Wooday's incognito build

[Wooday]

Auberins DSPR1 controller with appropriate SSR (open box special at Auber)

10-4 copper wire (scrounged)

50a dryer cable (scrounged)

30a breaker for on/off switch (scrounged)

Skilsaw case (saw's dead and doesn't need it anymore)

2x 30a dryer sockets $14
1x 30a dryer plug $13

[acfixer69]

Using the male end of the drier cord as the hot line in to the box is a major safety issue. So many safe ways to do the same thing.

[Wooday]

Using the male end of the drier cord as the hot line in to the box is a major safety issue. So many safe ways to do the same thing.

If I messed it up, tell me how to fix it.

If it's a safety issue, tell me how its unsafe.

I'm open to improvement

[ckdistills]

It’s a safety issue because of the hot exposed prongs.

I like seeing another CSST condenser though! I’ve got one that works great, easy to build and low cost.

[shadylane]

Everything looks good but for the connector.

Think of an outlet that has the male end sticking out of the wall.
It would be easy to accidently touch it and get shocked.
All that's needed is have the female connector hot and the male end plug into it for safety.

I'd simplify the rig, put the breaker switch inside the dewalt box.
Then there's no reason to have the separate electrical box and wire and connector.

[Wooday]

It’s a safety issue because of the hot exposed prongs.

I like seeing another CSST condenser though! I’ve got one that works great, easy to build and low cost.

Fair enough. Plan was to start at the boiler and connect everything before plugging into the wall and not touch anything but the dial when its hot, but I should add a safety strap. Won't take any longer when putting it away.

[Wooday]

I'd simplify the rig, put the breaker switch inside the dewalt box.

That... would solve many issues

[shadylane]

Plan B

[Wooday]

Plan B indeed.





Much more better.

Even less out of place sitting on a garage shelf

[Steve Broady]

I like the DeWalt box. That makes a nice clean and solid enclosure.

As for the plug safety, I always think of it like this. When it comes to plugging things in, the female part has all the power.

[Salt Must Flow]

That SSR is going to get pretty hot. Most prefer to incorporate a fan pointed at the heatsink and air vents to allow for thorough air exchange with 240V enclosures.

[Yonder]

Great job removing that unnecessary exposed plug in, they can arc if not fully seated (don’t ask). Add a fan to control the heat better and you’ve got a winner.

[Wooday]

That SSR is going to get pretty hot. Most prefer to incorporate a fan pointed at the heatsink and air vents to allow for thorough air exchange with 240V enclosures.

When I have more money...

It should stay cool enough if i leave it open with a box fan pointed at it.

[Salt Must Flow]

That SSR is going to get pretty hot. Most prefer to incorporate a fan pointed at the heatsink and air vents to allow for thorough air exchange with 240V enclosures.

When I have more money...

It should stay cool enough if i leave it open with a box fan pointed at it.

For sure. It will also give you an opportunity to see for yourself how hot it gets, how long it takes to get hot and the difference it makes with just a little air flow.

[shadylane]

Just remember things can be not only physically hot, but electrically also.
One time I touched a heat sink to see how warm its was and got the snot knocked out of me.
I noticed the neutral and ground are the same in your box, that's how it was done in the past and most likely how your house is wired. Nothing you can do about it but there's better ways now.

[Yummyrum]

That SSR is going to get pretty hot. Most prefer to incorporate a fan pointed at the heatsink and air vents to allow for thorough air exchange with 240V enclosures.

Totally agree SMF
I’m bench testing a few things with mine while I decide what I want . Had the SSR not even enclosed but with no forced cooling .
Had the DSPR1 on 100% power doing a stripping run . Pressed the off button on the DSPR1 but the power meter kept showing full power . Seems the SSR overheated and stayed on even though the drive was removed . After I switched off at wall and let it cool down , it worked just fine again .

Had exact same thing happen the next stripping run .
60amp SSR running at only 30 amps on a heatsink rated up to 80amps (240v)

Cooling is essential .

[Yummyrum]

That SSR is going to get pretty hot. Most prefer to incorporate a fan pointed at the heatsink and air vents to allow for thorough air exchange with 240V enclosures.

Totally agree SMF
I’m bench testing a few things with mine while I decide what I want . Had the SSR not even enclosed but with no forced cooling .
Had the DSPR1 on 100% power doing a stripping run . Pressed the off button on the DSPR1 but the power meter kept showing full power . Seems the SSR overheated and stayed on even though the drive was removed . After I switched off at wall and let it cool down , it worked just fine again .

Had exact same thing happen the next stripping run .
60amp SSR running at only 30 amps on a heatsink rated up to 80amps (240v)

Cooling is essential .

[Wooday]

I didn't get fried, but something went wrong.

Got everything set for a vinegar run, charged the keg, and flipped the switch.

Controller was on standby.

Pushed the button.

Popped the 40a main breaker.

Shit.
Unplugged the element.

Reset the breaker

Flipped the switch.

Popped the main again.

Feeling a bit defeated.

[Salt Must Flow]

I didn't get fried, but something went wrong.

Got everything set for a vinegar run, charged the keg, and flipped the switch.

Controller was on standby.

Pushed the button.

Popped the 40a main breaker.

Shit.
Unplugged the element.

Reset the breaker

Flipped the switch.

Popped the main again.

Feeling a bit defeated.

Don't be discouraged! Obviously unplug the thing. Trace the wiring against the wiring diagram. Take it slow and you'll find the wiring issue.

[shadylane]

Shit.
Unplugged the element.

Reset the breaker

Flipped the switch.

Popped the main again.

Feeling a bit defeated.

Disconnect the power cord from the wall and do some trouble shooting.
I'd remove and tape up the wires going to terminals 1 and 2 on the SSR.
Then try plugging the controller back up and turn on the breaker.
If the breaker holds and the display lights up, most likely the SSR is toast.

[shadylane]

Don't be discouraged! Obviously unplug the thing. Trace the wiring against the wiring diagram. Take it slow and you'll find the wiring issue.

My bad, I was assuming the controller had worked before, so there wasn't a wiring problem.

[shadylane]

It's difficult to tell but it looks like you have the SSR miss-wired and in parallel with the power from the breaker.
You have done something like this.

[Yummyrum]

I think I see your problem .

You have wired the SSR across the element So when you hit the button on the DRPR1, it causes the SSR to create a short circuit right across the two hot wires .

You need to have the element in series with the SSR , not in parallel with it .

I ‘d be surprised if you haven’t fried the SSR .

EDIT : posted with Shady .
Yes thats my take on it too Shady

[shadylane]

What's needed is to have the SSR in series like this.

[Deplorable]

I always think of it like this. When it comes to plugging things in, the female part has all the power.

Ain't that the truth

[Wooday]

It's difficult to tell but it looks like you have the SSR miss-wired and in parallel with the power from the breaker.
You have done something like this.

I did indeed.

At the time, I thought I followed the schematic. Triple checked.

I can see it now

This is the instructions.

This is how I followed them.

Why did I add jumpers to the element plug? Who the hell knows. Lack of sleep probably had something to do with it.

Two steps forward, 1 step back

[quadra]

Wooday, I want to see you keep posting here and am going to be that guy.... so you don't kill yourself. your build is shaping up to be an good example of how to not do what you are trying to do.

You are running a 5500W water heater element on an ungrounded system, with stranded wire instead of solid, and a homebrewed potting that will hide when it starts to arc and fail... you need a proper ground from you keg back to the panel otherwise a short may not trip your breaker, and if there is a short the first person to touch the keg may become a fusible link to ground for close to 5800W before the breaker trips.
That 30A breaker technically should keep you under the 80% rule for current but since it is repurposed do you know if the neutral is bonded to the box or not? It shouldn't be if you are running this on a 3 wire dryer circuit.
The dryer cord in and power wires out of that metal box need to have a proper non metallic fitting in those holes... you are trusting a couple millimeters of thermoplastic insulation to keep those wires from melting and arcing to that box.. don't.
There is information out there to figure out how much heat the SSR will produce for the load it is passing, but the reason multiple people have said to use a fan is experience.. you don't want a SSR failure partway through a run, even if you have a spare handy. Bigger SSRs dont cost much more and will be less stressed in use. Having a fan pointing at an open box of electrical connections is just a bad idea.

Sorry to be a ray of sunshine but you are hooking all of this up to a connection the National code has not allowed in new builds for 30 years, and you have no safety ground on a system distilling high proof flamables.

I am willing to help out all you need but you should really take some time to get this right. Do you have an electrical testing multimeter?

[Wooday]

Wooday, I want to see you keep posting here and am going to be that guy.... so you don't kill yourself. your build is shaping up to be an good example of how to not do what you are trying to do.

Not killing myself is priority #1

You are running a 5500W water heater element on an ungrounded system, with stranded wire instead of solid, and a homebrewed potting that will hide when it starts to arc and fail... you need a proper ground from you keg back to the panel otherwise a short may not trip your breaker, and if there is a short the first person to touch the keg may become a fusible link to ground for close to 5800W before the breaker trips.

Keg is grounded at the main panel via the Neutral wire

That 30A breaker technically should keep you under the 80% rule for current but since it is repurposed do you know if the neutral is bonded to the box or not? It shouldn't be if you are running this on a 3 wire dryer circuit.

Neutral is bonded to the box.
"Shouldn't be" meaning bonded to box is a safety issue? or you don't expect that it is, but needs to be?

The dryer cord in and power wires out of that metal box need to have a proper non metallic fitting in those holes... you are trusting a couple millimeters of thermoplastic insulation to keep those wires from melting and arcing to that box.. don't.

Will do. I will be pulling it apart anyway to install a new SSR.

There is information out there to figure out how much heat the SSR will produce for the load it is passing, but the reason multiple people have said to use a fan is experience.. you don't want a SSR failure partway through a run, even if you have a spare handy. Bigger SSRs dont cost much more and will be less stressed in use. Having a fan pointing at an open box of electrical connections is just a bad idea.

IIRC (which i might not) the SSR i bought was overkill.
At this point I am no longer looking for "good enough to get by" until I can buy more parts. I won't be running anything until the controller is out of beta.

Sorry to be a ray of sunshine but you are hooking all of this up to a connection the National code has not allowed in new builds for 30 years, and you have no safety ground on a system distilling high proof flamables.

You would have to try a lot harder to hurt my feelings.
My house is old, for sure.
I will post pictures of how I "grounded" the keg with the Neutral wire.

Iam willing to help out all you need but you should really take some time to get this right. Do you have an electrical testing multimeter?

I am now the turtle.

I do have a multimeter; I've been chasing electrical gremlins in my house since I bought it.

[Archee72]

When it comes to electricity, my simple rule is get an Electrician. White Man’s magic is impossible to see but can bite very hard.
“One day a Rooster, next day a feather duster”
Be careful my friend.