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Appalling! yet more conclusive proof, were it needed, of the built-in obsolescence in such equipment 🤣

Hmmm - maybe you could mount a fan on the outside of the box, next to the heatsink, and a few holes on the opposite side of the case so it draws the air all the way through?

@Vinylwasp I think the proper terminology these days is probably "Ferrules" or sometimes I've heard them called 'bootlaces' Maybe have a look at these... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CNR84K8V ??

Nice work there mate athumb.. great stuff. Are those spade connectors I see on the side rocker switch there? You might want to solder those instead, if they are taking any current ...

In case it helps, here's a closer look inside one of the TETB power controllers. First and most importantly, ALL external metalwork (heatsinks, case, control knobs, etc) MUST be properly bonded to earth. This isn't "elf an safety gorn mad" ... it's just bloody sensible. You're dealing with...

Hi @Vinylwasp athumb.. yes, with the wide availability of bits and bobs off the shelf it feels like electrical engineering is a bit like Lego... but unfortunately when you're switching a few kW of power things can get a bit more complicated. I'll answer your last point first. Your friend is...

Blimey that must be quite a meaty rotary switch, to handle 13A

@hoppyscotty nice one - sounds like you made a good solid job of it athumb.. Hmmm not too sure about that: you get the same current through the live terminal as through the neutral one?

For the connection to the SSR itself you should if at all possible be using crimped and/or soldered ring terminations on the cables that are a good fit to the terminal posts on the SSR. Do yourself a favour and bin the FOTEK SSRs altogether: it's just not worth the risk. Get yourself one of...

@jof is correct with high current loads, making a really solid connection to all terminals is vitally important otherwise you can get severe overheating. This is equally important in your mains plug, your connection to the SSR terminals, and the actual kettle. A common cause of failure...

Note that kosher SSRs from RS/Farnell/Digikey etc are significantly more expensive than similarly rated ones on 't interweb. This is a bit of a clue as to what is going on. Dodgy people with no interest in your house burning down buy them up, re-label them, flog them cheap and laugh.

There's no problem at all using an SSR to do power width modulation by turning it on and off frequently, although in practice you should really only do so by turning it on/off for complete half cycles (in fact to control a big load like a kettle, you should probably only use SSRs of the 'zero...

Two frequently encountered issues with SSRs: If an SSR was bought from Amazon, eBay etc it will almost invariably been falsely re-labelled with an exaggerated capacity rating. The biggest target for this activity is FOTEK (see...

It was about half a cupful IIRC… I’m not sure what the recipe meant by “lightly crushed” so I just put it in the pestle and mortar and just gave it a bit of a crunch - aiming to crack the shells without pounding it into dust…

You could just stir in sufficient boiling water to raise the temperature to 72? The “mash temp” calculator on the calculators tab at the top of the site will tell you how much is needed, e.g.:

Happy to post you a foot of 3/8” tubing! Just PM me your address :-)

It won't be a problem with the house electrics. I'm sure you checked by the way, but it isn't as simple as the mains plug having been fitted with an inappropriately low rating of fuse, is it? (needs to be 13A) The safety thermostat or 'thermal cutout' is a mechanical switch that "trips" when...

Hi Tom - can you just chop the cracked bit of line off and re-use what's left? Heat the tubing up with a hairdryer to make it stretch over the barb more easily

Sounds like you'll have an interesting selection @dave_77 ... not sure how you'll compare the ones across different types! Personally I'm just interested in opportunity for some objective, honest feedback so please don't pull your punches athumb..

@Skindar the length of 3/16" tubing you need for a correct pour will depend on your keg pressure and the type of beer, but generally 50-100cm will do it. Calculators are available, but basically I started with 1.5m but that was pouring too slowly so I chopped a third of it off athumb.. If you...