Furman Power M-8L Power Conditioners

[BillyDee203]

Greetings all,

I have a number of these power conditioners where the large AC mains power switches have burned out. It appears to be a common failure, as one switch was bypassed with a butt splice prior to these devices being flagged for repair

The existing switch's markings aren't good enough to get a manufacturer's name or number off it, but I would like to find the replacement so I can rehab the four I have in a rack. My first query to Furman Power went unanswered and I anticipate my second query being ignored as well. I would like to second-source these but need to find one where the power switch isn't melted to the point where the markings are clear enough to read.

Any assist is greatly appreciated.

 

[Khron]

Some photos of the switch might help..?

At least from the outside, looks like any bog-standard 10-16A mains-rated illuminated rocker switch. Find one that fits the same cutout, with the same size connectors in the back, and job done.

I personally reeeeeeeally doubt Furman (or whoever designs / specs stuff for them) went for any esoteric switch - profits gotta come from SOMEwhere...

 

[BillyDee203]

Some photos of the switch might help..?

Yep, The only one I had handy somebody had removed the switch from. I'll have to go back to the site and pull one of the intact ones which they left the switch in place.

I hadn't thought about bog-standard, so I gave it a quick blast in Google and it seems to be a pretty common switch. Once I confirm the dimensions I'm going to try a couple I found on Amazon - perhaps instead of red I'll order the green illuminated ones so I can tell which ones I've reworked.

The very fact that Furman ignored my email TWICE makes it a sure bet I'll never spec another piece of equipment from them ever again - their lack of support speaks volumes as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Barry Hufker]

But if you replace the switch, especially with the same type/make, what is the guarantee they won't melt again?

 

[Khron]

Once I confirm the dimensions I'm going to try a couple I found on Amazon

Go with something from a reputable component retailer though (Mouser, Digikey, Farnell / Element14), rather than what could be, for all intents and purposes, something from AliExpress being resold on Amazon.

 

[BillyDee203]

Good point on ordering from a reputable vendor. The only reason I would order the Amazon switches is to make certain they fit, nothing else (perhaps as some el-cheapo emergency spares)

edited: corrected typo

 

[Khron]

Especially if you need more than one, i wouldn't be surprised if the legit retailers had even better prices than whatever gets peddled on Amazon etc. And at least you have datasheets & documentation for the actual parts you're buying.

 

[sodderboy]

Furman has been cool with me regarding help with replacement parts. They sent a handful of switch protectors for free when mine were breaking from control room wear n tear. I have found with any power strip if you use it consistent at over 70% of rating, you will have failures with the power switch and up-stream with plugs/ outlets. A 20A rated switch or outlet is not made to pass 17-18A constantly in my real world. Any 20A racks in my patients get yearly-ish inspections.
If on my bench, I would measure the hole (22 x 30 mm IIRC) and get a non-neon indicator switch rated greater than 15A that fits in the hole. Carling comes to mind. Furman did that with the M-8Lx, up-rated and non-illuminated.
Mike

 

[BillyDee203]

@sodderboy: Thanks for the tip! My vendor who I use for satellite and A/V gear had given me a M-8x that was pulled from a job site. Well, I just spent 30 minutes uninstalling the switch and doing a couple of searches - I've ordered 8 so I'll I'll be able to replace the couple of bad ones and have extras for when the low-budget illuminated ones fail.

I'm glad you hadgood luck with Furman, but they apparently don't give a damn about anyone who uses the support contact form on their site. The company that owns them now is called Nice - they are far from it as far as I'm concerned. From now on I'm going to be spec'ing out APC or another brand for these power conditioners, as if they can't even bother to answer somebody's inquiry why give them the business. It wasn't even like I was asking them to replace them for free - I wanted if so I could order replacements, which I assume they would have jacked up the price to make a tidy profit. Well, they did me no favors in ignoring me and with several A/V installations I've got planned for the next four months I won't give them a single dime. In fact, I plan on telling my dealer where I had bought them to recommend alternate brands and will share my experience.

 

[Khron]

Well, especially unless the parts / components in question are somehow custom or otherwise unobtainium, i fail to see the point of even hoping to get parts from the... brand (not necessarily manufacturer). But that's just me.

Who's to say they didn't use / spec some bottom-of-the-barrel cheapest-they-could-find switch, while anything you can get from Mouser / Digikey / Farnell is most likely made better?

 

[MidnightArrakis]

Greetings all,

I have a number of these power conditioners where the large AC mains power switches have burned out. It appears to be a common failure, as one switch was bypassed with a butt splice prior to these devices being flagged for repair

The existing switch's markings aren't good enough to get a manufacturer's name or number off it, but I would like to find the replacement so I can rehab the four I have in a rack. My first query to Furman Power went unanswered and I anticipate my second query being ignored as well. I would like to second-source these but need to find one where the power switch isn't melted to the point where the markings are clear enough to read.

Any assist is greatly appreciated.

[Some photos of the switch might help..?] -- Even before I had the opportunity to see the response from "Khron", I was thinking that a photo of your switch in question would really be helpful. Is that possible?

[a quick blast in Google] -- A) Instead of using "GOOGLE", I would strongly suggest that you (and, everybody else) use a search engine called " startpage.com " primarily for the reason that they DO NOT USE ANY TRACKING algorithms like GOOGLE does. And, over the years that I have been using " startpage.com ", I have always gotten excellent results with my various searches!!! B) Perhaps you -- may -- have better search results using these specific electronic component search engines listed below:

https://octopart.com/
https://www.arrow.com/
https://www.oemstrade.com/
https://componentsearchengine.com/
https://www.oemsecrets.com/
https://www.datasheets.com/en
https://www.trustedparts.com/en
https://www.netcomponents.com/home.htm
[My first query to Furman Power went unanswered] -- Sometime back during the mid-1990's I had an engineering job interview with "Furman Power" out in California that ended up not going too well (pretty much like my comments here on this forum). The reason that things didn't go too well with "Furman Power" is because while I was directly interviewing with both the president and Director of Engineering of "Furman Power", one of them asked me if I had any prior experience with designing "power-distribution" equipment.

When I was asked that question.....I then unrolled a D-Size (24" X 36") blueprint sheet drawing I had brought with me showing the design of a "1U Rack-Mount Power Distribution Chassis" that I had personally designed and hand-built (i.e., "DIY") -- 5 YEARS BEFORE THEIR FIRST PRODUCT HAD BEEN INTRODUCED!!! So.....because of that.....they then felt "threatened" by my "technical prowess" and thought that a less technically-advanced candidate would be better suited for the job!!! So.....there's that.

[The very fact that Furman ignored my email] -- I have been having the exact same issue with many of the European audio electronics companies when I have sent inquiries and/or requests for detailed technical information and/or specifications about their products. I have generally found that the datasheets from the European companies do not include all of the same information as U.S. or Japanese datasheets do. So, it then becomes rather frustrating when a company totally ignores your request for the diameter of a machine screw or what the width dimension is of a transformer!!! Is that information REALLY SO SECRET???

>> My "1U Rack-Mount Power Distribution Chassis" that I designed
and built (in my basement during a raging blizzard) back in 1978:


Front-Panel Components:

Power-Switch: 30A DPST Circuit-Breaker & On/Off Switch

"Blank Space": Meant to be used for a "GFCI" module, as MOTOROLA had just introduced the world's first "GFCI" IC chip just a couple of months earlier. As a SIDE-NOTE: When I had first learned of this "GFCI" IC chip in one of the electronic components magazines I subscribed to at the time, I was inspired to include it into my "Rack-Mount Power-Distribution Chassis" because I had also read a couple of years earlier about an incident involving the bass player of URIAH HEEP being electrocuted during a concert in Texas. His bass guitar and amplifier were powered by one AC-source, but the PA system was being powered by a different AC-source.

So.....as he was holding onto the strings of his guitar and then he grabbed his microphone to sing, there was 120VAC between the 2 different grounds and he got electrocuted right there on-stage!!! If the PA system had used a chassis such as I had designed (however, this incident took place at least 4-years before the IC chip was even invented!!!), this electrocution could have been avoided. My inspiration and intent to include this IC chip into a "Rack-Mount Power-Distribution Chassis" was to avoid any such similar incidents from occurring in the future.

GND LIFT SWITCH: Yeah.....normally not usually the best feature to include on a product like this, but during my time while being a "roadie" for touring bands and my experiences working with bands in local nightclubs, I learned that the wall-outlets wired-up on-stage were usually the source of hum and buzz issues. They were usually resolved by placing a "3-to-2" power-cord adapter onto the power-cable going the PA racks, so I just decided to offer such a feature to be readily available on my power chassis.

AC Voltage Meter: Once again.....while working with touring bands playing in many different states, I had experienced wildly fluctuating AC-mains voltages. In fact, one nightclub that the band I was with was playing in only had -- 88-VAC!!! -- available to the stage outlets!!! That extra low-voltage made the bands' HAMMOND Leslie-organ and synthesizers all play at a lower pitch!!! I didn't discover what the problem was until I stuck a VOM into the one of the stage wall-outlets. So, when I designed this chassis, I included a simple AC-Voltmeter that was wired directly to the incoming AC-cord and -- BEFORE -- the power-switch. This was so I could "see" if the voltage-level was correct or not -- BEFORE -- I decided to turn the audio racks on.

AC Polarity Indicator: And, once again, again.....after setting up the bands' equipment in enough different nightclubs in enough different states, I was totally amazed to discover how many stages were wired up incorrectly!!! So, having this little and simple neon AC-Polarity indicator on the front-panel immediately told me if my power-source was wired-up correctly or not. Simple!!!

AUX OUTLETS: I included 2 front-panel AC-outlets so I never had to worry about where to plug-in a soldering iron and a piece of test equipment. These certainly came in handy when all of the on-stage outlets were fully used.

EXT. GND: This is a 30A all-metal banana plug that connected directly to the incoming AC power-cord "GROUND" wire just in case "something" on-stage needed a "GROUND" connection or a "better" GROUND connection.

FANS: Fans are something that you don't normally find to be included within a "Rack-Mount Power Distribution Chassis", but since this chassis was designed and built during the late-1970's and the CROWN DC-300 was the typically used high-wattage audio power amplifier, I decided to include a couple of high-velocity cooling fans to blow air up and across the heatsink fins of the CROWN DC-300. In other words, I was merely attempting to "cover all of the bases" of what would be needed in a complete "Amp-Rack"!!!

My 2-cents worth.

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