Power Controller for 2kW T500 Boiler

[warramungas]

So far i 'feel' like i need ...
4000W High Power SCR Electronic Volt Regulator Speed Controller AC 220V + Shell
New Analog Volt Panel Meter Gauge AC 0~250V 91L4
AC 220-240V 0.07A 9225 92mmx92mmx25mm 2-Wire Cooling Fan for PC Case Cooler
box to put it all in
I guess 10 Amp power cords to go in and out of the box and the ends.

Am i on the right track? can anyone help me with anything else i may need that i have missed. This still is stressing me out ~x(

To anybody with some electrical knowledge, is the only difference between the 4000 watt and the 9500 watt unit (displayed in similar items) the size of the cooler bolted onto the back of it? Is it like bolting a 6.5 liter diesel engine into your yaris where it'll never really have to do any work and theoretically last forever? I don't mind spending an extra 10 bucks for redundancy and reliability.
Or is it just complete and utter overkill?

[WTDist]

so i finally got my scr today after 6 weeks.
Just a couple of questions.

i assume the left N and L are load in and neutral out and the right 2 are load out and neutral in? thought i saw this in another post.

and how do i get the nob off :)) Is it the little screw in the side of the nob thing or the bolt at the base of the shaft???

2015-11-02 18.24.24.jpg

need to sort out where im having it come out of my box and i need the nob off. dont want to try the wrong thing. got a feeling its the screw :))

cheers
WTD

[Andy]

now you can read Chinese :P

the little screw removes the knob. The nut is so you can bolt it to your box

[WTDist]

cheers andy
ill get cracking tomorrow. i am going to get some crimps for the wires but the scr has small gaps.shoud i just put the wire on the srews provided or find crimps small enough like i was planing? maybe file down if need be (crimp that is).

[WTDist]

so if u understand right...

on the left side we have l,n and right side we have n,l

is the left L the load in to SCR and the N the neutral back out of the box back to the power point.

and on the right the N is the neutral from the boiler going in to the scr and the L is the load going in to the boiler

20121025165220-15320.jpg

or is the left L and N both load in and neutral in..... and the right L and N the load output and neutral out?

cheers
WTD

[P3T3rPan]

so if u understand right...

on the left side we have l,n and right side we have n,l

is the left L the load in to SCR and the N the neutral back out of the box back to the power point.

and on the right the N is the neutral from the boiler going in to the scr and the L is the load going in to the boiler

20121025165220-15320.jpg

or is the left L and N both load in and neutral in..... and the right L and N the load output and neutral out?

cheers
WTD

Sounds like you need to talk to a sparkie if you cant work that out :-B :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[Andy]

cheers andy
ill get cracking tomorrow. i am going to get some crimps for the wires but the scr has small gaps.shoud i just put the wire on the srews provided or find crimps small enough like i was planing? maybe file down if need be (crimp that is).

im not sure what your talking about. i got an extension cord and cut it in half, stripped the insulation off the end of the wire, about 10mm worth, fold the end about 5mm from the end, undo the screw, stick in the wire, do the screw up.
live wire in and neutral in are on the same side. output live and output neutral are on the other side.

As P3T3rPan said- you might want to get a sparkie, or just a handy mate to help you... :shifty: that way he can make sure the box is earthed as well

[1 2many]

cheers andy
ill get cracking tomorrow. i am going to get some crimps for the wires but the scr has small gaps.shoud i just put the wire on the srews provided or find crimps small enough like i was planing? maybe file down if need be (crimp that is).

im not sure what your talking about. i got an extension cord and cut it in half, stripped the insulation off the end of the wire, about 10mm worth, fold the end about 5mm from the end, undo the screw, stick in the wire, do the screw up.
live wire in and neutral in are on the same side. output live and output neutral are on the other side.

As P3T3rPan said- you might want to get a sparkie, or just a handy mate to help you... :shifty: that way he can make sure the box is earthed as well

:text-+1: there is no need for crimped terminals as the screw fitting on the controller would be a safer option .

But as said above if you don't completely understand the above diagram I suggest you see a sparky.

[WTDist]

ok here it is, nothing pretty is i am time poor. takin me a while so far to make.

PC fan
voltmeter
SCR
switch
2.5mm^2 cable

Im going to take it to my mate to check over for me either this weekend or next before xmas and take a couple of bottles for his time.
I would like some experts opinions first.

First though, one thing that eluded me was earthing. i have everything hooked up with an earth but weather it is correct or not i dont know. I feel i have the rest right though going on the original diagram. the way i did it was i got the cable from element and i attached the earth to the SCR then from there to the fan then from there to the cable going to the wall. i didnt hook up the volt meter. is this ok? pics below

2015-12-11 15.55.51.jpg

2015-12-11 15.56.13.jpg

this one shows how i have them hooked up with the earth. Would like to fix it before i see my mate if its wrong. he is a bit of a critique and not in a good way

2015-12-11 15.57.34.jpg

wiring

the load from the switch is in green and yellow earth wire to the SCR (bout 40mm long?), all i had at the time and it is fine. Left cable gland is to the element. im only one using it so i will not get confused. In this pic the crimp has given way on voltmeter. i have fixed this now :handgestures-thumbupleft:

2015-12-11 16.05.04.jpg

close up on SCR ports

2015-12-11 16.05.29.jpg

Followed andys advice with input on left and output on right.


The load input to the scr also has the fan connected for the fans load input (load to fan + SCR)
The neutral out of the SCR also has the fan attached for the fans neutral out (SCR neutral out + fan neutral out)

so basically the SCR input is the same as the fans input and the SCR output is the fans output if that makes sense

The load out of the SCR has the voltmeter and the element connected.
The neutral in to the SCR has the element connected and the voltmeter.

from what i can tell if i turn it on the fan will be on even if im not using the element. I havent tested it :)) not until my mate checks it


Would love someone who has wired these up to tell me if i did it right. earthing also.

[warramungas]

Bit hard to tell exactly but you seem to have an earth wire going to the live screw on the back of the controller. This is not right. Should be a live in and a live out. A neutral in and a neutral out.
Best to get a sparky to check it mate. It's all built now so should only take him 5 mins to rearrange the wiring and make it all correct. Hopefully you have a sparky mate who can do it for a beer.

[warramungas]

I tried to edit but it wouldn't let me. Just want to be clear.
DONT PLUG IT IN TO TEST IT. THERE IS LOTS WRONG.
Get someone knowledgable like an electrician. Best case it blows up, worst case it kills you or someone you know.
Not trying to burst your bubble as it looks pretty good otherwise but you made some simple mistakes.

[WTDist]

my old mate im getting to check it for me is a control systems engineer.
main reason i wanted to do it before i see him is he was babbling on about set point controllers n such and over complicating it.
he didnt quite get i wanted to control the voltage not the temp of the boil.
going to give him 2 bottles for it, sure he might do it for one but i figure 2 is better for his time. plus havent spoke to him since i started this thread on the controller so 2 is better :shifty:

starting my bachelor in power engineering next year. shame i wasnt already a year in it would be easy as for me :angry-banghead:

cheers for the help :handgestures-thumbupleft: Ill leave it for my mate

[WTDist]

also the little earth wire going from the switch to SCR input is the live wire. only wire i had around at the time. it should be a red one but it is an earth one. figured it would be ok since they are basically the same just diferent cover (yellow/green)

If i got the SSR it would have been a hell of a lot easier with punchys design :angry-banghead:

[warramungas]

Fair enough. Only problem with using the wrong coloured wires is it can get confusing and easier to make a mistake. So long as you keep careful track of which wire goes where it doesn't really matter what the colours are.

[rumdidlydum]

I strongly disagree. No wires should be any other color than what its purpose is in a 240v situation.
12v go ahead but 240v stick to the international wire colors.
My 2c :-B

[Doubleuj]

I strongly disagree. No wires should be any other color than what its purpose is in a 240v situation.
12v go ahead but 240v stick to the international wire colors.
My 2c :-B

:text-+1:
You should be able to get a piece if earth wire from any sparky driving along, or any building site you pass. Even the metal recyclers will have bins of old wire, hit them up for a small bit next time you're there

[WTDist]

i agree it should be red although it is ever only going to be used by me, ill never sell it or give it away and if for some reason i forget the internals then i would have bigger problems than distilling 8-}
i can cut some red wire out of my cord thats no problem, just need to remove the socket i put on yesterday :angry-banghead: i have about 5 or so meters of 2.5mm just time poor and it was what i had at the time.

no doubt ill get a lecture from him. he is very critical about everything :violence-stickwhack:

hmm yes i thinking now i will change the wire before i go see my mate. just another lecture i dont need from him, im sure to get many about the controller and day to day life :))

cheers guys always appreciate good input :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[WTDist]

So went to my mates with it set up like above last night.

he is a control systems engineer for a power engineering company.

while he isnt fond of the overall design of our power controllers we tested it and it works :D

he checked it and i had every single wire in the correct spot and it powered a few appliances at his place. no fire :-D
although he had a laugh at my earth load wire... i will change this still

Wants me to look into PID :think:

anyway all he wantsme to do is earth all the screws on the fan and get a star washer thing for the earth screw on the SCR. supposed to make it earth better.

happy days

ill be testing out my 2" bubble plates one day soon

[WTDist]

done. fixed the earth with the star washers and earthed all my bolts with the fan. took one out, didnt need it and it was too hard to earth so 3 will do.

If anyone is wondering it is wired up exactly the same as andy described above. the 2 on the left are BOTH input and the two on left are BOTH output.

like here

[WTDist]

my bad spelling error above or wrong word for that matter 8-} . left input, right output