How many watt element? that extension cord wire in the orange jacket does not look like it can handle more than ~2-3000w or 10-15A.. The DIY Manual specified 10/3 wire, if you do not use that gauge wire or thicker and burn down your house, SD cannot be responsible...
10/3 is an AWG American Wire Gauge measurement. In Aus we use mm and the round orange wire I have used is 2.5mm. This is good to go for what I am using and ensures that the circuit breaker will trip long before I have any issues with the wire. I don't accept any responsibility for other people's wiring but mine has been checked and is sound.
That's alright mate .... It may look smaller because I went with the larger control box rather than the standard one. I wanted to future proof it and have room to add fans, meters and other bits and bobs later on.
Could someone check this, please? I don't seem to have any control over the 5500w element and my baby dragon is getting overpowered. I'm getting steam out of the parrot breather holes, which is no bueno.
I assume I have something wired incorrectly, but I tried to follow the instructions to the letter.
Got a multimeter?
Is the pot doing what it's meant too?
With no power, what is the resistance on the SSR terminals?
I know they short out when they fail but they also do weird stuff when tested, they need load.
Something like that anyway.
I think passing current when the pot is disconnected could be an alarm bell.
EDIT - Had a bit more of a think about it. If it is a fried SSR, disconnect the pot and plug the unit in. Obviously it shouldn't do much but a buggered relay will still run at a 100%.
I had this with one of mine.
Turn the pot full on, all the way to the right, and let me know what th element does. Then disconnect the pot entirely and try again. Last test, short the pot wires.
@Knafs said:
I'm thinking I must have fried the ssr. I had a bad element connection and popped the circuit breaker and I would bet I killed the ssr then.
That's how I stuffed mine.
@Knafs said:
I don't have a multimeter, but if replacing the ssr doesn't fix it I will head down that path.
Pulling out the pot and seeing if it still runs is an easy test that won't cost you anything.
The first time I built a controller (not one of these SD ones) I got a knackered pot. It always gave full power no matter what position the pot was set to.
Comments
The StillDragon Operation Manuals
StillDragon Australia & New Zealand - Your StillDragon® Distributor for Australia & New Zealand
I have wired mine up today mate as well.
I have just tested it on a lamp and it works perfectly.
I think you should use ring terminals to connect your wires to the SSRV ...
Here is a link to my build ...
yea ended up doing up and tested it out on a lamp also working great :)
How many watt element? that extension cord wire in the orange jacket does not look like it can handle more than ~2-3000w or 10-15A.. The DIY Manual specified 10/3 wire, if you do not use that gauge wire or thicker and burn down your house, SD cannot be responsible...
10/3 is an AWG American Wire Gauge measurement. In Aus we use mm and the round orange wire I have used is 2.5mm. This is good to go for what I am using and ensures that the circuit breaker will trip long before I have any issues with the wire. I don't accept any responsibility for other people's wiring but mine has been checked and is sound.
2.5mm2 is fine higgo.
2.5 sounds good, it just does not look that big in the pic! sorry if it came off the wrong way.
That's alright mate .... It may look smaller because I went with the larger control box rather than the standard one. I wanted to future proof it and have room to add fans, meters and other bits and bobs later on.
Could someone check this, please? I don't seem to have any control over the 5500w element and my baby dragon is getting overpowered. I'm getting steam out of the parrot breather holes, which is no bueno.
I assume I have something wired incorrectly, but I tried to follow the instructions to the letter.
Thanks!
Fried relay?
Have you got a spare you can swap out to check?
No spare, but I'll pick one up.
Got a multimeter?
Is the pot doing what it's meant too? With no power, what is the resistance on the SSR terminals?
I know they short out when they fail but they also do weird stuff when tested, they need load. Something like that anyway.
I think passing current when the pot is disconnected could be an alarm bell.
EDIT - Had a bit more of a think about it. If it is a fried SSR, disconnect the pot and plug the unit in. Obviously it shouldn't do much but a buggered relay will still run at a 100%.
I had this with one of mine.
Just for giggles.
Turn the pot full on, all the way to the right, and let me know what th element does. Then disconnect the pot entirely and try again. Last test, short the pot wires.
I'm thinking I must have fried the ssr. I had a bad element connection and popped the circuit breaker and I would bet I killed the ssr then.
I don't have a multimeter, but if replacing the ssr doesn't fix it I will head down that path.
Thank you, gentlemen. I will report back.
That's how I stuffed mine.
Pulling out the pot and seeing if it still runs is an easy test that won't cost you anything.
Buy a multimeter. always good to have one around, especially when fiddling around with electricity
The first time I built a controller (not one of these SD ones) I got a knackered pot. It always gave full power no matter what position the pot was set to.