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is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:57 am
by 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

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:35 am
by 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 ! 8)

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:48 am
by dieselduo
I would try it for that price. Wish they sold it here

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:51 am
by 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.

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:51 am
by 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.

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:18 am
by 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.

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:10 pm
by RedwoodHillBilly
cede wrote: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. :eh:

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:26 pm
by 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.

Re: is this controller a No NO

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:34 pm
by cede
RedwoodHillBilly wrote:
cede wrote: From the department of redundancy department. :eh:
Ahaha yes, my fault :wtf:
Better to be told twice to be careful with electricity !