Thermal Link Mod

[LanduytG]

Well I did my dual 500 watt element mod the other day. After all I have read about the mod and the does and don't I decided to check things out for myself to decide what's true and what's not.

First I put the current clamp on to see what it draws with both elements. Cold start both drew 8 amps. As it heated up it settled at 7.8 amps. So we will call it 8 amps. The wire used is more than ample to handle that amount of current.
Next I decided to see how fast it would heat up so I set OE temp control to 300°. It was up to temperature in no time at all. Well all of a sudden it quit heating. So a minute of trouble shooting found the thermal link let go. Not a big deal I had ordered an extra one when I bought the second element. Not unusual for a thermal links to let go, as they age they get weak. Anyway on to more testing and again the thermal link let go. This time I didn't have another link.
Not having another link was really good because it caused me to dissect the bad one. What I found was not (IMHO) good. The thermal cutout (TCO) was rated for 10amps continuous and opens at 151°C or 306°F. Well the OE control can be set to 320° and I have read here where some have turned it up that high. Granted it might not get that high with 1 heating element, but what if it did. The TCO (IMHO) was not properly spec. I feel it should be a bare minimum of 10% if not 20% high on temperature.

Next I did a little searching to find a replacement TCO at the spec I wanted. What I wanted was not in stock by any of the major venders so I had to settle for the next step up which is 170°C (338°) with a max current rating of 15amps.
They arrived the other day so yesterday I installed them. Since I had wire from the 2 dead links I had more than enough wire for the job. I ran a wire from each element and attached the 1 TCO to each wire and mounted both TCO's back at the original spot. The 2 wires continued down to the receptacle and were attached to same with a single spade connector.

Tested again last night and this morning at 300° and all is now well. So now we have what I think is a better more trouble free design. I bought 50 of the TCO's because shipping cost for 2 would be crazy plus I got them a bit cheaper by buying 50 pcs. If anyone cares to do this and wants the same TCO all you need to do is send me $2 for each TCO (which comes with 2 crimp sleeves)and a self addressed stamped envelope. That beats the $16 they get for the OE link.

How do you resize the photos?





Greg
 

[tskeeter]

LanduytG, thanks for the spec details on the OE TCO.  I toasted one a couple of months back and wasn't sure why.  Obviously, I need to change the placement of the permanently mounted temp sensor for my PID so my dual element mod cycles on and off more frequently.  (Note that the temp sensor is currently located just below the third rack from the bottom.  And the heating elements had gotten the back panel hot enough to melt the insulation in the area of the heating elements.)  Guess I'll reinstall the temp sensor below the bottom rack.

[LanduytG]

LanduytG, thanks for the spec details on the OE TCO.  I toasted one a couple of months back and wasn't sure why.  Obviously, I need to change the placement of the permanently mounted temp sensor for my PID so my dual element mod cycles on and off more frequently.  (Note that the temp sensor is currently located just below the third rack from the bottom.  And the heating elements had gotten the back panel hot enough to melt the insulation in the area of the heating elements.)  Guess I'll reinstall the temp sensor below the bottom rack.

I put mine where Auber says to put it. Just below the top rack.

Greg

[LanduytG]

I still have a few TCO's left. If you want any just send a PM and I will send you my address.

Greg