Home Distiller

If you wire it before the SSR youre measuring line voltage of your house. If you measure the output to the element your measuring the adjustable voltage youre feeding to the element.

Jimbo, I don't want to get into a pissing match here, but as I posted earlier

"Unless your voltmeter is a true RMS meter, it will lie to you about non-sinusoidal waveforms. Even the most common analog movement (D'Arsonval) is an averaging type and will not read RMS except for a sinusoidal waveform which it has been corrected for."

You really want the voltage at the input of the SSVR and the average of the current to the element to get a somewhat accurate measure of the power delivered to the element.

If you don't care about the absolute power delivered and just want a repeatable number, then either is OK.

If you wire your PZEM-061 (or any similar power meter) after your SCR it will smoke
Wired correctly the displayed power is the real power dissipated by your element and your SCR.
Read here fore some tests.

Edwin Croissant wrote:If you wire your PZEM-061 (or any similar power meter) after your SCR it will smoke
Wired correctly the displayed power is the real power dissipated by your element and your SCR.
Read here fore some tests.

Edwin, I bought a DL69-2048 based on reading some of your other posts. I will read a bit more to make sure I get it right. It sounds like I'll need to wire it before the SCR, but I don't yet understand the electronics behind it. Jimbo's design after the SCR makes more sense to me, but I also need to pay attention to the warnings that it will smoke my meter. I'll make sure I read more.

RedwoodHillBilly wrote:

jdetechguy wrote:I am starting my controller build today. Jimbo, your first pass at adding a voltmeter has the connections after the SCR. I just want to double check: Should I wire my voltmeter before the SCR?

FWIW, here is my build.

The voltage sense is before the SSVR and the current transformer is on one leg after the SSVR. Hope that this helps.

RHB

Thank you RHB. I have studied your design before, but could not quite see where the wires went from the meter. But your explanation helps clear that up.

Edwin Croissant wrote:If you wire your PZEM-061 (or any similar power meter) after your SCR it will smoke
Wired correctly the displayed power is the real power dissipated by your element and your SCR.
Read here fore some tests.

If I'm not mistaken, we're saying somewhat the same thing. The voltage input must be taken before the SSVR (due to the internal power supply circuit). Or if read it correctly, the current transformer can be on either side of the SSVR. Is this correct? I haven't taken mine apart and traced out the circuit. Any input would be appreciated.

RedwoodHillBilly wrote:Jimbo, I don't want to get into a pissing match here, but as I posted earlier

"Unless your voltmeter is a true RMS meter, it will lie to you about non-sinusoidal waveforms. Even the most common analog movement (D'Arsonval) is an averaging type and will not read RMS except for a sinusoidal waveform which it has been corrected for."

You really want the voltage at the input of the SSVR and the average of the current to the element to get a somewhat accurate measure of the power delivered to the element.

If you don't care about the absolute power delivered and just want a repeatable number, then either is OK.

If you read back far enough in this thread youll see we covered that already. Use an analog meter and it will read accurate, it matches up with my true RMS Fluke. Yes, true the digital horseshit meters from China do not read accurate the sliced and diced ouput of an SCR, I tried those first. If you know house line voltage its plenty easy enough then to know where youre at, power wise, and the analog meters look cooler. At the end of the day I put little paper pointers at my dial ( I was gonna say knob, but I could already hear TPee and others giving me flack) Anyway knob pointers at 2, 3, 4K watts, full tits being 5.5K watts, and I never look at my voltmeters, ever.

RedwoodHillBilly wrote: Or if read it correctly, the current transformer can be on either side of the SSVR. Is this correct? I haven't taken mine apart and traced out the circuit. Any input would be appreciated.

I think so, when you put the current transformer before the SCR it will also measure the negligible contol current of the SCR. So mount the current transformer anywhere it's handy.

Edwin Croissant wrote:

RedwoodHillBilly wrote: Or if read it correctly, the current transformer can be on either side of the SSVR. Is this correct? I haven't taken mine apart and traced out the circuit. Any input would be appreciated.

I think so, when you put the current transformer before the SCR it will also measure the negligible contol current of the SCR. So mount the current transformer anywhere it's handy.

Thanks, that's what I thought. Sometimes, 36Yrs as a practicing EE, I tend to over think things without going back to 1st principles. Oh well, I'm out of this thread.

RedwoodHillBilly wrote:

Edwin Croissant wrote:

RedwoodHillBilly wrote: Or if read it correctly, the current transformer can be on either side of the SSVR. Is this correct? I haven't taken mine apart and traced out the circuit. Any input would be appreciated.

I think so, when you put the current transformer before the SCR it will also measure the negligible contol current of the SCR. So mount the current transformer anywhere it's handy.

Thanks, that's what I thought. Sometimes, 36Yrs as a practicing EE, I tend to over think things without going back to 1st principles. Oh well, I'm out of this thread.

Don't take it personal, RedwoodHillBilly... Many here know I give little merit to folks engineering degrees as I've dealt with many and they quite often overlook the obvious which is then pointed out by non-engineers...

I love this one, even though it's not related to engineers...

Common sense is in short supply, degree or not.

Well, I don't take it personally. I've always felt that everybody makes mistakes, don't try to justify them and go on with life. Therefore, I'll refrain from posting, but will support UJ financially. Later, y'all.

Some of the potentiometers have professional looking marks. Can anyone give me any tips on how to make mine look nice? Are there stickers I can purchase?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

jdetechguy wrote:Some of the potentiometers have professional looking marks. Can anyone give me any tips on how to make mine look nice? Are there stickers I can purchase?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Some of the potentiometers come with stickers... Got mine off eBay and it came with pot, knob, ssr, hardware, and sticker
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 88&alt=web" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Can't attest to its performance yet.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

gflower1 wrote:

jdetechguy wrote:Some of the potentiometers have professional looking marks. Can anyone give me any tips on how to make mine look nice? Are there stickers I can purchase?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Some of the potentiometers come with stickers... Got mine off eBay and it came with pot, knob, ssr, hardware, and sticker
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 88&alt=web" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Can't attest to its performance yet.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Thanks. I found some inexpensive stickers and bought them.

Cranky's Spoon Feeding
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52975

I need to replace my SCR regulator but can't find the same one I bought originally (the same one Jimbo linked at the start of this tread.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10000W-220v-Adj ... 2c7271bb5a
Any suggestions for a new unit?
I thought about this one but it lacks a heat sink and I don't have a fan.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-220V-10000W- ... Sw-kdX1t4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I like this because it has a fan
https://www.amazon.com/Yeeco-Electronic ... adjust+scr&" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Hey Due52;

This one comes from the Still Dragon website
http://stilldragon.com/index.php/diy-sm ... oller.html
It's $37.00 with shipping and possibly tax...

I run mine with a unit with something like this... all the same parts just mine didn't come in a complete kit.
mine runs a 220v 5500watt ULWD element in a 15 gallon keg still. (Just proof that it works)

Don't mean to hijack Jimbo's thread, but there's so much good info here, and a lot of troubleshooting that applies to my situation.

Just like raketemensch, when I plugged in my box and flipped the switch, my SCR popped/smoked - pretty sure its a goner. Can someone check out my wiring diagram below?

A couple notes:
I didn't have an element connected yet - the cable coming out of my box terminates in an L6-30 receptacle at the moment.
When I plugged in to the dryer outlet, I got display on my meter right away and it was reading 245v. As soon as I flipped my power switch, the SCR popped.
The breaker never tripped.

I'm using a 4-wire dryer outlet, but Neutral is not wired. I bought one of these power plugs (convertible from 30A dryer/50A range) and just wired ground and the two hots. I took the time to dismantle my dryer outlet to ensure red/black were wired correctly on either side of the plug.




EDIT:
I took apart the SCR and it's clear that the pop came from the "Voltage Output" connections on the board. I'm not sure what this tells me...

So at the advice of still stirrin, I parked my still for 2 years and started reading. I switched from propane to electric, SCR controller and Camco 5500w 240v element. Additionally I built a doubler that is efficient for my pot and increased all of my tubing to 3/4 in. I'm a welder by trade and I am familiar with the hazards associated with most metals; regardless I made another mistake which is why I'm posting here.

Under no circumstances should anyone deviate from Jimbo's Electric Conversion design in regard to materials and I'm talking metals here.

I know that Stainless and Copper are the rule. Period. I made the mistake of using a galvanized lock nut on my heating element. Nope.

After my first 20 minute cleaning run of a vinegar solution, inspection of the pot revealed zinc corrosion. Any one not familiar with zinc poisoning, either vapor or solid form needs to understand this is never acceptable and a huge health hazard.

Life lessons. I'm now awaiting the shipment of 2, 1" stainless 304 lock nuts via Amazon. In the meantime, I'm hand scrubbing my entire rig. Stupid mistake.

FYI: SCR voltage regulator & Camco 5500w element took a 10 Gallon boil time from 2 hours to just over 10 minutes operating at at full tilt.

So I become surfing thru Jimbos WCPP pictures from final year and I got here accross one in all his photos in which fish was being fried and I become inspired through the rectangular pan that became getting used. I gave the look to be a bit more green at frying a mess of fish than the 10 inch fry pan I had used previously. I despatched Jimbo a message and he responded that the pan became in reality a 12 inch BWJ solid aluminum pan and it did indeed serve his crew nicely. I made a intellectual notice that I ought to inspect getting one someday inside the destiny.

Well, it in order that occurs I turned into at a garage sale recently and I got here across a pan that regarded very much like Jimbo's pan, with one fantastic exception..... It got here with a wire. Shocked Could I honestly put off the heating detail and convert this pan to be used over hearth or gasoline? Looking over the pan it appeared like worth challenge fabric, and at 50 cents I didn't have tons to lose, so I sold it.

Let the conversion begin!Ripple Electrical

I took the pan out the workbench and set out with the venture of disposing of the heating detail and the 4 screw posts from wherein the take care of attached. I began out with a dremel and small slicing wheel to reduce along the weld on heating detail. I speedy decided the dremel wasn't the proper device for the task. I were given out a hammer and chisel and determined I ought to effortlessly chop through the weld in a couple blows, being sure to preserve the pressure parallel to the lowest of the pan so I wouldn't dent it. As I labored a first-rate grained silica spilled out revealing the internal heating coil. I labored my manner across the circular heating detail weld with my chisel. I figured I may want to definitely knock off the screw posts for the handle with the chisel as well, but I found that these had been welded on a piece extra securely than the heating element and I ended up with a small ding to the corner of the pan. I scored the alternative posts with the dremel earlier than knocking them off with no extra dings. I also located the plate where the power twine plugged into to be a chunk extra work as well, and stored it is removal in addition to the thermostat sleeve which changed into forged with the lowest of the pan for the attitude grinder.

Resist the urge, the answer is here. Maybe pg 4, maybe pg 22 but it’s here!! Extremely helpful thread, thanks to all.