is this controller a No NO

[needmorstuff]

Hi Everyone,

I have bought this controller and used it yesterday, it seemed to do the trick controlling the 2kw element in my t500 (240v in the uk) - although I seem to have been banned on another forum for talking about it~! so this now has me worried.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voltage-Regul ... 2749.l2649" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

the triac is a BTA41600B

[Pikey]

No idea why they would ban you - unless the site owner is trying to sell his own for a lot more money !

Looks sound to me - I'd use it !

[dieselduo]

I would try it for that price. Wish they sold it here

[RedwoodHillBilly]

The triac is rated for 40A and 600V so that part should be fine. I would look for other obvious problems i.e adequate heatsinking, proper grounding, etc. If that's all good, go for it. It's a good price and there is a lot of margin for your 2Kw load.

[needmorstuff]

cheers fellas! I am sure if you contacted them the would open it up to the US.

It's a decent sized heatsink and quite by accident it gets the cold air exhaust from my cisco poe switch (its not underload) - good point on the ground though. I will double check that.

[cede]

First thing I'd do is check for earth ground continuity from the plug up to the box and the outlet.
I saw so many CE china made that would not pass this single test !

Next, I'd open the box and check if there's a big heatsink on the triac. I guess it's as little as they could fit not to burn under full load.
But you should be ok if you use it at half the wattage.

[RedwoodHillBilly]

First thing I'd do is check for earth ground continuity from the plug up to the box and the outlet.
I saw so many CE china made that would not pass this single test !

Next, I'd open the box and check if there's a big heatsink on the triac. I guess it's as little as they could fit not to burn under full load.
But you should be ok if you use it at half the wattage.

I think that is what I suggested that he check.
Perhaps reading all of the posts in the the thread might be useful.

From the department of redundancy department.

[ben stiller]

Looks better than the ebay controller that I am using. I would buy an extra in case one fails during the run. Looks like a nice
find to me.

[cede]

From the department of redundancy department.

Ahaha yes, my fault
Better to be told twice to be careful with electricity !