Wiring a potentiometer to SSR

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heckels

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While my BCS-460 is "in the shop", I was trying to mimic StillDragon.com's DIY set up with the potentiometer and 40 amp SSR. I wired up the potentiometer to an old wall wart with 5v input and the variable output and the negative from the wall wart.

However, I was only able to turn the SSR on and off. Even though I can read voltage from zero to 5v, there was no variable control of the element.

I've seen something about wiring the potentiometer as a rheostat. Did I wire it wrong or do I need another component to cycle the element on and off in tandem with the potentiometer?

I'm hoping the BCS is back before my next brew day but want to have a backup option on hand if it ever goes out again.

Thanks!
 
I believe many of those setups use an SSVR which is slightly different than a normal SSR.

I've been looking into some of the PWM options that people use with an SSR and I'm curious what people have done on this same topic. I would like to implement some type of variable control like this for my boil kettle.
 
I don't think a pot would work. It is a variable resistor which explains why you can get a range of 0-5v.

A SSR is a relay. A relay is just an electrically operated switch. In simple terms you have a load side where the element is. Then you have a coil side which is the input from your trigger. It sees voltage on the coil it turns on the load. The voltage goes away from the coil side and it shuts off the load. There is a point where it would turn on and off with a pot but you would have to manually crank it up and down. Might as well wire up a light switch as it would be easier to toggle on and off. It won't modulate the power in any way. Just on full on or off. You need something to generate a square wave pulse.

I use something like this on my motorcycle to produce a square wave 12V to power my heated gear when riding in cold weather. This gives me a way of adjusting the amount of heat that my jacket and gloves provide. While I could use a POT in this application it would pull full load all the time and the POT would shed power in the form of heat. In the case of my heated grips I use a 12V DC Motor Controller. In the case of the gloves and jacket I use a Heatroller.
 
With a regular SSR you set the power by changing the duty cycle (the proportion of time it is on) which is easy to do with a hacked LED dimmer.

 
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I believe many of those setups use an SSVR which is slightly different than a normal SSR.

I've been looking into some of the PWM options that people use with an SSR and I'm curious what people have done on this same topic. I would like to implement some type of variable control like this for my boil kettle.

I purchased one of these http://www.canakit.com/5a-motor-speed-controller-pwm.html and connected to a standard SSR.

Right now I just have connected to a lamp to confirm that it works to control the power to the load, and it works fine.

My plan is to use it for controlling an element in a kettle.
 

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