BRINKMAN 1500 WATT HEATER AND AUBERINS PID

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goliath

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Oct 8, 2013
574
75
Terrace BC Canada
hi

 was wondering if anyone has had any problems running the AUBERINS WSD-1204CPH rated for 1500 watts along with the Brinkman 1500 watt heater. mine seems to work fine, had 1 fuse blow but not during operation. changed it out with a 10 amp fuse and runs good. they are actually rated for 15 amp but didnt know that at the time as it wasnt stated in the manual anywhere.

Frank from Auberins is suggesting i upgrade the unit to the model rated for 1800 watts. not an expensive upgrade but where i live the shipping will kill me. $60 shipping for a $15 mod..

i see they should not run full power for more than 90 minutes,

any info would be helpful .. i shoulda just got the bigger one in the beginning .... I KNOW  :0)
 
Hey Rackrat

Looks like your post is so specialized no one it chiming in.  Doing a quick napkin calc using ohms law, if you're getting 120 volts from your power company, your 1500 watt element should be pulling about 12.5 amps.  Even at 110 volts you're at 11.5 amps, not sure why your 10 amp fuse is holding.  Fuses / circuits / wiring should be rated at 110% of max power draw, so your 12.5 amp power draw should call for 15 amp / capable system (well, 13 3/4 technically, but always go to the next available size up).

Man, shipping to BC is expensive!  Must include duties / import fees of some kind?
 
Ooops, guess I missed this post when it first was submitted.

Actually 110v is more amps (as voltage lowers amperage increases for the same wattage output).  At 110v it is 13.64 amps (14amps for all argument).  That 10 amp fuse should be long blown, and it is not properly doing it's job.   I suspect you have a faulty fuse.

The specs for that unit show the maximum amp draw is rated for 13 amps.  You are overloading the controller running a 1,500 watt element.

Also cut and pasted from their page for the WSD-1204CPH:
 4)  The power rating is 1450 watts for 120VAC, more than sufficient for the 500 watts required by the Bradley smoker. It will also work for Bradley Smokers that have an additional 500 watts heater installed. If you are going to use it for larger smokers, you need make sure the total power drawn, including the smoker generator control output, should not exceed 1450 Watts at 120V (or 2000 Watts at 240V). 
For a 1,500 watt element you need their model WSD-1503CPH which is rated for 1,800 watts (but you already knew that).

Another option since you already have the unit in hand would be to modify it.  There is no reason you could not take the output from the PID that switches the heating element and use it to trigger an external SSR which will actually control as big of a load as you need (assuming the SSR & wiring are properly sized).  If you are handy at all with electronics or household wiring it would not be a difficult mod.

I believe that model uses a dry contact mechanical relay to switch the load instead of a SSR.  Ask Auber Instruments if there is a software option for a low voltage DC output that can trigger a SSR (it should be a programming change you can do if there is).  If not, you can still use a dry contact relay to trigger a DC power supply to trigger a SSR for a higher amperage load.  The common 25amp Fotek SSR which is sold by Auber and also available on e-bay, etc... will work.  If you go with a SSR make sure to properly heat sink the unit as well. 

You should be able to do the mod for much less than the shipping cost you quoted, including the 2nd housing for the DC supply if needed.
 
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thanks for the info

i did talk with Frank at Auberins, he also stated the 10 amp fuse could be faulty, i am thinking the extension cord i am using may be cutting back the juice too. anyways i went into the settings and knocked the output down to 80% as per Frank. takes longer to heat up and that sucks but i wont melt my PID. the $60 was for both ways shipping. i may do it when i have the backlog of stuff all smoked up. i am also putting in another 1100 watt fin strip heater on its own circuit to help the unit come up to temp quicker, then dial it back and let the Brinkman and the PID take over

 WISH ME LUCK !!!!
 
Actually an extension cord could make the fuse blow faster (if the fuse was not faulty).

Here is why.  The longer the wire run, the more voltage drop you start to get due to the resistance of the wire.  More wire = more resistance.  Load is the same wattage and if you plug in a lower voltage and same load into ohms law you find it takes more amps to produce the same amount of work (the load in watts).  So as voltage drops, amperage will increase.  The effect is worse if the extension cord is of insufficient wire gauge.  That is why pretty much anything with a heating element in it will have "do not use on an extension cord" in the directions.

As to the supplemental heater to bring the pit up to operating temp faster, that is a great idea and I can think of no reason no to do that.  You might want to get a high amperage timer switch from the local Canadian version of Home Depot or Lowes.  Should run you in the neighborhood of $10 to $15 for one that will handle a 15 amp load.   Set it for however long you find it takes to bring the smoker up to temp and then let it shut down and the other element take over.  That way if you get distracted by something else, you don't have a run-a-way smoker.
 
thanks for the input

that is one reason i am gettin a #12 extension cord....

GOD I LOVE THIS SITE  :0)
 
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Hey RACKRAT, glad to see your getting things figured out. Thanks once again for all the help and info you gave me. I am going to get the WSD-1503CPH to run the Brinkman 1500 watt element. Does anyone know how long you can run the element at full power without doing any damage to the unit or the element? Not sure if I'll need to just don't want to ruin such an expensive piece of equipment.
 
that is the 1800 watt controller so according to Frank at Auberins you can run that baby wide open cause it will never actually be maxed out. the problem i came against was running the 1500 watt rated one with the 1500 watt element, so i went into the programming and knocked it back to 80% for the safety of the unit. . they suggest to not run at max power for more than 90 minutes.

so like Frank told me ... you will be fine with that unit.

happy building !!!!!
 
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