10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

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BrewinBrian44
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10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

Hey guys,

Long story short, I’m the process of making my controller box, I accidentally broke my current SCR I’ve been using. It was an Amazon unit advertised to handle 110-240v. I ordered another one on Amazon that was a different brand, but looks identical! I missed the little note that said “110V” not 110-240V like the other.

I’ll never use all the advertised wattage with my 5500W element. Pardon my absolute minimal knowledge of electrical work, but shouldn’t the wattage be all that matters? Will this work?
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still_stirrin
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by still_stirrin »

BrewinBrian44 wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:29 pm Hey guys,

Long story short, I’m the process of making my controller box, I accidentally broke my current SCR I’ve been using. It was an Amazon unit advertised to handle 110-240v. I ordered another one on Amazon that was a different brand, but looks identical! I missed the little note that said “110V” not 110-240V like the other.

I’ll never use all the advertised wattage with my 5500W element. Pardon my absolute minimal knowledge of electrical work, but shouldn’t the wattage be all that matters? Will this work?
Possibly not. If it only has a 120VAC design rating, there may be components that will break down under the higher voltage. Without knowing whats in the SCR circuit, I can’t assume it will work.

Also, your element is only a resistive element so with it’s 240VAC rating, it will handle I = P/V = 5500/240 = 22.92 amps. From this you can calculate the element’s internal resistance R = V/I = 240/22.92 = 10.47 ohms.

With only a 120VAC source, the current draw would be I = V/R = 120/10.47 = 11.46 amps. And that is P = VI = 120x11.46 = 1375 watts, only 1/4 of the element’s rated power.

So, with an SCR rated with 120VAC rating and you only use it on 120VAC, the element and SCR may be OK. But you’ll only get 1/4 the maximum power from the element that you could if powered with 240VAC.
ss
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ecir54
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by ecir54 »

Just for kicks tried the 240v one, it died after second use. Cant go wrong with a 40 amp SSR.
BrewinBrian44
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

still_stirrin wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:42 pm
BrewinBrian44 wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:29 pm Hey guys,

Long story short, I’m the process of making my controller box, I accidentally broke my current SCR I’ve been using. It was an Amazon unit advertised to handle 110-240v. I ordered another one on Amazon that was a different brand, but looks identical! I missed the little note that said “110V” not 110-240V like the other.

I’ll never use all the advertised wattage with my 5500W element. Pardon my absolute minimal knowledge of electrical work, but shouldn’t the wattage be all that matters? Will this work?
Possibly not. If it only has a 120VAC design rating, there may be components that will break down under the higher voltage. Without knowing whats in the SCR circuit, I can’t assume it will work.

Also, your element is only a resistive element so with it’s 240VAC rating, it will handle I = P/V = 5500/240 = 22.92 amps. From this you can calculate the element’s internal resistance R = V/I = 240/22.92 = 10.47 ohms.

With only a 120VAC source, the current draw would be I = V/R = 120/10.47 = 11.46 amps. And that is P = VI = 120x11.46 = 1375 watts, only 1/4 of the element’s rated power.

So, with an SCR rated with 120VAC rating and you only use it on 120VAC, the element and SCR may be OK. But you’ll only get 1/4 the maximum power from the element that you could if powered with 240VAC.
ss
Thanks for the detailed response SS. I went ahead and ordered the exact one I used before without issues that’s rated for 240V. Good thing about Amazon is I can return the one I just mistakenly got even though it’s been unpackaged.

For grins, I went ahead and wired everything up and plugged it in.

Interestingly, my little power readout display is saying I have 246V, not 240V. Is that normal? I made sure to wire the power to the display direct from the line “after the switch,” not after the SCR to avoid the unit failing. I’m pretty excited, all the fans were working perfectly and the display is pretty slick.
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Yummyrum
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by Yummyrum »

Yeah , its normal to have higher than nominal voltage .
For example , in Australia , we have a nominal 230v supply but it is mandated that the supply should be no higher than 10% and no lower than 6% .

So our voltage can be between 216 and 253 volts .
It goes up and down all day as load changes and solar panels kick in/out .

At 246V , an element rated at 5500w on 240v will be putting out 5778w
BrewinBrian44
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

Yummyrum wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:22 am Yeah , its normal to have higher than nominal voltage .
For example , in Australia , we have a nominal 230v supply but it is mandated that the supply should be no higher than 10% and no lower than 6% .

So our voltage can be between 216 and 253 volts .
It goes up and down all day as load changes and solar panels kick in/out .

At 246V , an element rated at 5500w on 240v will be putting out 5778w
Good to know that’s the norm. Interesting it can fluctuate so much… explains why some runs had different settings on the dial without a wattage readout. Makes me even more glad I got this wattage display.
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jonnys_spirit
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by jonnys_spirit »

Do you have a link to the SCR unit? Interested to find a data sheet.

Cheers,
J
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BrewinBrian44
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Re: 10,000W SCR rated at 110V, will it work with 240V?

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

Here’s the link for the one that’s only rated to 110V
Yeeco AC 110V 10000W SCR Electronic Voltage Regulator Motor Speed Control Thermostat Governing Governor dimmer

This is the one I’ve been using with no issues, til I broke it. Lol
Should arrive tomorrow.
uniquegoods 10000W High Power SCR Electronic Voltage Regulator AC 110V-230V Motor Speed Controller Dimming Thermoregulation Module with Fan
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