The PowerEase 300W Power Supply is capable of operating at limiting voltage, limiting current, or limiting power. However, we recommend operating it at limiting voltage for most applications as it provides the following advantages:
- For most electrophoresis methods, resistance increases throughout the run. Under limiting voltage, current and power decrease throughout the run, providing an improving margin of safety over time.
- The same voltage setting can be used regardless of the number or thickness of gels being electrophoresed.
Note: With the current limiting setting, the voltage will increase as resistance increases to satisfy Ohm's law (V=IR). If no voltage limit is set and a local fault condition occurs, such as a poor connection, very high local resistance may cause the voltage to increase to the maximum capacity of the power supply. This may lead to local overheating and damage to the electrophoresis cell or create unsafe conditions. When operating under constant current conditions, we recommend setting a voltage limit on the power supply at or slightly above the maximum expected voltage. Power is a function of voltage and current P=IV. For a typical gel run, the current will decrease causing the voltage to increase when run at constant power. The power limiting function may be used when running sequencing gels to remove the ammonium persulfate from the wells and to heat the gel to an optimal temperature for DNA separations.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our
Protein Electrophoresis and Western Blotting Support Center.