Why Did the Overload Protection on My Portable Power Station Fail, Causing it to Rumble?

Overload protection fails when a power station’s inverter keeps drawing current beyond its rated limit, so the shutdown circuit never trips and the transformer core starts vibrating loudly. This happens most often when the surge lasts longer than the protection delay allows. I once plugged a space heater into a small station and heard that … Read more

Why Does My Victron Energy Smart Car Battery Charger Get Very Hot During Operation?

A smart car battery charger gets very hot during operation because it converts AC power into DC charging current, and that conversion wastes some energy as heat. Compact chargers have small cases, so that heat builds up quickly on the surface. I noticed my own charger runs warmest during the bulk charging stage, when it … Read more