Printer Power Supply

[obviouslytom]

I thought that this would be the best forum to put this in, if not, mods please move it to the right place.

I have an old HP LaserJet 3500. Its a good printer and I got it for free a while back. I believe the problem that I am having with the unit is with the power supply.

I plug it in, turn it on, and it will go through its boot up and when it gets to saying "initializing" on the screen, it will turn off.

The one thing that might cause an issue is that the unit is from Europe and has a 220 plug but I have it going through an adapter to the US standard plug.

Any ideas?

 

[Siorus]

What kind of adapter? A lot of those voltage converters aren't worth their weight in cow manure from what I've heard. It may just be that the adapter can't handle the load placed on it by the printer (which, being a laser printer, is going to be rather considerable when it's warming up).

 

[obviouslytom]

The adapter I bought was from Radio Shack and its an Enercell Foreign-to-U.S. Plug Adaptor.

I did notice one thing on the bottom of the packaging that says "Adapter does not convert voltage." So is it safe to assume that could be the issue?

Edit: Would I need something like a stepdown converter?

 

[Siorus]

It could be.

If the printer is from Europe and expecting a 220v input, there are three possibilities; one is that it has a power supply that's set up to take ~220v and nothing less, in which case you'll need a step up transformer, yes. Another possibility is that it has a power supply with a 115v/220v switch, in which case you'll need to switch it to 115v. The third possibility is that the power supply auto-switches between 115v and 220v input and the power supply is toast. I'd say that's the least likely of the three options.

 

[obviouslytom]

Well I had the side of the printer off so I could see the power supply in it and I didn't notice any sort of 115v/220v switch in it. I am calling around where I live to see if anyone has any sort of step-up transformer

 

[Siorus]

You're going to need a big one. I don't know for sure how much power that thing draws (there may be a sticker on it somewhere), and I'm too lazy to spend much time poking through HP's site, but if I had to guess I'd say that 1000w+ when it's warming up the fuser is likely.

EDIT:
Nevermind. Nothing to do at work at this time on a Friday afternoon anyhow. I found the spec sheet. Minimum recommended current capacity for a 110v circuit is 5a, 3a for 220v-so 550/660w, respectively. The discrepancy between the two makes no sense, so I'd just figure on getting a 700w+ step up transformer. For what it's worth, HP also says "WARNING: Power requirements are based on the country/region where the printer is sold. Do not convert operating voltages. This may damage the printer and void the product warranty."

 

[obviouslytom]

The sticker on the back says the following:
220-240v - 50/60Hz 3.0A

What about replacing the power supply with a US standard one? Would something like that work because I can get one as cheap as $30 which might be refurbished but a new one costs about $50 to $60

 

[Siorus]

Replacing the power supply may or may not work. I've never had a laser printer apart, I'm not totally familiar with how they work. But they've got a fuser in them that serves to melt the toner onto the paper. The fuser draws a significant percentage of the total power used by the printer, and it's not powered directly off the power supply from what I can tell (which makes logical sense when you consider the relatively small size of printer power supplies)

With that in mind, even if the US and EU power supplies are pin compatible, the fuser is still going to be expecting 220v and only seeing 110.

This may or may not be a Big Problem. It depends really on how "smart" the printer is. The fuser is-according to wikipedia-a heat lamp. When you halve the voltage to the heat lamp, you're also halving its power consumption. Which means you're also halving its heat output. Which means that it's going to take longer (potentially a lot longer) for the fuser to reach operating temperature, if it does at all. If the printer has a temperature sensor somewhere on the fuser that can monitor its temperature, this may not be a problem. If it doesn't, it probably will be.

If you were to replace the fuser with a 110v unit (this looks like it might be what you need) AND replace the power supply, I'd imagine it would probably work fine.

But without having a service manual for the printer, or having one here to take apart, that's just my best guess.

 

[obviouslytom]

Since I got them for free, I have placed them up on Craigslist to see if anyone wants them. But thanks for all the info Siorus

 

[Zero82z]

The printer itself is designed to work anywhere, meaning if you can find a North America power supply that takes 120V, you should be able to use it providing the printer itself isn't busted. The input voltage doesn't make a difference to the printer, since the power supply will take that and convert it to whatever DC voltage the printer needs anyway.