PID and SSR Rating Question

[saj5h7]

Hi Homebrew,

I just had a quick question regarding PID's and SSR's. If I have a PID that is rated for up to 3A and I am using an SSR rated at 4A or 5A however I am only drawing 2A with the heating element from the SSR will this be ok?

Thank you in advance for the help

 

[k_mcarthur]

The pid wattage rating has nothing to do with the wattage of your heating element. The output of the pid simply tells the ssr to turn on or off. Now the ssr needs to be rated for your element but there is no way your element is only pulling 2a. A 2000w 120v element will pull a little less than 17a at full blast so you want a ssr rated at 25a. Most pids will pulse during the maintenance phase to keep temperature but when it's on it pulls the whole wattage rating of the element. As long as your pid is rated for ssr output just about any ssr will work but make sure it matches the wattage of your element.

 

[kal]

what sort of heating element are you using that only draws 2A?

If it's a 120V heating element, that would only be 2 x 120 = 240 watts.

If it's a 240V heating element, that would only be 2 x 240 = 480 watts.

This is not enough to boil very much, maybe a gallon. Maybe you're using it for something else?

Kal

 

[k_mcarthur]

Only thing I can think of is maybe a souie fie setup? Some more information would be great from the original poster.

 

[kal]

Only thing I can think of is maybe a souie fie setup?

Did you mean sous-vide? (French for "under vacuum"). That would work.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide

Sous-vide is one of the bonus features you get for free with any electric brewing setup where you can control the temp. Never tried it myself however... I'm not a big fan of cooking things in plastic bags...

Kal

 

[k_mcarthur]

Yes that's what I meant, thanks for the spelling help. I would misspell nearly every word if it wasn't for auto correct and it doesn't have french in its dictionary.