AC Mains powered bed heater on V0.2?

[ChrisA]

I see that I can buy a 100mm x 100mm 100 Watt heater designed for 120 volts AC in Aliexpress for only about $13.

One complaint I have with my brand new V0 is that it takes about 10 minutes to heat the bed to 105 C. Ten minutes is not bad but I'd be happier with a 100W heater. Doing that with 24V DC would stress the power supply but using AC mains power, I'd bypass the power supply (and have more DC power available for adding LED lights). With 100W and a fan on the bed I could heat the chamber faster too.

I think I could just do the same as the larger Vorons do and use a solid state relay. Seems to be a better solution? Is there a reason the V0 uses 60W DC heater and not an AC heater? Yes I know "10 minute is not so long to wait." but AC seems like a good upgrade.

 

[vinnycordeiro]

The original V0 used AC heaters, you can change the branch on the Github repository to have access to the old files, specially the manual. Also, the sourcing guide still list the parts needed for the OG V0.

 

[ChrisA]

The original V0 used AC heaters, you can change the branch on the Github repository to have access to the old files, specially the manual. Also, the sourcing guide still list the parts needed for the OG V0.

OK, but for some reason, someone decided to change to 24-volt DC. Was there a problem that needed to be addressed? Certainly, the DC system is safer.

I'll likey switch to AC unless someone tells me some good reason not to. Yes I know I need to ground the bed and find a place of the SSR and certainly use the thermal fuse.

The 60W heater could be put to good use in a DIY filament drier. It would work well on 12V power.

 

[vinnycordeiro]

OK, but for some reason, someone decided to change to 24-volt DC. Was there a problem that needed to be addressed? Certainly, the DC system is safer.

I'll likey switch to AC unless someone tells me some good reason not to. Yes I know I need to ground the bed and find a place of the SSR and certainly use the thermal fuse.

The 60W heater could be put to good use in a DIY filament drier. It would work well on 12V power.

It was mainly for safety reasons. The thing is that the BOM SSR is kinda expensive and people at the time (2020) were using Chinese alternatives that were pretty dangerous: many of them are active LOW, when the BOM SSR is active HIGH. If you follow all the usual precautions though, the AC heater is a pretty reasonable option.

 

[Dave32]

and people at the time (2020) were using Chinese alternatives

Not to mention the pandemic impacts on the supply chain.
And counterfeit SSRs have (and had) been a problem for a long time too.

I'll likey switch to AC unless someone tells me some good reason not to.

There was a time when people were leery of moving mains-powered beds, and the issues associated with constant flexing on that wiring.
I think we have gotten past that... and obviously machines like the Trident have mains powered beds. But back when I was building my FT5, I remember that being something that would give builders pause.

 

[Nerobro]

I can vouch for the "weird chinese SSR" thing. Mine required active (5v) power to operate, but was not active low, thank goodness. The 120v wiring was a little unnerving. But it allows you to run some really tiny wires for the bed, and the PSU necessary gets really tiny.