copec
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2021
- Messages
- 335
If you are getting the cheap SSRs through Amazon or eBay or the likes, they pretty much all lie on the rating.Appreciate the feedback. I've been playing with this off and on for the last year. Currently I'm up to 1200 watt (4x72 cell panels) in series/parallel. I was going to run them all in series and push about 150v into the element but was trying to use DC SSR to do the switching. The issue is they keep blowing and shorting out. I'm only powering the bottom element and I pulled out the 220v element and run a 110 element to better match the watts. Aside from not being able to switch the power I can heat the 50 gallon tank to >180 in the summer and >140 in the winter. So we actually have to use hot water to keep the temp down. hee hee hee. If I could only switch it I'd be happy. I'm using the water heater thermostat to turn off/on a 12v dc power supply and that triggers the SSR. The SSR is rated 5-60 vdc at 40a. I'm pushing the voltage but well under the current rating by more than 50%. So I purchased a DC motor speed controller to try and get a zero crossing pulse so i could use the water heater thermostat but have not tried it yet. I just purchased a mini hand held scope to try and see the wave forms you supplied.