900w Element and PID question

[cajunboudreaux]

I am thinking about purchasing a used OBS and do upgrades to it since my other is new and under warranty.
First question. Where is the best place to purchase a 900w element from?

Second question. What is the highest temps possible with a PID and a single standard element? Not to worried about recovery times just more about startup heating times. Was't sure if the PID made a difference with a single element.

[beefmann]

can look on amazon or grainger, also add in a blower it  makes a big difference....

here is what i have done

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.0

and timer pid  mod

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17304.0

timer and heater are from auber inst.

highest temp would be around  320 F..   with no load if you  are lucky,,,, with a 900  watt i have  had it as high as 375 F  with the vent  wide  open

[cajunboudreaux]

Thanks for the info.

Is it safe to use the existing wires with the 900w element? But then again i guess it wouldn't take much to run new 14gauge wire..
I will probably being using the Auber Dual plug and play..

[beefmann]

i have bypassed all of bradleys wiring and went straight from the  pid controller to the  heater with one set of wire and another set for the  blower . 14 gage high temp wire .,,...  approx 24 inches from the  heater out of the box  then standard 14 ga the  rest of the way. and this is to handle the  load of the  heater, I believe the bradley uses   18 gage.. also not  sure if the controlls in the bradley can  handle the extra current  created by the 900 watts.

on another   note buy the  pid with the ssr with a 25 amp rating....i have noticed that on my  old pid where the relay sits ,, it did heat the plastic to the point of  where it warped and  almost  melted. it may cost a bit  more though in the  long run it is safer.

[muebe]

I have the 900w element mod on my OBS and I used the existing wiring. I have had zero issues and have well over 100 hours on the element. I just recently removed the temp slider control when I fabricated a new lower front panel from aluminum but it did not have any issues with the slider either(was left on high all the time). You will be fine using the existing wiring IMHO. You will have to use a PID with the element though.

[cajunboudreaux]

Awesome Thanks. I think I finally have everything answered. Thanks all.