Power control

If it plugs in, post it here.

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nzbourbonhead
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Location: New Zealand

Power control

Post by nzbourbonhead »

here is a copy of an email from phason in canada


Unfortunately we do not have a distribution in New Zealand however we can deal direct.

Our MSC-4 units are $ USD 63.38 each and includes duty and brokerage fees. Our minimum shipment order is a "Master Pack" which is 12 units FOB. We accept credit cards as payment. If you can provide a shipment address I will tell you freight costs.

Please let me know if you are interested.

Sincerely,

Jeff


How much have you paid retail for your msc-4 controllers retail in the states or anywhere else for that mater . Cant find anything like it here in NZ and looks like we have to buy 12 if we want one :(
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knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

I bought mine almost a year ago and I paid $55.00 Canadian for it. With the exchange that would be around $45.00 US. I love this control and I thought it was quite reasonably priced.
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
Arnie_sla
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Site for specs for control ???

Post by Arnie_sla »

Do you have a site link or address which will give details about this control. ???
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knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

I think you will find all the information you need right here. Check the link.

http://www.phason.ca/msc4.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
Arnie_sla
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Post by Arnie_sla »

So Kunklehead you have this connected directly to your element is that correct ??? and thus you can adjust the current to the element and thus the "boil rate" of your still. ??? :?:

What would be the your max and min wattage with this controller in use.??? :?:
An Ozzie Drinker. OOPs drank too much again!!! better lay down and rest for a while.
knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

Oh man, its been a while since I set the min/max on the control but I believe I set the minimum to 50 volts and the maximum to 108 volts. I have it wired to a 1500 watt element and from what I have read in this post you are the electrician :lol: so you do the math. I have two elements in my boiler, I use both for heat up and when I am up to temperature I unplug the top element. The lower one is wired to the MSC-4. I think I do my runs at around 1000 watts. I think my voltage after the control will be around 70 volts. What's your calculation on the wattage? W/V=A so my amperage is 13.9 right? AxV = W so my wattage during a run will be 973 watts. How's my electrical math?
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
fish
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Post by fish »

Found my controller on Ebay you could try your luck there.
Guest

Post by Guest »

What Voltage di you have in the us?
or wherever you are?
nzbourbonhead
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Post by nzbourbonhead »

240 for me here in n
New Zealand
Hic hic Now where did I put my glass
FLICK

Post by FLICK »

In my workshop I came accross a "HPM 2000VA", which is a 2000watt light/fan contoller.... which I tested with my 2 x 2000 watt elements, and it worked fine.

Front Pic

Back Pic


One of these may be an option if you can't track down an MSC-4, and should be available at your local HPM supplier. sorry, I have no idea how much they cost.

HPM is an Aussie/NZ electrical manufacturer/supplier.
http://www.hpm.co.nz

A single 2000watt element, which is actually 2200watts... I could adjust from 1392 to 2256watts.... (5.8 to 9.4amps @ 240volts)

With the 2 elements wired in series, I could vary them from 705 to 1142 watts. (2.94 to 4.76amps @ 240volts)

it also has a built in circuit breaker on the side for overload protection.

EDIT... BTW I have this wired with a 3 pin plug and socket, I use to use it for varying the speed of my drill press and other electric hand tools...
Jaxom
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Post by Jaxom »

Does anyone have an american equivlent to this? I went to the website and printed out all the specs and then took this to 3 local electrical contractor's supply stores and non have anything even remotely close to it.

Knuklehead, should your read this, do you have a close up of the mounting of this? I seen the pictures of your still in the other forum. I can only hope my still matchs yours when it's done!!! But I would like to see how you have it mounted as well as how it's wired. (picture is worth a 1000 words, eh?)

Thanks!

Jaxx
knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

Hey Jaxom. Here are 2 pictures of how I mounted it. The backing that comes with the control is flat on the back and it was going to cost me more money. I had no intention of using it so I just bought what they referred to at the store as the "replacement MSC-4" which only includes the front panel and the guts but no backing. It saved me a few bucks and like I said I had no intention of using the back anyhow. I just built a box for it with a round back that fit the circumference of my boiler as you can see in the pictures. I punched a hole on each side and also a few on the bottom to get airflow to the electronics of the control. With out the holes I had condensation problems on the inside of the box which the owners manual said may happen. As far as the wiring its very basic. There are only two wires. The white will go to one side of the element you want to control and the black wire will go to one wire on the control while the other wire from the control goes to the other side of the element. Same as wiring a household dimmer switch.


Image
Image
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
Jaxom
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Post by Jaxom »

knuklehead,

Thanks a heap as usual! Guess I'll have to wait to get an american equivlent. Once I do, I'll have the welder rig some kind of mounting for this.

I noticed the cord and plug sticking out. I'd imagine the one with the plug visable is for the top element, right? What gauge wire is that?

Jaxx
knuklehead
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Post by knuklehead »

I am not even totally sure what gauge the cord is. When ever I have a power tool drop dead on me I always cut off the cord for later use. Both of these cords came from 120V drills. I think that they are 14 gauge but like I said I don't remember. You are right the cord that you can see the end on is the one connected directly to the top element which is 120 volt and 1500 watts. The lower and longer cord is running through the voltage control and is powering the lower element.
... I say God bless you, I don't say bless you ... I am not the Lord, I can't do that ...
Dane Cook
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