Heating Element / Voltage

[Northdude]

I have a fridge which is in need of a heating element in the condensate tray to evaporate the water, i have a heating element which i got from climate centre a long time ago, problem is that when i connect it up to 240v it gets too hot (glows bright red and looks pretty dangerous), the only solution i can come up with is to reduce the voltage accross it by using a transformer, does anybody think this will work and what rating transformer do you think will be suitable? Any feedback will be great, thanks in advance!!

[mad fridgie]

A number of ways to cure this, a simple resistor in series, a dimmer switch (variable resistor) in series or add some metal to the element (increase the surface area to disiapate the heat)

[nike123]

As you are service engineer, appropriate solution would be that your discharge pipe from compressor goes true condensate tray and than in condenser or, if your condensate drain exit is high enough, to put heat resistant plastic tray at top of compressor and drain your condensate there.
All other solutions are energy consuming and these two solutions are beneficial for your fridge.

[Shibhrac]

Where is the location of the drip tray?. And what material is it made of?

[Yuri B.]

I have a fridge which is in need of a heating element in the condensate tray to evaporate the water, i have a heating element which i got from climate centre a long time ago, problem is that when i connect it up to 240v it gets too hot (glows bright red and looks pretty dangerous), the only solution i can come up with is to reduce the voltage accross it by using a transformer, does anybody think this will work and what rating transformer do you think will be suitable? Any feedback will be great, thanks in advance!!

Try and see what may be the temp if you siwitch the heater through a diod - it will then just consume half the power (as voltage will be only 120V), no wastes. If the temp will not be enough, it may be possible (I am not sure of course about your type of heater), while using the diod, to shorten the heater - then the temp will increase with increased power.

[lowcool]

why not cycle it on a thermostat as red hot heater is not what you want or burning all the time

[Northdude]

Thanks for all your feedback, the drip tray is on the other side from the compressor so to run the discharge through it then it would have to scale the whole length of the cabinet and there is not enough lift to put a tray on top of the compressor. If i was going to fit a thermostat to it what kind of stat could i get for a heater? I could always fit a 24hr timeclock to run in cycles. The drip tray is metal. As for a diode i have never worked with diodes before, how do they work? Do they reduce the voltage?

[Shibhrac]

I would say connecting your heater to evaporate the drained water may end to unwanted and unsafe results.therefore discard this option and connect the drain water into a suitable vessel and empty it manually if this is not a solution to your problem try to contact the manufacturer i'm sure they will advice accordingly.

[lowcool]

their are regulated stats out their that will trip overload internally if they fail.maybe google stokes or similar

[monkey spanners]

Why not just get the correct heater element for the tray and voltage?

[Northdude]

Its on an infrico pizza prep cabinet, its a tray with a built in heater (heater failed), got a price on it £108, quoted customer and they aint prepared to pay that much just for a heater so im looking for a cheaper solution.

[monkey spanners]

You can get universal heater pans from people like srw etc, may be cheaper.

[Shibhrac]

Cheaper solution.is to connect the drain hose into a small vessel and empty it manually. As i suggested before.

[mad fridgie]

Its on an infrico pizza prep cabinet, its a tray with a built in heater (heater failed), got a price on it £108, quoted customer and they aint prepared to pay that much just for a heater so im looking for a cheaper solution.

I think the best option is the tell the client to F***Off, who needs these type of people.
Your are a skilled engineer, you have given them the correct solution (for this appilication) It is not a fortune! Are you charging for your time asking these questions? You should! These clients bring down the standard, the next engineer comes in see a rough job, you are a "cowboy" but he did not know the client was a w*****.
I have been down this track, it is not so nice, to be "called" when at the end of the day you did what the customer instructed

[Electrocoolman]

Most elements have voltage and wattage stamped on them at one end.

Have a look at HAWCO or THERMOSPEED web sites, they do rod elements which can be bent, and also some pre-shaped elements.

[Frikkie]

Different heater elements have different heat densities (watts per centimeter length). High heat density elements can be made to glow red hot without damage, depending wether using incaloy/hasteloy etc for tube construction.
Some immersion elements must only work in water and will glow red if used dry and can cause damage. Maybe use a liquid level detector to run element when water level increases and switch off again when level drops.

[Magoo]

A cheap option is self regulating heat trace.