Wiring pid ssr questions

[ineedit]

Also how much clearance is needed atop the SSR? I've got about half inch with it sitting on the heat sink. Should I or could I lay it on its side for more air from the fan hits it?

Can't say I know for sure but 1/2 inch seems kind of close. I think you want as much room around it as possible for better air flow. Maybe someone else has some advise on placement.

In my case it is on the side with the heat sink sticking outside the top of the panel. I don't have a fan but even during the boil it only gets slightly warm.

 

[ineedit]

Oh. Don't forget the thermal grease between the SSR and the heat sink. I've read a lot of posts where people have fired their SSR in only a couple minutes.

 

[mattd2]

My electrician friend is the one who questioned it. But thank you

In simple terms you have to provide:
1) Power to the PID - either 120Vac or 240Vac
2) Power to the element - 240Vac: One leg runs through the SSR and it is recommended that both legs run through some sort of mechnical isolation (Double pole switch or contactor).
3) A low voltage 5Vdc control wire between the PID SSR output and the SSR input - make sure you get the polarity correct.

You will need to check that:
1) You have the correct type of output for you PID = 5Vdc pulse/PWM/digital
2) All switches/relays are rated for the voltage and current you are putting through them.

Hope that helps your sparky freind.

 

[jeffmeh]

Can't say I know for sure but 1/2 inch seems kind of close. I think you want as much room around it as possible for better air flow. Maybe someone else has some advise on placement.

In my case it is on the side with the heat sink sticking outside the top of the panel. I don't have a fan but even during the boil it only gets slightly warm.


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I would think that with your side mounting that you would dissipate heat more efficiently with the heat sink fins running vertically, so that the heat can easily rise away from it. That said, if you are not having any problems with overheating, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ineedit]

I would think that with your side mounting that you would dissipate heat more efficiently with the heat sink fins running vertically, so that the heat can easily rise away from it. That said, if you are not having any problems with overheating, I wouldn't worry about it.

Unfortunately the panel is not deep enough to mount the heat sink vertically. I will keep in in mind if I decide to move to something larger.

Thanks.

 

[jeffmeh]

Unfortunately the panel is not deep enough to mount the heat sink vertically. I will keep in in mind if I decide to move to something larger.

Thanks.

Understood. I was looking at a rectangular heat sink, but have now decided to go with a square one so that I can orient the fins in either direction. That enables one to orient the fins so that they run vertically when the control panel is laid horizontally on a surface, and it is moot when one mounts the control panel on the wall. This assumes the heat sink is mounted in typical fashion on the top surface of the box when mounted vertically.

 

[evan5159]

All built! Thanks to everyone!

 

[rgauthier20420]

All built! Thanks to everyone!

Let's see some pics! I've got all the parts together and will be starting the positioning and cutting of the box once my dremel gets here.

I'm still looking for some local assist/guidance for the wiring though.

 

[evan5159]

Ok so, I originally wired according to pj's diagram. Everything came on but pid was screwy, reading like 553. So I tried to figure out why. Watched [ame]http://youtu.be/KtaLrs8ZVSo[/ame] and I just put a jumper on the pid at sensor and my ssr literally blew up in my face and tripped my MAIN in my panel. So wtf

 

[Bobby_M]

It sounds like you wired a hot and neutral to the SSR terminals, but who knows.