Hi everyone,

First time poster here. I have a vertical rotiserrie broiler I use at home which has a 1600w heating element (120v) with no temp control, just an on/off switch. The unit states it's 14 amps. I was wondering if there is any way to regulate the heat output of this element just like a stove top burner or hotplate burner regulates heat output via control knob.

Thanks for any help. Great site !!

 

I am not quite sure what a rotiserrie broiler is. Maybe it is just me that is slow

 

Welcome to the forum!
I guess that element has quite a high heat capacity, so it should be possible to turn it on for some mains cycles and turn it off for other mains cycles to vary the average power consumption and so control heat output. For example, ON for alternate cycles would give you half power.
Switching at the mains zero-crossing points would minimise RF interference generation.

 

A really cheap solution would be a rectifier diode. Look up 1N1190A. It is a 600 volt 40 amp device. I found one selling for less than $4 US. Adding that would give you a quick method to make the cooker provide 800 watts instead of 1600W.

 

Build a PWM circuit using a long duration (about 10-sec) 555 timer circuit powered by a 9V battery and driving an optocoupler and zero-crossing triac. (Just an idea).

 

Here is another idea using a light dimmer switch:

Put the triac on a heatsink.

 

Or just one of the cheap ($10 or so) temp controllers on ebay and an SSR ($10 or so again)..

 

Maybe it's just me, but "broiling" is not usually a temperature controlled way of cooking. If you turn your oven setting to 'broil' it eliminates the temperature settings that a normal to regular cooking. The only control at 'broil' is the overheating shutdown that protects the oven.


So what is the reason for temp control in a 'broiler'?

 

If the temp reached around 500°C, I think u can adapt my Iron temp controller. It can be modified for ur needs I believe.
Of course u have to use a powerful triac instead of BT139. U can find these 40amp triac in shower heaters.

 

My first thought was to take a temperature controller out of a kitchen stove, but they are pretty slow. Dozens of seconds in "on" and "off" condition at low settings.

 

Thanks for all the great suggestions.
I was looking online and came across this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G0HPEI

Would the temp control knob work in my situation?
This particular element is 1400 watts, but its the same
basic principle right?

If i can order just the control, would that br safe?

 

I don't think so. This would use a mechanical bimetallic strip thermostat that is directly in contact with the oven.

For starters, I would go with a single high current rectifier and see if this works for you.
This will give you two settings, low and high.

 

I also thought about using a stovetop control but wasn't sure if the difference in voltage would pose any problems.

 

Typical stovetop temp contollers only guess at the temperature. Oven controls, on the other hand, use sensing/feedback for much better control. One might also look at deep fryer conntrols which use a similar setup. If you can buy parts at a appliance repair place, the cost won't be too bad.

When I click on your link, I get an oven roaster, not a temperature controller, so I can't comment on it.

 

Maybe it's just me, but "broiling" is not usually a temperature controlled way of cooking. If you turn your oven setting to 'broil' it eliminates the temperature settings that a normal to regular cooking. The only control at 'broil' is the overheating shutdown that protects the oven.


So what is the reason for temp control in a 'broiler'?

These vertical broilers are used for the lamb roasts for Gyro shops. They carve the "lamb-burger" meat cyclinder as it rotates (and cooks) round the center spire. As the lamb is freshly placed, it is large diameter and, therefore, close to the heater and overheats. Turning down the temp would be nice. Also, when the meat is almost gone (carved down to the center rod), the meat dries and burns - again, turning down the heat would be nice.

Don't ask me how I know this one - too many jobs in high school / college to explain.

 

Ah! A well made gyro. You're making me hungry!

 

Perhaps using a approved light dimmer that is properly rated for the power of the heating element should do well. By some experimenting you should learn how to tune the dimmer so it fits your need. This is on the border line of what hobbyist not knowing quite what they do should work on.