Cioks Sol overheating?

[javi_bassist]

Hello guys!

I am rebuilding my pedalboard lately and I am concern about overheating my Cioks Sol. I used to run this:
TC Polytune 3 (9v)-->Cali76 (18v)-->Hx Stomp (two 9v).

I replaced the Polytune with an Ashdown OriginAL preamp which works at 18v. The thing is that after 3 hours of playing, the Cioks was really hot. And, I don't know if it was the Cioks fault, but the HX Stomp was also really hot. The Ashdown and the Cali were a little bit warm. I never experienced this when I wasn't using the Ashdown. I checked the voltage outputs and they were all correct. Could it be that the Ashdown is causing some issues and it is causing the Cioks to overheat? I removed the Ashdown and went back to the Polytune and it didn't happen again.
I have owned the Ashdown preamp for 5 or 6 years without any issue. I used to power it with a Palmer and it never made the power supply to overheat. I don't, I find it odd. What do you guys think?

 

[Wasnex]

Check how much current the outputs are rated for, versus how much current each device requires.

Sol Specs for the website.

• 9V DC / 660mA or 12V DC / 500mA or 15V DC / 400mA or 18V DC / 330mA each Total output power: max. 30W

AFAIK the OriginAL requires 300mA at 15 to 18V so it should be fine.

The HX stomp back panel indicates 9v 3A....this is way more than the rated 660mA. If I understand you are using two 9V output, which I assume requires a current doubler adapter. This still only gives you 1.32A, which is way less than required.

The expected power draw of HX Stomp is 9 x 3 = 27W. So by itself it needs almost the full power (30W) the Sol can provide across 5 outputs.

The PolyTune 3 requires 100mA at 9V. So the power required is 9 x 0.1 =0.9W

Total power draw of the HX Stomp and PolyTune 3 27 + 0.9 = 27.9W...still <30W


The OriginAL requires 18 x 0.3 = 5.4W

Total for all three = 27 + 0.9 + 5.4 = 33.3W

I have read that some pedal power supplies can provide more current on one output as long as the total power draw remains under the max. Perhaps that is what is going on here.

From the HX Stomp manaul:

 

[javi_bassist]

Check how much current the outputs are rated for, versus how much current each device requires.

Sol Specs for the website.

• 9V DC / 660mA or 12V DC / 500mA or 15V DC / 400mA or 18V DC / 330mA each Total output power: max. 30W

AFAIK the OriginAL requires 300mA at 15 to 18V so it should be fine.

The HX stomp back panel indicates 9v 3A....this is way more than the rated 660mA. If I understand you are using two 9V output, which I assume requires a current doubler adapter. This still only gives you 1.32A, which is way less than required.

The expected power draw of HX Stomp is 9 x 3 = 27W. So by itself it needs almost the full power (30W) the Sol can provide across 5 outputs.

The PolyTune 3 requires 100mA at 9V. So the power required is 9 x 0.1 =0.9W

Total power draw of the HX Stomp and PolyTune 3 27 + 0.9 = 27.9W...still <30W


The OriginAL requires 18 x 0.3 = 5.4W

Total for all three = 27 + 0.9 + 5.4 = 33.3W

I have read that some pedal power supplies can provide more current on one output as long as the total power draw remains under the max. Perhaps that is what is going on here.

From the HX Stomp manaul:
View attachment 5423080

Wow, thank you. Yes, that's probably what it is happening, that's why it works perfectly without the Ashdown. So much useful info and now I can do this math in the future

 

[el murdoque]

How do you power a Line6 HX STOMP/FX/XL?

 

[el murdoque]

How hot is hot for you?
Can you touch it without burning yourself?

 

[el murdoque]

My HX Stomp reached a good temperature after hours of operating, too.
It got very warm to the touch.

 

[javi_bassist]

My HX Stomp reached a good temperature after hours of operating, too.
It got very warm to the touch.

Mine too. But in this case, it was too much.

But @Wasnex is right, it was because the consumption was too much. It doesn't happen with the HX Stomp, the tuner and the Cali. Even in long rehearsals.

 

[el murdoque]

Mine too. But in this case, it was too much.

But @Wasnex is right, it was because the consumption was too much. It doesn't happen with the HX Stomp, the tuner and the Cali. Even in long rehearsals.

@Wasnex , while usually being right about everything, based the power consumption on what is written on the port on the HX stomp. The power brick the HX stomp uses supplies 3A, but is also used for their much larger units. In the video shown, the Cioks guy did not measure currents above 1A with the HX stomp, so the total consumption is closer to 9W than it is to 27.

 

[joel the bass player]

HX Stomp will get hot. Hot enough that you might not want it in direct sunlight on a hot day. I played a parking lot gig last summer and the thing was blazing. Bandmates each use a Helix, at another hot gig they both were having trouble, I think they were overheating. My Stomp was fine.

I have powered my HX Stomp for a while now with Cioks (DC7 or a 4 by itself) and never ran into trouble, but things will get warm. It can sit on my desk powered up all day and be fine.

 

[smurfco]

I mean it is called Sol, what did you expect

 

[projectapollo]

I thought the Stomp drew 990mA of current at 9v, so two SOL 660mA outlets should handle it?

 

[Wasnex]

@Wasnex , while usually being right about everything, based the power consumption on what is written on the port on the HX stomp. The power brick the HX stomp uses supplies 3A, but is also used for their much larger units. In the video shown, the Cioks guy did not measure currents above 1A with the HX stomp, so the total consumption is closer to 9W than it is to 27.

AFAIK the reported current requirements are usually higher than actual. I wouldn't be surprise if Cioks understates how much current can be supplied.

I have no idea how hot the Cioks or pedals should get. None of my pedals are pedal power supplies gets noticeably hot, but I don't have any power-hungry pieces on my pedal board.

Assuming 9W for HX Stomp (total from two outlets), 0.9W for tuner, and 5.4W for the OriginAL...

9 + 0.9 + 5.4 = 15.3W total. That's still a fair amount of power to dissipate, so no surprise that things are getting warm. However, AFAIK, if everything is working properly and the OP is not getting physical burns, it's probably okay.

 

[DaveParker39]

Some pedal manufacturers will say "only use our gear with the PSU we supply" as a means to get you to buy their PSU or to cover their behinds if you do something monumentally dumb.

Other pedal manufactuers will say "only use our gear with the PSU we supply because it's the only way to get predictable performance from it" and it sounds like the HX Stomp is one of those. It's a digital pedal, its workload will vary based on what sort of patches you are using... it might just not be the best candidate for a 3rd party PSU.

Cioks suggests, for powering the HX Stomp. using their DC-7 in conjunction with the Cioks Crux. I know buying another PSU is annoying but the DC-7 is the gold standard right now.