Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

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Taiyaki
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Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Taiyaki »

I'd like to hear about everyone's preferences when it comes to leaving consoles plugged in vs unplugged. Not talking about long term storage but for those who actually leave the consoles out and hooked up to a TV at all times. Specifically older consoles (not current gen).

For pre HD consoles I use a Panamax surge protector box that has outlets that stay off when powered off and outlets that stay always on, and my rule for over a decade has been to use the always on slots for all the consoles that have internal clocks as I've always thought it better for the longevity of inner batteries and the likes (for example I've noticed the Sega Saturn definitely drains the save battery faster in storage when unplugged vs plugged (using the same batteries)). As a result consoles such as my Dreamcast, Saturn, PS2, GC etc are left plugged in active outlets at all times.

On the more modern front I have all the HD consoles (+ Wii) hooked up to a more modern TV which has all the outlets on at all times.

However recently after having not used my Xbox 360 slim for about 4 or 5 years I have found the power supply seems to have died (power supply powers red, console stays off, all the unplugging in the world / air canister blowing tricks no longer fixes this). So does make me wonder whether there aren't some systems that might be better off left unplugged when not in use for long periods of time.

Also occurred to me the Wii and Wii U have always on LED lights which I guess over several decades might just burn out (already been a decade on already, although I guess not a huge ordeal to replace).

What are your habits when it comes to leaving consoles plugged vs unplugged when not in use for long periods of time?
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NoAffinity
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by NoAffinity »

I have all of my equipment on surge protectors, in my man cave. I turn off all surge protectors when I'm not in there. All surge protectors get cycled on for at least a few hours weekly, so anything benefitting from exposure to electricity while not on gets that exposure. On the flip side (while my wife argues that even with the surge protectors off, they are still somehow consuming power), I do it as a matter of conservation as well as protection (i.e. surge protection).

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Lopenator
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Lopenator »

Everything for me stays unplugged. Looks neater in my specific living conditions/setup and the only guaranteed way I know my vintage PSUs are resting. Although a surge protector works also I have too many consoles for exposed wires.
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kitty666cats
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by kitty666cats »

I like to leave my Saturn plugged in, when possible, because of those stupid save batteries. Though nowadays I keep most saves on a PSKai cart, I still am a creature of habit!
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Josh128
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Josh128 »

+1 for the surge protector comment. Just plug everything in there and turn the surge pro off when not playing. You'll save on "vampire" current draw and extend the life of your wall warts/power bricks by some unknown amount.

+2 for the surge protectors with a master receptacle that will automatically turn on other outlets when it detects current draw on the master, and turns them off when the current draw stops. Plug your TV into the master and set the pickup dial correctly and problem solved.


However, lets be honest, we all grew up playing these in the 80's and 90's and most of us didnt have surge protectors back then, the power bricks just stayed plugged in 24/7. Reliability is not an issue, I think its safe to say-- I still have most of my childhood consoles with working power bricks, never had a single one fail on me to this day.
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ChuChu Flamingo
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by ChuChu Flamingo »

Plugged in. Capacitors always have a chance to degrade after 6-18 months of non-usage.

https://www.quadplus.com/capacitor-reforming
KPackratt2k
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by KPackratt2k »

I leave all of my consoles (except for the Wii U, which is in our living room ATM) unplugged. I have no way of leaving them plugged in 24/7 because of the convoluted way I store most of them, some of my other consoles are still in a box in my closet because I currently have no place to permanently store them.

Except for a cheap PSone that I bought at a thrift store, which stopped reading game discs after a year of not being in use, I've yet to see any of my consoles fail from not being used in a long time, then again I try to play each of my consoles at least once a year (or more).
spmbx
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by spmbx »

With electricity hitting 85cents per kWh everything is unplugged here
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Josh128
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Josh128 »

spmbx wrote:With electricity hitting 85cents per kWh everything is unplugged here
OMG man thats crazy! Its still ~9-10 cents/kWh here in the States. Thats almost 10X our cost. :(
copy
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by copy »

I'm a big fan of switchable outlets, whether on power strips/surge protectors, or individual ones like this.

For older consoles that use 9V DC power supplies, I like to switch those off between plays. Better not to put unnecessary wear and tear on them, even if the effect is minimal. (This is more important for original linear power supplies, but I also follow this practice with modern replacement switching supplies, e.g. Triad.)

For more modern systems with internal power supplies, I am generally okay with leaving them plugged in and on standby mode for short periods, but I unplug them or hard switch them off if I won't be using them for weeks/months/etc.

Another factor is that I live in an area with frequent power problems, so I feel safer not having devices exposed to that all year round.
Taiyaki
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Taiyaki »

Thanks to everyone for the replies. This was very informative!
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Lopenator
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by Lopenator »

Taiyaki wrote:Thanks to everyone for the replies. This was very informative!
Thank you for asking such a beautiful question.
strygo
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by strygo »

I was concerned about leaving my old consoles powered for long stretches, but it was also a pain remembering to turn off the surge protectors when I was done (I’d often forget). I ended up getting a smart plug and placing a Home Pod Mini in the room, so I can use voice activation to turn off everything when I leave. It has worked well for several months.
samson7point1
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Re: Consoles plugged vs unplugged for months when not in use

Post by samson7point1 »

FWIW, my game room is divided into zones and each zone has an independent inline power switch. When not in use I keep the whole zone powered off via the switch - which is effectively like unplugging them.

I have the zones set up via heavy duty 4-way power cord splitters so I can control 4 power strips with one switch and never plug a surge protector into another surge protector. The inline power switches I use are lighted floor switches so you can see at a glance whether you accidentally left them on.

This is the inline switch type I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JN ... UTF8&psc=1
This is the splitter type I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B13 ... UTF8&psc=1

There's no point in spending electricity on things I'm not using. Power transformers, power supply capacitors, resistors, transistors and voltage regulators all have finite lifespans that are reduced by heat and continual use. Some of them will likely outlive me even if I leave them plugged in all the time, but I've had to rebuild more than one internal power supply for a lightly used device simply because it wore out being plugged in all the time. While it is true that poorly designed power supplies are actually more stressed out by having power removed and suddenly re-applied than they would be just being plugged in all the time, in my opinion those are few and far between and the tradeoff cuts significantly in favor of leaving the power disconnected whenever not in use.
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