Hi there what would I need to control a heat element say from a tumble dryer or washing machine kettle etc. I want something what works from 70° to around a 100°. is there anyway I could restrict the voltage. I live in the United Kingdom and we run 230v ac
I want to build a aluminium hot plate about a 1 foot squared . And help I would appreciate many thanks regards James. I'm not to far away from a maplin store

 

By "control", you mean to hold a preset temperature, like a thermostat?

 

Triac or a SSR.
For simple control there is 'Dimmer' style controller for power tools that have extra current capability.
Max.

 

If you mean manual control, a dimmer switch should work.

 

You need a thermostat circuit,or a light dimmer, what voltage do you want to change it to?

 

Many hot plates operate without thermal feedback just simple phase control.
Max.

 

You need a thermostat circuit,or a light dimmer, what voltage do you want to change it to?

All I want to do is with out to much complicated. If I use a dimmer switch I should be able to dim the heat. Say for example we got a cooker hob element and that reaches a max temp of 200c I want to bring it down to at least half that. I can always use an infared heat laser to find out what temp I'm at. And use the dimmer to get the temperature I require.. would this work

 

By "control", you mean to hold a preset temperature, like a thermostat?

Yes
A few people in here have suggested a dimmer switch that should hold at a temp I require

 

Like I said, you would need the industrial/power tool version, the light-dimmer style may prematurely fail.
Max.

 

This is a 500W dimmer, upto 2 amps, any more your going to need a 1Kw dimmer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Light-Dim...775?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4ebec287

 

Like I said, you would need the industrial/power tool version, the light-dimmer style may prematurely fail.
Max.

Something on the lines of electric drill speed controller

 

This is a 500W dimmer, upto 2 amps, any more your going to need a 1Kw dimmer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Light-Dim...775?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4ebec287

thank you I will take a look

 

Something on the lines of electric drill speed controller

Yes.
Max.

 

What you need depends a lot on your heating element - its peak wattage. I would not use a "1000W" dimmer for a 1000W heater. I'd want some overhead on the rating, and certainly do not use a 1000W dimmer with a 1500W element.

You may be disappointed with the precision of temperature control. Without a thermostat, it may swing a lot and unpredictably, depending on what you are doing with it.

 

Hi. I'm new here and not trying to step on toes but maybe have look at a dedicated temp controller. A quick ebay uk search turned up this. It's a PID controller, with 40amp ssr relay. Even comes with a thermocouple to dial in the temp just right. A deeper search may turn up something cheaper and more in your amp range. HTH

 

If you need that kind of quality, that looks like a good price (to me). One of the perpetual problems here is people asking for measurements or controls and having no clue about how accurate they want it.