Help with my Rims build

I need some help on my Rims project. I have a Love TSS2-2100, do I need a SSR and Heatsink ? If so, which kind? And does anyone have a wiring diagram that is simple to follow? I check Rims for dummies and couldn't find what I needed.

No disrespect intended here, but if you can't follow Sawdustguy's schematics you should not be building one of these. You are dealing with 10+ amps of AC current around water. Unless you have a pretty good sense of how it works you stand a higher chance than you should be comfortable with of death by electric beer.

You will of course need an SSR if you want your love controller to be controlling anything. It's part number 10 on Sawdustguy's first post. Sorry dude, don't mean to be negative, but this is an intermediate DIY project with moderate safety considerations necessary. If you don't understand what an SSR is, you aren't at this particular time equipped to make those safety considerations.

I think your best options are to hire someone to build something for you or to get down and dirty with some reading.

Simply put, the SSR is used to switch the load to activate your heating element in the RIMS tube. Your controller itself does not switch the load, but instead sends a low voltage current to the SSR. The SSR turns your element on and off at the direction of the Controller. Imagine if you had someone wave to you to tell you to turn a light switch on and off. The light switch (in this case the SSR) will control the light. The person waving (the love controller) tells the person switching when to turn it on or off. That's the scenario here

Since the SSR will be handling the entire amp draw of your element, it will get hot. You will need a heat sink properly sized for the amount of amps your element will draw to dissipate the heat from the current in your SSR. The Controller doesn't need a heat sink because it only sends low voltage signals, therefore, it doesn't draw a lot of amps.

I'd be careful with electricity, as advised. Make sure you understand what you are up to before building this. But questions are never dangerous and this is actually a very simple question. Use a GFCI outlet for your RIMS tube and make sure it is grounded.

MalFet said:

No disrespect intended here, but if you can't follow Sawdustguy's schematics you should not be building one of these. You are dealing with 10+ amps of AC current around water. Unless you have a pretty good sense of how it works you stand a higher chance than you should be comfortable with of death by electric beer.

You will of course need an SSR if you want your love controller to be controlling anything. It's part number 10 on Sawdustguy's first post. Sorry dude, don't mean to be negative, but this is an intermediate DIY project with moderate safety considerations necessary. If you don't understand what an SSR is, you aren't at this particular time equipped to make those safety considerations.

I think your best options are to hire someone to build something for you or to get down and dirty with some reading.

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I do appreciate this comment and like to keep everyone safe as well, but not knowing what a PID and SSR are doesn't mean he doesn't have electrical knowledge. I imagine a guy could spend his whole life wiring houses and working both with 240 and 120 and never run into a PID or SSR.

IrregularPulse said:

I do appreciate this comment and like to keep everyone safe as well, but not knowing what a PID and SSR are doesn't mean he doesn't have electrical knowledge. I imagine a guy could spend his whole life wiring houses and working both with 240 and 120 and never run into a PID or SSR.

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True fact, and you're right to draw that distinction. SSRs are prevalent in system control setups but almost non-existent in general electricals. That said (in my experience at least) somebody who had a good knowledge of electricity would have been able to figure out what he needed to know with a quick wikipedia search, would have been able to read sawdustguy's parts list, and would have been able to read a schematic. I am making a few assumptions about NateK's background, but I don't think they're unfounded. If he has got a lot of experience with AC electrical systems, I certainly take back what I'm saying.

An acquaintance of mine landed himself in the hospital not long ago because he thought a GFCI outlet meant an outlet with a ground pin. Another guy I know started a small fire when he ended up shorting the AC and DC parts of his control circuit. He was following schematics that he didn't understand and ended up without proper isolation. Don't get me wrong...a few safety precautions can make a tinkerer reasonably safe, but AC power is something I wouldn't want to futz with without some background knowledge.

Thanks for the tips. I plan on having paying someone to build it for me so I can live a long drunk life.... I just want to have all of the parts and plans to give to him. I figured that I would ask you guys and get the answers so I don't have that deer in the headlights look when the sparky ask me a question about the parts

Thanks again

NateK said:

Thanks for the tips. I plan on having paying someone to build it for me so I can live a long drunk life.... I just want to have all of the parts and plans to give to him. I figured that I would ask you guys and get the answers so I don't have that deer in the headlights look when the sparky ask me a question about the parts

Thanks again

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Excellent call. You definitely want an SSR with heatsink. That's where the magic happens. If you can't find the one recommended on that list, let me know and I'll find you an equivalent.