Chopshop697
Well-Known Member
Hi friends,
Thought I'd share a toaster oven controller I made using the REX-C100 PID controller. These can be had on Ebay for about $18, including the SSR and thermocouple.
Yes, I KNOW there are a billion proven methods to decarb, and this is overkill, and the oven is to small, etc... BUT, this was a multi-purpose build for wife's polymer clay business, as well as toasting oak staves for force-aging whiskey. (she has her own oven for poly clay, since she doesn't want her product smelling like weed or toasted oak
) I used a Black and Decker oven which was about $30 (20%off at Bed Bath & Beyond helps,) but any cheap oven of about the same size should work fine.
This was an easy build - just find an appropriate box to house the PID, SSR, heat sink, and outlet to the toaster oven. Use appropriate size wire for the power circuits, pay attention to grounding and thermal management, and understand you're switching a large inductive load, so a snubber on the SSR output isn't a bad idea. Look up YouTube videos if you're not sure how to put it all together.
I set the oven to Always on, Bake, 450 deg. This will ensure that when power is applied to the oven, the elements will come on immediately. Thermocouple is set in the middle of the oven, about the same level as your product tray, with wire pushed through a small hole drilled in the back wall.
I used the following parameters with a type K thermocouple. There isn't much overshoot, and once it stabilizes after initial heat-up, the temperature doesn't vary by more than 0.5 deg F. Not bad! I used a large pot of boiling RO water to calibrate the value of Sc, which is your Sensor Correction. Just be aware that not all thermocouples want to be submerged - I held mine so that the crimp didn't go underwater during the calibration.
AL1:10, P:25, I:120, d:40, Ar:80, r:3, Sc:***varies***
![20220702_091932[1].jpg](/data/attachments/4259/4259668-2ff47f9f488e8de1e45d6c44a67a2073.jpg)
![20220702_091834[1].jpg](/data/attachments/4259/4259669-9bbb4b4fb7ded859531cee5e787bcc34.jpg)
Hope this helps someone down the road!
Thought I'd share a toaster oven controller I made using the REX-C100 PID controller. These can be had on Ebay for about $18, including the SSR and thermocouple.
Yes, I KNOW there are a billion proven methods to decarb, and this is overkill, and the oven is to small, etc... BUT, this was a multi-purpose build for wife's polymer clay business, as well as toasting oak staves for force-aging whiskey. (she has her own oven for poly clay, since she doesn't want her product smelling like weed or toasted oak
) I used a Black and Decker oven which was about $30 (20%off at Bed Bath & Beyond helps,) but any cheap oven of about the same size should work fine.This was an easy build - just find an appropriate box to house the PID, SSR, heat sink, and outlet to the toaster oven. Use appropriate size wire for the power circuits, pay attention to grounding and thermal management, and understand you're switching a large inductive load, so a snubber on the SSR output isn't a bad idea. Look up YouTube videos if you're not sure how to put it all together.
I set the oven to Always on, Bake, 450 deg. This will ensure that when power is applied to the oven, the elements will come on immediately. Thermocouple is set in the middle of the oven, about the same level as your product tray, with wire pushed through a small hole drilled in the back wall.
I used the following parameters with a type K thermocouple. There isn't much overshoot, and once it stabilizes after initial heat-up, the temperature doesn't vary by more than 0.5 deg F. Not bad! I used a large pot of boiling RO water to calibrate the value of Sc, which is your Sensor Correction. Just be aware that not all thermocouples want to be submerged - I held mine so that the crimp didn't go underwater during the calibration.
AL1:10, P:25, I:120, d:40, Ar:80, r:3, Sc:***varies***
Hope this helps someone down the road!