Long term DC through bridge rectifier

Using Arduino General Electronics
1

Are there any adverse effects of running low current DC through a bridge rectifier for prolonged time? By prolonged time I mean years or even decades and by low current I mean ~50 mA continuous, ~100 mA momentary (for ~1 second every ~30-60 seconds), through a 0.5A rectifier such as MBxS series.

Is there some failure mode that is specific to such operation?
Thanks.

2

none at all

3

none at all

oops double button push

4

Thanks.

5

Older style plug packs (non switch mode) have been doing this for years.

Weedpharma

6

weedpharma:
Older style plug packs (non switch mode) have been doing this for years.

Unfortunately, what does happen is that the heat from the transformer accelerates the drying out (literally) of the reservoir capacitor and the powered device fails in a strange way when fed from chopped DC.

Shpaget:
Is there some failure mode that is specific to such operation?

Fortunately not. The beauty of semiconductor technology (with the exception of cheap Chinese stuff such as $2 watches) is the ability to run continuously for decades if properly designed.

7

But that has nothing to do about running low current through the bridge for prolonged periods

8

DC powered devices that don't care how you connect up the DC power use bridge rectifiers ensure the active devices get their power in the correct polarity. Generally designed for people who must quickly hook up something in the dark. Think military or emergency services.

Paul

9

jackrae:
But that has nothing to do about running low current through the bridge for prolonged periods

If we removed all posts that deviated slightly from the main theme, half the posts in this forum would be removed.

This post would be one of them!

Weedpharma

10

Thanks guys. I appreciate all the replies, even the slightly off topic ones.