In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2008-08-17, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2008-08-17, Joseph Gwinn wrote:

[ ... ]

This neon does not flicker, although it seems to be original.

Amazing.

I took a closer look. The neon pilot could have been replaced, as the
connection is by means of 0.25" tabs. One can still buy exactly these
pilot lamps, so it could have been replaced quite recently.

O.K. Also, I think that if they are being run brighter, they
keep from flickering longer. I've got an old surge protector box with
rocker switches with Neon lamps and they have all given up by now. It
does not matter really in this case, but they are all dark, and
difficult to access and replace. :-)

I think that the harder one drives a neon bulb, the sooner it wears out.
A neon will flicker if it doesn't have enough current to cause the
plasma sheath to fully cover the smaller electrode, but that's a
different problem.

The simpler explanation is that someone replaced the pilot light when
the original got annoying.


[ ... ]

"On the dole" -- are you in the UK by any chance? Or from
there?

Neither. But I like their turn of phrase.

O.K. I can understand that.

Is Boston close enough?

If you're in the Irish part, sure. They would say that. :-)

Well, the wife is Irish. Close enough?



[ ... ]

I thought of this, but couldn't find an 115 volt AC fans that were
small
enough. I probably can run a 24 volt fan off the controller signal
to
the SSR, but the fan would run only when the element was on. Perhaps
that's enough.

Hmm ... a tiny switching power supply from a hamfest to power
it?

I suppose, but we'll see if it's needed.

O.K. Perhaps just a 12V fan and a wall wart to power it? :-)

Seems clunky. Not clear that it needs a fan either.

O.K. I just hope that the lifetime of the controller is not
shortened.

That was my worry too. On my first attempt, the controller sat at just
under 50 degrees C, which meets the datasheet max temp spec (50C), but
is asking for trouble. After the fixup effort, the controller sits at
36 C, which is far more comfortable. This with no fan.


While looking at it to see the model number of the controller, I
also checked out the spacers from the legs. It looks as though I have
something like 2-1/2" to 3" spacers -- which brings the left edge of the
controller housing in line with the right edge of the oven box.

OK.


Joe Gwinn