03-15-2020, 04:47 AM
Hi Dom, yeah you have to solder a bridge on both sides to set if the outlet should be NO or NC. I always wire the relays NO so they turn off if unplugged from controller but it would be nice to have the option to have some stay on if unplugged, good for power outage, if only power bar is plugged in UPS those will keep outlets how you like without controller powered up. Just thought of this so added it.
Those are nice connections, I like they have two so you can daisy chain the grounds, I would do the same with Neutral instead of using the Neutral outputs on board. All you need is HOT out of board to outlet, so yeah will be clean.
Curious, how much for the outlets?
Relays are mechanical and SSR is out because of heat until I can figure something out that's better, now I understand why they are bricks. On my energy bar I was going to use these.
https://www.robo-tank.ca/Bargain-Bin/SSR...tate-Relay
Can't put more than an Amp through it before it starts getting too hot to touch, you would have to put it in a large clamp to get near 8 amps.
Then I decided to build my own SSR using a TRIAC, TO-220 package like a MOSFET so I could use heat sink. Takes about a 7" x 5/8" x 5/8" chunk of aluminum to run 10 amps and that even starts to warm up pretty good. I must say I love how they function when it's finished but it's a nightmare to assemble that's why I'm not doing it. That energy bar takes about 4+ hours to assemble and the board is 2oz copper which is very hard to solder.
I've haven't given up on the idea though, one day I'll figure something out that's feasible.
With that said these relays are protected with a large snubber, I think this will fix the dead relay issue. What's connected really makes a difference, very few relay modules have a snubber which is why there's so many stories of some having issues and others none, it's easy to blame the relays but it's more. I had one customer who moved a pump to a new relay every couple months as it always destroyed it. When an inductive load is switched off a high voltage spike is produced, the more current it draws the larger the spike. It's a very short spike but a relay or MOSFETs worst enemy. The snubber absorbs this spike so the relay never sees it. A relay is only good for 250v, if it gets spikes of 400v+ its only a matter of time. If that relay was rated for 400v you would be ok if spike stays under that.
Sometimes I had issues with DC accessory ports failing, it was the same scenario, I started using flyback diode and now no more issues.
Those are nice connections, I like they have two so you can daisy chain the grounds, I would do the same with Neutral instead of using the Neutral outputs on board. All you need is HOT out of board to outlet, so yeah will be clean.
Curious, how much for the outlets?
Relays are mechanical and SSR is out because of heat until I can figure something out that's better, now I understand why they are bricks. On my energy bar I was going to use these.
https://www.robo-tank.ca/Bargain-Bin/SSR...tate-Relay
Can't put more than an Amp through it before it starts getting too hot to touch, you would have to put it in a large clamp to get near 8 amps.
Then I decided to build my own SSR using a TRIAC, TO-220 package like a MOSFET so I could use heat sink. Takes about a 7" x 5/8" x 5/8" chunk of aluminum to run 10 amps and that even starts to warm up pretty good. I must say I love how they function when it's finished but it's a nightmare to assemble that's why I'm not doing it. That energy bar takes about 4+ hours to assemble and the board is 2oz copper which is very hard to solder.
I've haven't given up on the idea though, one day I'll figure something out that's feasible.
With that said these relays are protected with a large snubber, I think this will fix the dead relay issue. What's connected really makes a difference, very few relay modules have a snubber which is why there's so many stories of some having issues and others none, it's easy to blame the relays but it's more. I had one customer who moved a pump to a new relay every couple months as it always destroyed it. When an inductive load is switched off a high voltage spike is produced, the more current it draws the larger the spike. It's a very short spike but a relay or MOSFETs worst enemy. The snubber absorbs this spike so the relay never sees it. A relay is only good for 250v, if it gets spikes of 400v+ its only a matter of time. If that relay was rated for 400v you would be ok if spike stays under that.
Sometimes I had issues with DC accessory ports failing, it was the same scenario, I started using flyback diode and now no more issues.
