Balanced Power Technology BPT3.5 running very hot
Hi, I just bought a used Balanced Power Technology BPT3.5 isolation transformer, and it runs very hot. The case has no air vents on the body, just a metal case. When I touch the side, it is hot but I can stay touching it. But if I put my hand on the case right on top of the toroidal transformer, it is so hot that I can only touch it for maybe 10 seconds. It gets hot even it is on idle, meaning I am not listening to music. It is the “regular” model, not Signature, with a 20A transformer.
To other BPT users, is this normal? Does your unit get this hot while idling?
Is this safe to use? My second question, since it gets so hot, does it mean it is drawing power even there is no load?
Thanks.
Don’t think it is the power plant. My guess is that you have a short or a mis-wire pulling high current all the time. The good news is that your power plant has a wattmeter built into it (at least my previous generation one does). So look at the load on the PP with nothing on. If you have a significant load, your transformer has a problem.
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@carlsbad2 my Power Plant Premier doesn’t have a watt meter, unfortunately. I did the test today. I didn’t have anything plug in, and after 10 hrs, it becomes too hot to touch. The heat is build up gradually. At about 5 hrs, it gets quite warm but I can still place my hand on it. But now, I cannot touch it for more than 5s. And once again, there is no load on it, no equipment is plugged in. I don’t have a IR thermometer, but I search on the internet, it says 60 C is normally too hot to touch. Given I can still lay my hand for 5s or so, I estimate it to be not much higher than 60 C. Maybe 60-70 C? I think based on all the reply and what I read on the internet, this is still not normal, right? |
@gte357s No, it is not normal. I didn't say that because everyone else had. I wonder why you need both the BTE and the PP? the PP should be all you need. Jerry |
