Control panel temp. question

I'm building an 12x12x8 control panel and I was wondering how much temperature will the relays and ssr's generate? I'm not at a point where I can plug it in and test runs it to check for temperature, but I'm at a point if I going to ad a small fan this would be the time. I thought the box would have enough room but it is packed.

my 2 120's don't get really hot but my 240 BK element gets really really hot. Get a fan somehow

SSRs can generate quite a bit of heat,and when they get to hot can stick open or closed. Most guys run a heatsink on the back of SSRs.

What amp SSRs are they?

2 40 amp ssr's with a 10x5.5 heat sink

if the heatsink is outside the box, you might be ok. the closer to full capacity you run the SSRs, the more they heat up. so if you were only switching 5 amps with 40 amp SSRs, they wouldnt heat up much at all. but if you were switching close to 40 amps on each of them, you are going to have a lot of heat.

SSRs can generate quite a bit of heat,and when they get to hot can stick open or closed.

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i wouldnt describe it that way, atleast not in the sense that they will unstick when cooled again, or the way a mechanical relay could overheat. when you heat any semiconductor past its safe operating temp, you fry it. the circuitry turns into charcoal, and an overheated SSR could either fail open and block all voltage, fail closed and perminantly conduct power, or a mixture of the two. it depends on what part(s) exactly got fried.

I used the largest heatsink that would fit on top.


I decided to wait till the new brew room is finished then plug it in and take a test drive and check the internal temp then. I really don't want to add a fan then the box won't be water tight (defeats the purpose of a water tight enclosure)

Im_Lars said:

I used the largest heatsink that would fit on top.

I decided to wait till the new brew room is finished then plug it in and take a test drive and check the internal temp then. I really don't want to add a fan then the box won't be water tight (defeats the purpose of a water tight enclosure)

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You do not need a fan in the controller. With your setup, the SSR heatsink solves any heat dissipation problem to NO problem.

P-J said:

You do not need a fan in the controller. With your setup, the SSR heatsink solves any heat dissipation problem to NO problem.

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Thank You very much, that's what I wanted to hear

Im_Lars said:

Thank You very much, that's what I wanted to hear

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You are more than welcome. Please let us know how it all works out for you. I'm sure it will be just great.

P-J

Yeah, You'll be more than okay with a heatsink that large. I have a heatsink half that size on a very similar control box as yours and it barely gets warm to the touch on a brew day.