On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 21:33:29 -0800, "Bob Monsen"
wrote:


"default" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:18:50 GMT, Ecnerwal
wrote:

In article ,
default wrote:

The range is old and I use it a lot - cooking and beer making are
hobbies. That last can be hard on ranges.

As it happens, I make beer on mine. Invested in a "canning element" 13
years ago, put a 10 gallon pot on there and boil 8 gallons or so of wort
down to 5, no problems with the range at all in 13 years. Catching the
drips the exhaust fan can't keep up with and cleaning everything to suit
me before I get started is more of a problem. The range, and the range
controls, have had no trouble at all with this...

Well, I'm not looking for reasons why I shouldn't do it, but how to do
it.
--

Triacs have different requirements for current at the gate. It's possible
that your 40A triacs may need more current to trigger them than a dimmer
will supply. However, why not give it a try?

Regards

The lash up works. I can control a 120 VAC lamp with the dimmer
triggering the external triac. So at least it triggers on 120.

Before it goes into the range, I need some mounting washers for the
triac. These are bolted to a bare heatsink and I'd rather insulate
the triac than insulate the heatsink.

Still want to tinker a bit to see if the bare, out of the box, dimmer
can be made to work the triac with only the two wires they supply.
--