why specify china at all. Is china the only country which manufactures devices with external power supplies?

Because it is Chinese companies and engineers which have pioneered the new wave of small audiophile boxes. So, yes, it is China that is leading the charge here. And I am giving them CREDIT for this. Or did I miss a wave of similar devices coming out of Birmingham and Manchester?

Also, boxes aside, the vast majority of power bricks are manufactured in China.

 

[AaronJ]

Because it is Chinese companies and engineers which have pioneered the new wave of small audiophile boxes. So, yes, it is China that is leading the charge here. And I am giving them CREDIT for this. Or did I miss a wave of similar devices coming out of Birmingham and Manchester?

Also, boxes aside, the vast majority of power bricks are manufactured in China.

The products are the products. The country of design/engineering/manufacture has nothing to do with it. It doesn’t matter what a person thinks may be offensive or should/shouldn’t be offensive. It is the policy of the forum to not use a word which has historically been condescending.