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Post by Leftympfrmde on Mar 18, 2022 18:57:00 GMT -6
In my line of work, I proform really redundant testing and maintenance on electrical systems; very boring, but used to it. I've adapted those principles into my brewing system. I've made it from scratch.
Every quarter, I'll open my brewery control box, look for signs of wear, and tighten up connections- unplug the heating elements and do a dry run. Well, today, I'm glad I did.
After surveying, and checking torque on terminations, did a dry run. Tripped the main breaker in the house. The GF was on a call, and lost connection. She was not pleased.
After a 15 minute troubleshooting session, found that the main contactor shorted out on the line side.
On my electric brewing rig, I've purchased parts on amazon to save cash. Basic parts have faired very well! The critical parts- SSRs and now contactors- have failed in two years.
Lesson learned: buy parts from auber instruments. It costs more, but its quality.
Glad it happened during a rest- because its it was after prepping for a brew session, it would put me in a world of misery and anger to no end.
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Post by rburrelli on Mar 19, 2022 10:16:55 GMT -6
Glad you found the trouble and got it corrected. Brew on….
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Post by zymot on Mar 20, 2022 0:51:24 GMT -6
I know the budget friendly SSR on Amazon and eBay are notorious for being counterfeit and/or overrated. When it comes to silicon, go for parts that are overrated for your application. Do not use a 25 amp for a 23 amp application. Step up to the 40 of 50 amp device.
Same goes for heat sinks.
You can never have too much cooling. Do not rely on convection cooling, adding a fan is strongly recommended.
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Post by jimdkc on Mar 20, 2022 1:06:16 GMT -6
I know the budget friendly SSR on Amazon and eBay are notorious for being counterfeit and/or overrated. When it comes to silicon, go for parts that are overrated for your application. Do not use a 25 amp for a 23 amp application. Step up to the 40 of 50 amp device. Same goes for heat sinks. You can never have too much cooling. Do not rely on convection cooling, adding a fan is strongly recommended. Truth. He speaks it... |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Mar 21, 2022 2:55:48 GMT -6
I know the budget friendly SSR on Amazon and eBay are notorious for being counterfeit and/or overrated. When it comes to silicon, go for parts that are overrated for your application. Do not use a 25 amp for a 23 amp application. Step up to the 40 of 50 amp device. Same goes for heat sinks. You can never have too much cooling. Do not rely on convection cooling, adding a fan is strongly recommended. Funny you mention sizing. Purchased all parts based on 80% load rating or less; at pull bore, the heating elements draw 23 amps. (The system operates one element at a time). Sized everything at 40 amps- just to eliminate any capacity issues. Purchased a 50 amp contactor for replacement of the failed one. I may modify the control box to operate both elements at the same time later on. Also picked up two, 40 amp contactors to have on hand In case the HLT or BK in case they want to crap out eventually. |
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Post by drez on Mar 30, 2022 7:35:30 GMT -6
I have had a SSR fail and like yours it was a cheap one. Replaced it with an Opto 22 and never looked back. I have a couple of them sitting in the brewery just in case another one fails. Nothing worse than having a brewday ruined by a part that is easy to replace.
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Post by brewbama on Mar 30, 2022 7:41:40 GMT -6
I have had a SSR fail and like yours it was a cheap one. Replaced it with an Opto 22 and never looked back. I have a couple of them sitting in the brewery just in case another one fails. Nothing worse than having a brewday ruined by a part that is easy to replace. +1. I had a solder connection on a temp probe plug fail once. 👎 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Apr 27, 2022 7:31:50 GMT -6
I know the budget friendly SSR on Amazon and eBay are notorious for being counterfeit and/or overrated. When it comes to silicon, go for parts that are overrated for your application. Do not use a 25 amp for a 23 amp application. Step up to the 40 of 50 amp device. Same goes for heat sinks. You can never have too much cooling. Do not rely on convection cooling, adding a fan is strongly recommended. I took that adding a fan to heart and scored a 120v cooling fan from work. Decided to cut a hole thru the box and wire in the fan. took about 15 minutes. Essentially, it's an exhaust fan to pull heat out of the box. Couldn't hurt at this point. It runs for the whole brew session. I'll test it out next brew.  |
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Post by drez on Apr 27, 2022 9:33:06 GMT -6
I wonder if a fan pushing or pulling is better. I currently do not have one but I have thought about adding one many times.
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Apr 27, 2022 18:03:36 GMT -6
I wonder if a fan pushing or pulling is better. I currently do not have one but I have thought about adding one many times. Have similar thoughts. My logic was to vent out; i could flip it around and have it push air in, but it would have nowhere to go. |
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Post by drez on Apr 27, 2022 19:20:15 GMT -6
I wonder if a fan pushing or pulling is better. I currently do not have one but I have thought about adding one many times. Have similar thoughts. My logic was to vent out; i could flip it around and have it push air in, but it would have nowhere to go. That is my gut feeling as well. I could cut a hole in the bottom but blowing out seems better. |
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Post by Leftympfrmde on May 1, 2022 22:16:15 GMT -6
Finishing the mash with the new exhaust fan. Its definitely a help- the heat sink and the top of the box have remained cool to the touch, and the heat from the fan was noticeable hovering my hand over it.
Seems like a winner.
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