Benchtop power supply - what amps do I set it to?

[monksanto]

I have on loan here a benchtop power supply that goes up to 3A (0-50V). I thought it would be handy for my 9V breadboard circuits instead of churning through batteries. I'm unsure what ampage I should set it to? I don't wanna go frying everything lol.

[mth5044]

For reference, the 1spot supplies 1.2A. I've seen other supplies only give 200mA. I set it at amp and forget about as that will be way more than most anything you'd make. I'm sure there is a technical something I'm missing, but I think for amps you have to supply more than enough for it to function correctly. Is there too much? Well that is what someone will probably answer bellow.

[dwmorrin]

The supply simply delivers what your circuit asks of it.  It will not maliciously "send" extra current "at" your circuit if the current control is set high, if that's what you mean by "go frying everything."
The amp control will limit your short circuits to some arbitrary amperage set by a panel control.
The amp control only kicks in as you reach that limit.
Setting it as low as possible will help guard against damage if you have an accidental short circuit on your board.
Setting it high simply defeats the limit threshold, so a short will see the full 3A.
I usually set it pretty low, and then I'll forget and plug in something high current and get interesting results.  I had some really weird distortion from current starving a keyboard the other day.

[monksanto]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks fellas!

[GibsonGM]

Another thing that I sometimes do (and have been sorry a couple of times when I didn't!) is to place a fuse in series with my "+" power supply lead to my breadboard stuff.    My internal fuse on the PS is like 5A!    You can have a lot of sorry before that one blows.

So, for breadboarding the stuff we typically do, one might consider adding at least SOMETHING like 50mA, or 100mA.   Distortions and basic boosting circuits tend to be pretty low draw, so 50mA works well.     Just a thought.   Not the sort of thing needed all the time, but can be a life-saver for that 'special something' (CA3080, perhaps...)