Bargain basement ebay power controller kit

[Fil]

browsing ebay for a few bits n bobs i founds this available again, the 'kit' seemed to disappear after i bought one and i have pointed a few folk towards the components before but thought it worth mentioning the kits are back on the shelves

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-KYOTTO-AC-S ... QSVcKzvAuw

while you can buy a knob ssr and pot separately the sticky back dial makes this worth a look imho.
add a heatsink and box and you have a simple power controller to dial up and down an element in a boil kettle.

I added a cheap amp meter to mine to provide a visual indication of the power output

[BenB]

I just have on of

Ebay 381628555782

In a box. I've tested it up to 2500w and no issues. Thought I might need some cooling (active or passive) but the box hasn't melted yet! Did a 30 minute steep using it.

Cheap as chips!

[chris2012]

I think I've heard of these type of SSRs before, what's their name?

Are they essentially PWMing the output with respect to the resistance you provide?

cheers

Chris

[Fil]

All I know them as is Resistance controlled SSRs, i came across them in a US forum where they chat about things we cant discuss here but lets just say their requirements for fine control over an elements power is more critical than ours in maintaining a nice boil , and these are the prefered option for that job..

[chris2012]

I think I just found out their technical name - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-fired_controllers or phase angle controller

It seems it's not technically PWM they use, going to have a look now to see if I could get one for > 25A

cheers

Chris

[bobsbeer]

I use one to control my second 3kw element. Works really well and no over heating issues so far, over 90 min boils.

[chris2012]

Nice

What's the ammeter you used out of interest Fil?

[Fil]

Nice

What's the ammeter you used out of interest Fil?

the cheapest one i found on ebay at the time,
similar to http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-500V-50A-L ... SwboVXOWNH

this is more like it..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-500V-100A- ... 4hQuwqEyng

[chris2012]

Cheers!

Would I be correct in thinking those ones clip over the mains cable, and measure the
power via the magnetic field?

[BenB]

Pretty sure you feed the wire through the ring not clip it round. Still not sure why anyone would pay £12 when the SCR jobby above is 3...

[Andy]

Pretty sure you feed the wire through the ring not clip it round. Still not sure why anyone would pay £12 when the SCR jobby above is 3...

I guess someone might want to modify an existing SSR based setup to allow the power level control too. Fil's item would be more appropriate in that case.