Heat stick controller??

Mentioned Harbor Freight in another thread and noticed this while messing around on their site: http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

I wonder if this would work on a 120V heat stick??

Edit: Scratch that... While a fair claim, their "variable speed" is high, medium and low.

I would think it will not work considering it is rated for 15 amps and under. It may work once or twice, but I wouldn't spend the money. A Ranco would be more in the oder you are looking for temperature control. Just my two cents...

I use one of those, but I only have 1500W heat sticks. The metal back plate of the controller serves as the heat sink for the triac, and gets a little warm while in use, but I haven't had any problems. I do think that you have a full range of adjustment, not just high, medium, and low.

You can order the PWM circuit from Bakatronics, and add the $20.00 SSR from eBay for a good variable control - It'll cost you around $40.00 for the parts and enclosure, etc.

I have been using one of these to control a 2000w element

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10760

Running one element full at 2000w and another on the controller results in 2-4 kw variable power. Seems to work fine...the back plate / heatsink does get pretty warm. Paid under 30 bucks on ebay. Cheap plug and play control for a 120v kettle.

The HF model
http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html
would likely work for a 1500w element and they are almost free when on sale...hah

I ask the electrical knowledgeable folks here, "Is this a bad idea?"

Thanks

I'm also wondering if this is a bad idea and if anyone has attempted this. If you're using a 1500W element on a 120VAC circuit, you'll be pulling 12.5 amps. It is acceptable to run 12.5 amps through the HF router speed control because it's rated for 15A, so it seems fine to me.

IME it should work fine, but I ask why you want to control a 1500w element? 1500w is not so powerful that it requires dimming. Unless you are running two elements?