SSR Isolation?

Discussion of the physical aspects
Post Reply
el_hombre
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 1:07 pm
Bot?: No

SSR Isolation?

Post by el_hombre »

I am looking at using a few BBQ lighters to light my burners. JonW said he is using this SSR to control the 1.5v side of the circuit for the lighters:

http://www.futurlec.com/Relays/SSR3A48D05pr.shtml

However, I am a bit concerned about some threads that have said the high voltage of the spark generators have caused issues with the BCS systems. In my simple mind I am imagining this is due to some kind of feedback from the SSR leaking into the BCS control circuit since they tend to be rated to 1k-4kv isolation (the spark generator's output is 24kv). Do I have this wrong and the issue is actually a grounding problem? I saw several people saying they had problems, but no solutions that I remember. My whole system is 120vAC except for the 5V coming from the BCS (and the 1.5vDC for the lighters, obviously). I plan on grounding the generators to the frame of the rig, but I am open to creating a separate grounding circuit that runs to the house neutral or ground.
JonW
Site Admin
Posts: 1726
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:51 am
Bot?: No
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Contact:

Re: SSR Isolation?

Post by JonW »

Isolation is a big issue with these igniters. That's why I chose to keep mine battery operated and used the SSR to trigger the battery. A lot of people are using a power supply to power the igniters and I felt this was where the path back to the BCS was being made. Without a power supply (and associated common grounds), I feel that it works very reliable. Two other friends both have the same setup on their rigs and none of us are having issues.

Only issue I've had is one of my igniter probe leads must have got too hot from the burner or chaffed somehow and it allowed the wire to arc against the plumbing instead of at the tip of the probe. Some heat shrink tubing over the probe lead fixed that.
User avatar
rspiger
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:24 am
Bot?: No

Re: SSR Isolation?

Post by rspiger »

Thanks for the tip Jon
Blasted Bassett Brewery
el_hombre
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 1:07 pm
Bot?: No

Re: SSR Isolation?

Post by el_hombre »

Thanks again Jon.

One last question. Are you using one spark generator connected to all your burners, or three? If you are using one, are you grounding the other two 'ports' on the generator to its own ground? My rig has rubber feet so I am hesitant of using it as a ground as the install instructions indicate (wouldn't want a stray spark firing in the black pipe where the propane is).
JonW
Site Admin
Posts: 1726
Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:51 am
Bot?: No
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Contact:

Re: SSR Isolation?

Post by JonW »

The spark generator has 3 ports. Each port has an igniter probe hooked up to it for each of the 3 burners. There are no unused ports.
Post Reply