22KW control panel build

[Birzzz]

Hi,

I'm looking into buying a distilling controller. I need something that provides 22KW of power (4x5500W elements).

I found this one, but it only has 1 SSR and only supports 7KW.

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=690" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The DSPR400 supports up to 6 SSR in parallel, so I guess I can use this as a starting point. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Thanks,

[StillerBoy]

What is your application for, as 22kw is more that a hobbyist requires, so many will not respond to your question.. and a PID controller is not the best for distillation..

Mars

[Subsonic Instability]

Hi,

I'm looking into buying a distilling controller. I need something that provides 22KW of power (4x5500W elements).

I found this one, but it only has 1 SSR and only supports 7KW.

https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main ... cts_id=690" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

The DSPR400 supports up to 6 SSR in parallel, so I guess I can use this as a starting point. Any guidance will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Unless you actually need to precisely control more than 5500 watts, I might just control one element with a controller and the others with on/off switches.
Of course this only works if 5500 watts is sufficient to operate your still after warm up.

Can you tell us more about your setup?

Man, if'n I heated my keg still with 22Kw...
B up to temp in less than 5 minutes...lmao...

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[fizzix]

Plus you want your 22kW to be 80% maximum of total power available, so you're looking at a 28kW controller MINIMUM.
Always over rate your controller --don't match it.

[Pikey]

Plus of course 22 kw is nearly 100 Amps even at 240 volts ! Need a decent sized wire and plugs etc -

[Birzzz]

Hi,

it is indeed not destined to be for home usage. I'm just testing the waters, it's for a future project. The unit would control a 100 gallon stripping bain-marie still. You said PID are not good for distillation, can you elaborate?

Thanks,

[fizzix]

You said PID are not good for distillation, can you elaborate?

Distillations are controlled by power input which in turn controls product output. Running by temperature is a futile effort, and PIDs control temperature only.
There is no Magic Temperature as it's a moving target. It would be great if we could set our stills for X°, but we just can't and expect success.
As the mixture boils and thus the components change and vaporize, so does the combo boiling point.

So continue looking for a power controller.

[rubelstrudel]

You really do not need one single power controller for all elements.
You get yourself 4x 6kVA voltage regulators, or power regulators.
Each regulator controlling 1 element would give better en finer control over the heating than a single controller.

Thats what you want. Control over the power input in your system. Not trying to have the system maintain a specific temperature.
The whole point of a fractioning column is to maintain that temperature for you using the power equilibrium between energy input and energy removal.
Using a PID controller for heating will only result in oscillations in temperature removing any hope of a clean distillate.

Assuming that you are using 230v/5.5kw elements- thats a whopping 25A/230V fuse for each of these heaters.
I wouldn't run this on anything less than a 3x 4mm2 copper cable. If you're talking 110V that goes up again.

But you're probably talking about 3x400V 3-phase power supply here? Right?
Easier to run 3 or 6 heaters then, to get an even load.
But now we're into heavy duty electrician territory.