HELP!! SSR smoked in middle of boil. Overide options?

[JONNYROTTEN]

Is there a way to override the SSR and finish off my boil?????

Full power is fine

TD4
30 amp
Terminal 1 smoked

Safe/jerry rig is fine to get me through
Oxymoron....I know

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Can I just screw the wire from term 1 to term 2??
Would that just give me straight power??

 

[MrShake]

Your only real option would be to connect both load sides together. There is no way to force the SSR open.

If you have a spare SSR around, you could swap it real quick.

 

[MrShake]

Can I just screw the wire from term 1 to term 2??
Would that just give me straight power??

Yes, it would

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOU HAVE POWER TURNED OFF TO THAT CIRCUIT!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Yes, it would

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOU HAVE POWER TURNED OFF TO THAT CIRCUIT!

Thanks.... just going to disconnect the power completely from the control box while I mess with it

 

[MrShake]

very good plan! Good Luck man!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Yes, it would

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOU HAVE POWER TURNED OFF TO THAT CIRCUIT!

Thanks for the quick reply.
It fired the element right up, saved my brew day

 

[BrunDog]

Yes you can jump across the high voltage terminals of the SSR. Either unscrew them and run a screw/nut to bond them, then wrap in tape, or if you have the supplies, make a quick jumper with 10AWG wire and two split terminals. Add the jumper across the screw terminals. Or better if you have the extra wire length, just move one to be on the same screw as the other.

Yes turn off the power first. Your beer might be slightly more bitter than intended if early on but no biggie.

 

[BrunDog]

Wait... ain't you the guy with continuous SSR troubles?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Wait... ain't you the guy with continuous SSR troubles?

It sure as hell seems that way!
I was doing fine for years with the same SSR (Fotek) Then I smoked an SSR about the same time my Aubrins pid went on the fritz. Then I ordered like 5 fotek SSR's And smoked a few of those.

Then I finally got everything going well for a while now with a new TD4 pid and another SSR.....until today

All connections seem tight. Any troubleshooting as to why I keep having issues lately would be welcome

 

[Tommydee]

When brew day is done, check for a loose neutral? I know nothing about e-brewing, but found this in some shoddy wiring by past homeowner in my old house, and caused stuff to intermittently fry upstream. It is a dangerous condition as well. Totally not qualified in this, so I'd discount my idea compared to others.

 

[BrunDog]

Tight connections and improper grounds are certainly common causes of issues. So you aren't off Tommydee.

SSRs are fairly sensitive pieces of equipment being solid state and all. I would suggest you buy a quality zero-cross 40A and call it good until proven otherwise. Way too many fakes out there. Maybe cut that bad-boy open and see if you can see the power IC model inside? If it's smoked it's likely not legible but it might be a worthwhile (aka fun gutting sh!t that wronged you)!

 

[stevehaun]

Buy a Crydom D2440 or D2450 off ebay.
Something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHOLESALE-L...599420?hash=item2efc8d12bc:g:QFsAAOSw4DJYlLTe

 

[BrunDog]

I would be cautious if used units though. Make sure seller is a good one.

 

[stevehaun]

There are plenty of new ones available as well but you will be paying significantly more.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

When I got it running last time with the ssr that just smoked I was surprised by how cool the heatsink was. I believe it began getting warmer and warmer over multiple brew sessions. This last time it was piping hot before it fried.
Does help in the diagnosis?
Would that be a loose wire issue?

 

[augiedoggy]

When I got it running last time with the ssr that just smoked I was surprised by how cool the heatsink was. I believe it began getting warmer and warmer over multiple brew sessions. This last time it was piping hot before it fried.
Does help in the diagnosis?
Would that be a loose wire issue?

You have something else likely causing the problem... as crappy as the fake foteks are I had no issues with mine..to go through 5 is just way to big of a coicidence. Perhaps you have some poor connections causing more resistance and things to heat up? arent you using a really long HF extension cord? whats the gauge of the wire? and are the plugs all rated for 30A..I would double check the connections on your plugs... see if anything is getting very warm... if your using 10awg it shouldnt be.

 

[BrunDog]

The heatsink should get warm but not stoopid hot. Bottom line is the SSR was crap. [emoji90]

 

[augiedoggy]

The heatsink should get warm but not stoopid hot. Bottom line is the SSR was crap. [emoji90]

The thing is hes gone through multiple orders of them..like 5 or 6 now I think..
I have a few of these fake foteks as well as the mypin ssr I believe just failed on him... I havent shared his failures... I still have one of the 25a foteks in use now and the others are in my old panel and work fine as well... I believe theres something else wrong here. as crappy as the fotek clones are they are the most commonly used ssrs here... even Ebrew sold them for a while (rebranded) of course..

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

You have something else likely causing the problem... as crappy as the fake foteks are I had no issues with mine..to go through 5 is just way to big of a coicidence. Perhaps you have some poor connections causing more resistance and things to heat up? arent you using a really long HF extension cord? whats the gauge of the wire? and are the plugs all rated for 30A..I would double check the connections on your plugs... see if anything is getting very warm... if your using 10awg it shouldnt be.

Ya I run a 25 ft HF cord but its 10 GA and nothing gets the slight bit warm. I believe its in the box somewhere. I'm going to replace the #1 terminal line. Maybe theres some resistance in the line somewhere? Or not a meat in the buss bar?

The only other issues I've had was one SSR smoked after like 3/4 years, I'm OK with that.
Then I had odd ball issues I "believe" had something to do with a faualty PID
I wasn't getting power to the element with the light on with a new SSR
I had full power all the time
No power with out light on
Odd stuff like that.
I'd have to revisit my " I'm done with SSR's" to remember

So If I smoked another SSR are the only reasons loose wires/bad connections or a faulty SSR? Anything else I should look for?

 

[augiedoggy]

Ya I run a 25 ft HF cord but its 10 GA and nothing gets the slight bit warm. I believe its in the box somewhere. I'm going to replace the #1 terminal line. Maybe theres some resistance in the line somewhere? Or not a meat in the buss bar?

The only other issues I've had was one SSR smoked after like 3/4 years, I'm OK with that.
Then I had odd ball issues I "believe" had something to do with a faualty PID
I wasn't getting power to the element with the light on with a new SSR
I had full power all the time
No power with out light on
Odd stuff like that.
I'd have to revisit my " I'm done with SSR's" to remember

So If I smoked another SSR are the only reasons loose wires/bad connections or a faulty SSR? Anything else I should look for?

I thought the point of "Im done with ssrs" was because you smoked multiple ssrs at that point? so the ssr was on but the led indicator wasnt? im not sure how thats possibly caused by the pid bad or not.

no sounds like you are on the right track... do you have a fan on your heatsink or is it on the outside of your enclosure?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I thought the point of "Im done with ssrs" was because you smoked multiple ssrs at that point? so the ssr was on but the led indicator wasnt? im not sure how thats possibly caused by the pid bad or not.

no sounds like you are on the right track... do you have a fan on your heatsink or is it on the outside of your enclosure?

No fan but its big and vertical on the outside of box an inch off my relatively cold hardwood floor with thermal paste

 

[augiedoggy]

No fan but its big and vertical on the outside of box an inch off my relatively cold hardwood floor with thermal paste

well if it really is only your second knock off fotek than odds are thats likely your problem... The internals of most of them use components that are really only rated for 10A.. Theres a couple threads as well as articles on them if you google them. (these fake foteks are sold in bulk for as little as 1/2 a cent each)

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...60460906970.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.pfSuIa

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

well if it really is only your second knock off fotek than thats likely your problem... The internals of most of them use components that are really only rated for 10A.. Theres a couple threads as well as articles on them if you google them. (these fake foteks are sold in bulk for as little as 1/2 a cent each)

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...60460906970.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.pfSuIa

I just went through the other thread. It looks like I bought 6 ssr's and only one worked. If I was having wiring issues I would think none would work or the first one would work until it fried from a loose connection. Reading my own words in the other threads it seems I was having the issues I mentioned here. No power to element with out light on type of thing but nothing melting

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Buy a Crydom D2440 or D2450 off ebay.
Something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WHOLESALE-L...599420?hash=item2efc8d12bc:g:QFsAAOSw4DJYlLTe

I'd buy this for $20 if there really that much better. Are the Crydom pretty much always real?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I'd buy this for $20 if there really that much better. Are the Crydom pretty much always real?

They just sold in the last 5 minutes....better not be someone here stealing from me...kidding..but not really

 

[stevehaun]

I have used the same Crydom SSRs in my system for over 8 years. My approach has always been to buy name brand industrial components for my panel. If you are patient, you can get quality stuff on Ebay for very reasonable prices. I have had good luck with used components - I have bought several used Omega PIDs with good results. I have had one malfunction after a number of years.

 

[augiedoggy]

I'm using one of these now and its works well for both my 4500w HLT and my 5500w BK...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290931214058?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I ended up buying a brand new Crydom D2440 Shipped for $23. Not to bad. Hopefully it solves my ssr issues.

Crydom has different ssr's with different model numbers that look identical on the face 40 amp 3-32 Volt. Same shape too

Whats the difference between them?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

What connectors are you guys using on the bigger wires on term 1/2. I used the ring connections but with the "c" shaped hold down I'm not sure if that's correct. I want this new SSR tight with no excuses that I did something wrong