sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems 1A2 and Comkey Telephones & Systems Keep it on?

I am the proud owner of a WE 551b that I use in my home office. I'm only in there 1, maybe 2 days a week. I have my tiny setup wired to a single power switch and have been turning it off when it's not in use. I know these things are built for abuse, so would it be better if I just left it on all the time? I'm not sure how much current it pulls while idle either. it is mounted properly with plenty of airflow. Thanks in advance.

I have a 551A, which is almost the same. I recall it pulled about 4.8 Watts when idle. Though, I don't remember if that was before or after I installed the ring generator, which can pull ~2 Watts when idle. Of course, this will increase when the system is in use. Leave it on or turn it off; either is fine. Though, turning it off may protect the system from a power spike (lightning).

Those KSUs were designed to be on all the time. Since they are aging, I would be concerned with the power cycles damaging the filter capacitors. The older an electrolytic capacitor gets, the less tolerant they become of power cycling. The sudden inrush of current is massive, only for a fraction of a second, but enough to cause the capacitors to fail. Put on a good surge suppressor and leave it on until things finally go south.

Rcaman

Good points, Rcaman. I didn't seen power cycling as an issue, but I do see now. Agreed: keep it on (or off).