Possible bad SSR?

[dmcman73]

So last night I brewed and noticed something odd, I couldn't control the rolling boil with my PID like I usually could. Usually when it starts to boil, I will reduce the power from 100 to about 50-60 which then still keeps it boiling but not crazy. Once it gets boiling and senses the temp, the element light that I have will flash showing the heating element being turned on and off, it coincides with the LED light flashing on the SSR.

But last night was different, both the LED light on my PID and the LED light on the SSR was flashing (showing that it was turning the element on and off) but the actual 110V light that is for the element was not, the element had full power at all times.

Is it possible for the SSR to go bad where it's always "on" and never regulate the power on it's output leg even though the LED on it is flashing?

 

[iijakii]

Yup, that's what it sounds like happened.

 

[dmcman73]

Yup, that's what it sounds like happened.

Well, at least the SSR's are pretty cheap. I just ordered a couple of replacements (keep one on hand).

Thanks.

 

[augiedoggy]

Well, at least the SSR's are pretty cheap. I just ordered a couple of replacements (keep one on hand).

Thanks.

for the record, what kind of SSR was it? A fotek?

 

[iijakii]

I've had a Fotek fail on me, failed open so no power was going through. Was wondering why it took so long getting to boil...

For $5ea though I'm still happy with them, nothing a spare on the shelf can't fix.

 

[dmcman73]

for the record, what kind of SSR was it? A fotek?

Not sure, are they known to go bad? When I get home tonight I'll look at the make/model.

 

[augiedoggy]

Not sure, are they known to go bad? When I get home tonight I'll look at the make/model.

yeah the issue is like 85% of the fotek ssrs sold on ebay and amazon are actually fake clones.... I have had good luck with them myself though... I only use one now and the other is a dual ssr (Teledyne brand) just to save space when I added a third heating element.

 

[dmcman73]

Yup, they are Fotek.

 

[markgm]

I've had 3 out of 6 in a new build that were bad from the start. The wattage was all over the place on my elements, never getting near the max. I swapped all the wires around to narrow things down, and wound up just ordering 3 new ones. Also Foteks. I read around online and couldn't find anyone else with a similar issue.

 

[augiedoggy]

the "mypin" branded ones that come with mypin spids are also the foteks just restickered... I dont know if they are real foteks or theclones though...

just an FYI but the "magar" branded ones that are like $9 on ebay are the same ssrs that aubrins has relabeled and sells for $20+ shipping.... They are consistently good quality.

 

[dmcman73]

It seems like new matter what brand SSR people use, they are all hit or miss. It may be that all these SSR's are all made by one company in China and they are all just branded, it's not uncommon.

 

[augiedoggy]

It seems like new matter what brand SSR people use, they are all hit or miss. It may be that all these SSR's are all made by one company in China and they are all just branded, it's not uncommon.

naa theres a lot of different ssrs with different construction... if you do a search here you will find more failure threads on the foteks than anything... there is a web page if you google it that shows pics on how to tell clones from real foteks.

The teledyne dual ssrs are pretty nice and can be found for $15 a piece on ebay through a guy that works there... They are normally over $100! I have a 4 channel ssr as well (basically 4 ssrs in one small package).. lots of extra stuff for future builds or failures.

A big issue is many people who skimp on things and go cheap are also more likely to skimp elsewhere and not install them correctly with a heatsink and thermal paste which is a recipe for failure.

 

[dmcman73]

naa theres a lot of different ssrs with different construction... if you do a search here you will find more failure threads on the foteks than anything... there is a web page if you google it that shows pics on how to tell clones from real foteks.

The teledyne dual ssrs are pretty nice and can be found for $15 a piece on ebay through a guy that works there... They are normally over $100! I have a 4 channel ssr as well (basically 4 ssrs in one small package).. lots of extra stuff for future builds or failures.

A big issue is many people who skimp on things and go cheap are also more likely to skimp elsewhere and not install them correctly with a heatsink and thermal paste which is a recipe for failure.

I'll take a look at the teledyne.

My SSR's are mounted onto a big heat sink with thermal compound, I'm an IT person and no stranger to heat sinks and the importance for thermal compound.

I went with the the Fotek those are what I've seen a lot of people using, I didn't know that there were fake clones out there. I'll look for that website that shows you haw to detect a fake one, thanks!

 

[dmcman73]

Well I replaced the SSR with the same brand I had and it's working as it should again.

I'll keep an eye out on these and look for the other brands mentioned in the thread.

Thanks all!

 

[augiedoggy]

Well I replaced the SSR with the same brand I had and it's working as it should again.

I'll keep an eye out on these and look for the other brands mentioned in the thread.

Thanks all!

you may have no issues... like I said all three of my foteks still work..I only use one now because I needed to save space... its a good idea to have spare though.

 

[BrunDog]

I had an SSR go bad. Not sure the brand - from Electric Brewing Supply. No matter what, it would pass some current, applying about 70V out of 240V onto my BK element. Not enough to do damage quickly, but luckily I caught it as my ammeter was showing current when there was supposed to be none.

Swapped it out and all good. BTW, Electric Brewing Supply was super fast in taking it back, as it was only about 2 months old. Great service!

-BD

 

[trimixdiver1]

Take a look at eBay for a Watlow Din a mite. Very good quality.

 

[augiedoggy]

Take a look at eBay for a Watlow Din a mite. Very good quality.

yes watlow is very good but usually very pricey too.. Scouring ebay most of the options I see over 17 amps are also over $50 used... I'm sure amazing deals pop up though.

I have used watlow elements and temp controllers in many things over the years... Never an issue.

 

[trimixdiver1]

yes watlow is very good but usually very pricey too.. Scouring ebay most of the options I see over 17 amps are also over $50 used... I'm sure amazing deals pop up though.



I have used watlow elements and temp controllers in many things over the years... Never an issue.

Yes but how valuable is your time and the aggravation and the what ifs? I'd rather spend a little more and spend my time and money on other things.

 

[augiedoggy]

Yes but how valuable is your time and the aggravation and the what ifs? I'd rather spend a little more and spend my time and money on other things.

Oh I have no worries about the $15 Teledyne dual ssrs reliability... They are normally an expensive and high quality product. there are many quality ssrs avaliable for $20 or less... the "fotek" clones we were mainly discussing are not one of them... the fotek clones are the most commonly used ssrs in budget builds and have a pretty poor rap sheet because they fail often and often are miswired by Newbies who wire them up wrong or install them incorrectly without proper cooling.

Those who spend more money often take more care in doing it right... Thats been proven in case studies where the same product was sold at drastically different price points... the cheaper priced units got worse customer reviews and more complaints of failures and defects...HMM

I mentioned earlier the "Mager" brand ssrs can be found for about $9-11 and are good quality... Enough that Aubrins has them rebranded with thier name on the and sells them for twice the price...

If I spent more on all my components in relationship to what you you suggest on a simple SSR ($50-90 per ssr used) then my brewery would take years to build and would likely be obsolete / redesigned before it even sees use... I have other priorities besides this hobby... Just my outlook on things but I enjoy that I can build something less expensive myself and still do exactly what others spend thousands to accomplish..
I'm going to guess you came from a union or government work background where the budget was not as much a concern as much as reliability (maybe more a time is money scenerio?) and thats fine... That train of though certainly has merit too if money was not a factor. if this were a commercial brewing forum I would be the minority here I'm sure but its not...

Simply put by using budget priced components I would have to have quite a bit of failed brew sessions and wasted time to justify spending thousands more to make the possibilty less likely to happen... So far its been over 2 years and over 50 brew sessions without any failures or setbacks but two scorched batches a beer from a learning experience in designing my rims. I would say I have come out ahead.