Grey Meadows Electric Controller

[Grey_Meadow]

Thought I would add my controller build to the mix.

This is based on the PSR-25 Phase Angle Controller from here http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 1400682628
I have added a panel switch to control a DPST Relay for Power On / Off and a SPDT relay to switch between 120 and 240 Volts.
I have completely finished the build so I don't know for sure that it will work yet....hope so.
Attached are a Schematic of sorts and a wiring diagram.

Once the build is complete and tested I will post pictures.

I will be controlling either a 4500 Watt 240 Volt or a 5500 Watt / 240 element. Currently the 4500 Watt is installed in a 7.5 gallon Keg. I added to the 240 V to 120 V switch to get fining control at the lower powers. The whole think is a bit of overkill but its a hobby and I just wanted to do it.

If you see anything wrong please comment. The power is on a dedicated 240V / 30A GFCI breaker and I will stand back when I turn it on the first time

Grey

Schematic Diagram

Wiring Diagram

[Grey_Meadow]

I powered it up this afternoon and it worked like a champ. I'm pretty sure the switch between 120 V and 240 V is not necessary, but I wanted to see if it would work. I got pretty smooth response though out the whole range. At 240 Volts, I got a max of 16 amps for a total of 3840 Watts on a 4500 Watt Element. At 120 Volts, I got 7 amps for 840 Watts out of a possible 1125 Watts. I'll get some photos up in the next day or so.

Grey

[ga flatwoods]

Grey this is a versital controller it would appear. Is the 120 to be used with a 7.5 gallon (1/4)keg for smaller washes?
Ga Flatwoods

[Grey_Meadow]

GA,

I currently only have a 7.75 keg. I would like to add a 15 gallon keg for larger volume stripping runs. So I was thinking that both 110v and 220v would be useful.
Now to qualify all of this: I have NOT made any runs at this point. I'm still in the planning and dreaming stages. All of my knowledge is book learnin' so be very careful with any of my advise.!
I have a very complex controller for my beer system, but it is using PID controllers that are "pulse width" controlled with a 2 second interval and in my first water boil check the water would BOIL then sit flat; BOIL then flat; BOIL ... etc. This seemed to be a path to a lot of problems so I went back to the drawing board.

I reviewed all I could (and still remain partly sane) and I decided to follow the PSR-25 design presented by MuleKicker. I read some other comments about switching between 110V - 220V and that interested me. That is a very quick way to reduce the power to 25%. In this case I don't really think that it is necessary. The controller seems to handle the 220V and be able to dial it down pretty low. I was just in that mode (or mood) to see if I could do it. I was also a little concerned with the amount of heat to dissipate and if I dropped the input to 110 I was thinking that there would be less heat to worry about. At this point on that subject I'm just guessing.

I also wanted to have a switch on the front panel. I went with the 22mm style turn switch (lighted for glitz) to control the internal relay switch to match my Beer Controller. The total cost with shipping is about $300. Yes, it is well past expensive, but its been keeping me out of the bars and it was kind of fun.

The design by MuleKicker with the "extension" cords hanging out, the single dial and Amp Meter is all that is needed. I just wanted the WOW factor and to show off, even if I'm the only one that gets to see it. No Hubris here !

I am hoping to do a vinegar run and a alcohol cleaning run this weekend. I will post more on how it is working after that. And get some photos up.

Grey

[superdaveva]

My 220 v controller with a 5500 watt element will max out around 23 amps, are you sure your pot is wired correctly?

[Grey_Meadow]

No, but I don't know what I could change. The two outer tabs are either end of the resistor and the center post is the traveler. I am attached to one end and the middle. The only thing that would change is the direction of the rotation. I would much sooner suspect the Ammeter. And thinking about it I didn't adjust the the Ammeter to zero. I will reverify that when I get back home. The other thing I could do is short across the control inputs on the PSR-25 which would take the pot out of the equation and result in the highest power output. I will also test independently with my Multimeter.

Do you have any issues with lower power on 220V? This is directed at whether or not the 110-220 switch has any value.

[Aquafish]

Grey_Meadow let me fist say I don't know anything about electricity. I made my controller using a diagram on this site which looked simple but to those with out experience it's not. The most important thing I was told by members is that one of the 220v leads must go directly to the water heater element. The other lead to the SSr which is controlled by the POT. If you wire it this way it has to work. You can also check the Auber web site they show how to wire the pot to the SSR and heat source. Don't know anything about the 110 volt usage. Hope this helps. AP

[Grey_Meadow]

Fish,
If you trace through the diagrams in the first post you will note that the Black Wire (phase 1) goes through the SSR (PSR-25) and the Ammeter and out to the Element. The Red Wire (phase 2) goes through the 110-220 switch along with the White Wire (neutral) and out to the Element.

220 Volts is measured across the Black Wire and Red Wire (+110 to -110 for a difference of 220v);
110 Volts is measured across the Black Wire and Neutral (+100 to 0 = 110v).
That is all correct. The only issue at this point is the "indication" on the ammeter. I am pretty sure I know the issue there.

Thanks for the comments.

[still_stirrin]

Grey,
I use the Camco 4.5kW elements too. I've only connected to 110VAC power so far, but my ammeter reads about 9 amps when loaded. And the voltmeter reads 110 volts at the same time. A quick calc would say that the 220VAC current should be just a little over 17A at a 220 volt rail.

So I do think you're close. I too would suspect your meter zero is off slightly. Or possibly the quality of the analog gage is questionable. Regardless, I think you're getting the full load power.

Great circuit, by the way.

I will build a box just like it for 220VAC power. Currently, my controller is 2 Triac based circuits powering 2 x 4.5kW elements because I don't have 220V available to me yet. I use 2 elements on separate 110V circuits to loadshare in the shed.

[still_stirrin]

Also, I'm curious what relays you're using. Gotta' part number for 'em?

Thanks.

[Grey_Meadow]

I zeroed my ammeter and all is right in the world.
At 220V it indicated 18 amps and at 110V is indicated 9 amps.
The element is 240V 4500Watt, therefore full power should draw 18.75 amps.

This is a photo of the Outside of the Box

POWER ON at 240 Volts

POWER ON at 120 Volts

more to follow

[Grey_Meadow]

This is a PDF of the Schematic & Wiring Diagrams and a Parts List with Vendor, Part Numbers and website links.

Boiler_220V_Power_Control.pdf

PDF with Schematic & Wiring Diagrams and Part List

(108.29 KiB) Downloaded 391 times

The wiring is 10 gage for the 220V circuits, 14 gauge for the 110V circuits, and I think about 22 gauge for the Pot Control wires.
I didn't (or haven't yet) install the fuses shown on the wiring diagrams.


Here are a couple of photos of the inside

[still_stirrin]

Very nice. Professional.

And thanks for the pdf. This one oughta "sticky" 'cause it is very well put together and easy to understand.

Excellent job well done.

Thanks again Grey.

[Grey_Meadow]

Update: Based on a couple of trial runs. The 220 Volt can be controlled all the way down to 0 Amps without any problems, therefore the 110 Volt side of the circuit is completely unnecessary. However the circuity is there if anyone wants to copy it. It does work without any problems

All the best, Grey

[BigSwede]

Congrats on one of the better builds I've seen, very clean, excellent layout. I knew right away that you'd not need the 120V leg because these things do such a nice job of proportional 0 to 100% control, but I am the master of overbuild and bling, and I have no say in the matter!

Long ago I learned that so much of the stuff we do is pure hobby, and in that regard, if it makes someone happy, then it's good, like some dude adding odd things to a motorcycle, or like me, adding tinned copper sheathing to a temperature probe wire... So nothing wrong with adding the 120V leg.

I wanted to toss something out I wasn't aware of until I killed an SSR a while back... I always thought these things would deliver full power with the input leads (the potentiometer connections) at near zero ohm, and they'd be "off" when the potentiometer is not connected. I was wrong, out of the box, they deliver their rated power when NOTHING is attached to the pot inputs; if you short the pot inputs with a jumper, the unit shuts off, no power.

It is very easy, then, to make a "fine control" potentiometer to sit beside the "coarse control", the regular pot. Let's say you have a 250k pot, and you add a 10k pot in series with that. With your regular pot at 125k, you should see 50% power, and now your 10k pot will give you a nice +/- 4% adjustment, but over a full turn of that dial. Not that one needs this, but the option is there if you need some EXACT wattage to repeat a distillation procedure.

[Halfbaked]

Nice looking controller! If you don't mind where did you get your panel switches?

[Grey_Meadow]

@BigSwede, Thanks, I had fun. On the 220 to 120 switch. I saw someone trying to do that on another post and at some point I was fiddling with the pencil and paper and that schematic showed up. I had the parts ordered and put together before I thought too much more. I'm not real electrically inclined so it was a learning curve and very satisfying when I didn't blow something up or even trip the breaker once It did take a lot of thinking and twiddling to realize that open across the control inputs was full power and short was no power, but got there eventually.

@HalfBaked, The Panel Switches are from Auber Instruments. http://www.auberins.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow. There is a PDF FILE at few posts up that has all of the parts and links to where I got them. I have used others that were not lighted that were water tight and felt a little more substantial. The Auber Switches don't have a gasket on the panel surface and might not be water tight. I would probably use them again anyway.

Grey

[BigSwede]

GM, for someone who "isn't into electrics" you did a superior job. Got to like the cable bundling.

For those in the USA, another good source for 22mm switches, relays, and just about everything a stiller needs is Zoro:

http://www.zoro.com/s/?q=22mm+switches" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow



I've been ordering a lot of stuff from these guys; they have everything from copper to electrics. And get on their mailing list, every so often they'll have a 30% off sale that lasts for a day or so, or a free shipping sale.

[Halfbaked]

Thanks guys.

[Deuce67]

Grey if you didn't use the 110 relay where would the switch be wired?

[Grey_Meadow]

Deuce, I'm not quite sure I understand the question... But here goes.

I think the switch you are asking about is the 120 to 240 relay. The relay is controlled by a switch on the panel. The only thing this relay does is switch one leg of the power to the heater element from neutral to -120 thereby controlling whether the power is 240 or 120. If 120 is not an option or not required then the relay and the switch are not required at all and the RED power (-120) is connected directly to the Heater Element.

All the best, Grey