Evohome fragile redux -- base power supply dead after 18 months

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  • rotor
    Automated Home Guru
    • Aug 2015
    • 124

    Evohome fragile redux -- base power supply dead after 18 months

    When I checked my email on Saturday morning, I saw that Evohome had lost contact somewhere around 3am. When I went downstairs, I found the Evohome powered off, dead as a doorknob. I replaced the batteries to get it back up and running, and after checking with a volt meter, I confirmed that the base power supply was dead.

    I've spoken before about my sense of fragility of the Evohome system, and this is the sort of thing I mean. A *very* cheap power supply sourced from the lowest cost provider, is a make or break for the entire heating system of your house. This power supply can't be costing Honeywell more than £1-2 to buy in bulk. When you can have traditional thermostats that potentially run for 10-20 years by using the mains feed sourced from the heating system itself, it's pretty disappointing to face something like this after only 18 months. Of course the warranty is only 12 months.

    Does anyone know where to source a replacement power supply? The replacement base is £44, and I'll be blowed if I have to spend that much on replacing a crummy power supply. It's a DVE DSC-5CA-05 050100. I've had a search, but it's very difficult to find one with the correct plug (the one that plugs into the Evohome base).
  • paulockenden
    Automated Home Legend
    • Apr 2015
    • 1719

    #2
    I'd be tempted to use part of the existing lead (so retaining the plug), with part of the lead from a new PSU. With a splice mid-way (watch the polarity!).

    Comment

    • bruce_miranda
      Automated Home Legend
      • Jul 2014
      • 2307

      #3
      All the bases use the same PSUs. Even the wall mounts use the same ones. Just find an older one and swap the internals.

      Comment

      • paulockenden
        Automated Home Legend
        • Apr 2015
        • 1719

        #4
        Huh? Surely the wall mounts have the little round PSUs rather than the wall-warts of the desk mounts?

        Comment

        • DBMandrake
          Automated Home Legend
          • Sep 2014
          • 2361

          #5
          The wall mount power supply is not the same as the wall wart one - apart from the different form factor it doesn't even have the same output voltage!

          (It's only 4.5v versus 5.0 volts from the wall wart)

          Comment

          • bruce_miranda
            Automated Home Legend
            • Jul 2014
            • 2307

            #6
            Sorry my bad. I didnt remember that thr Mk3 baseunit uses a wall wart style PSU. In the MK2 the wall mount uses the round PSU, which is the same one as used in the base of the MK2. The MK2 wall mount PSU is the same as the MK3 wall mount PSU. I have never used the mk3 base unit hence my mistake.

            Comment

            • bruce_miranda
              Automated Home Legend
              • Jul 2014
              • 2307

              #7
              That's the insides of a MK2 base.
              Attached Files

              Comment

              • rotor
                Automated Home Guru
                • Aug 2015
                • 124

                #8
                Happy ending: Honeywell support sent me a replacement power supply even though I'm 6 months out of warranty. As others pointed out, the in-wall power supply is completely different. Now to get my wall-mount wired up and mounted (it's been sitting in the box since I bought the system 18 months ago), so that I can use that one and fall back on the desk mount if the wall-mount adapter dies.

                Comment

                • rotor
                  Automated Home Guru
                  • Aug 2015
                  • 124

                  #9
                  I want to add a further update. I've purchased a USB to DC cable, with a "Type M" barrel, which is 5.5mm external, 2.1mm internal, with the + on the inside. The one I purchased happens to be 0.5m long (I didn't realise it when I ordered it, but it was the cheapest one I could find as I wasn't confident of the barrel type). I've tested this with an iPad charger, and it appears to work brilliantly. So now that I know the barrel size, I'm going to order a longer cable.

                  Be aware that the quality of the cable is quite important, as it has to be able to carry 1A (that is what the Evohome charger is rated at). Also don't forget that the USB charger needs to be minimum 1A (a lot of the phone ones are less than that).

                  Here is the cable I bought (tested, works):


                  Cable I'm planning to buy (a lot more expensive, but longer, and according to the comments uses 24AWG cable which is good to 5A):


                  Having said all that, now that I know the size of the barrel, I could probably find a 5V 1A charger with the correct connector for less than £10 anyway. Swings and roundabouts I guess. At least the USB cable works with anything, and if you stick to name-brand chargers (Apple, Samsung, etc) you know you are getting a quality charger.

                  Comment

                  • rotor
                    Automated Home Guru
                    • Aug 2015
                    • 124

                    #10
                    Originally posted by bruce_miranda View Post
                    That's the insides of a MK2 base.
                    Wait, is this what you get if you order Evohome now? i.e. no wall-wart?

                    Comment

                    • paulockenden
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Apr 2015
                      • 1719

                      #11
                      I doubt the base ever actually draws 1A, even when charging.

                      Comment

                      • Rameses
                        Industry Expert
                        • Nov 2014
                        • 446

                        #12
                        You are entitled to log a warranty call.
                        getconnected.honeywell.com | I work for Honeywell. Any posts I make are purely to help if I can. Any personal views expressed are my own

                        Comment

                        • rotor
                          Automated Home Guru
                          • Aug 2015
                          • 124

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Rameses View Post
                          You are entitled to log a warranty call.
                          Yeah, I was sent a replacement power supply, which was very nice given I was outside the 12 month warranty period.

                          Comment

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