Help on which SSR to order?

My SSR is broken and I need to get a new one, and I want to make sure I have the right one.

This is the one I thought to get:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KPIX9A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Will it work with a MyPin PID? Is there much difference in SSRs other than voltages and amps?

Yes, that one will work.

Before replacing your SSR, do you know why the original one failed?

What is the wattage and voltage of your heating element? That is the minimum amount of info we need to correctly determine if the SSR is correctly sized?

That's kind of my point - and if the failed SSR was the right size was it mounted to a heat sink?

Oh, ok. The heating element is a 5500W 240V ULWD. It does have a heat sink, but I didn't have a fan on it. I think perhaps it is getting too hot. Is it better to fan the heat sink, or to mount the heat sink on a bigger metal plate?

And will that SSR drive that element?

A 40 amp SSR will drive that element. Whether you need a fan really depends on how hot the heat sink gets. Do you use thermal grease between the SSR and heat sink? Is the heat sink getting noticeably warm during use? Is it internally or externally mounted? All of these things may have an impact on SSR longevity.

Cromwell said:

Oh, ok. The heating element is a 5500W 240V ULWD. It does have a heat sink, but I didn't have a fan on it. I think perhaps it is getting too hot. Is it better to fan the heat sink, or to mount the heat sink on a bigger metal plate?

And will that SSR drive that element?

Click to expand...

Yes this SSR will drive that element.

Problem is 30 Amps through a SSR creates about 30 watts of heat, that's about the same amount of heat generated by a old style 40 watt light bulb and all of that heat has to go somewhere.

Did you use thermal compound between the SSR and the heat sink? If not then this could be why the original failed - you can pick some up at any computer shop - just ask for heat sink thermal grease.

Not seeing your heatsink or how it's mounted we can't tell if it needs a fan or not. With the original SSR, did the heat sink get hot? If so then you need a fan. Warm to touch is OK without a fan assuming you used thermal compound with the original SSR. But fans are cheap compared to brewery down time & replacement SSRs.