Can a power source with a 60% duty cycle be operated continuously for 12 minutes and then left to cool for eight minutes?

• A. True
• B. Only if rated
• C. Not recommended
• D. False

Answer: (D)

Duty cycle is how much time a power source can be on within a repeating cycle. If you pattern the on and off times as 12 minutes on and 8 minutes off, that makes a 20-minute cycle with 60% on, which matches the rating. But simply claiming you can run it for 12 minutes straight and then cool for eight minutes isn’t automatically correct unless the manufacturer explicitly allows that exact on/off pattern in a repeating cycle. The device may have a maximum continuous-on time shorter than 12 minutes or a different required cooldown interval.

So, without the exact specification for that unit, you can’t assume this pattern is permitted. That’s why the statement isn’t universally valid, hence the answer is not guaranteed (False).