Cheap SSR's

[Markbishop16]

Has anyone experience of the cheap SSR's on Ebay?

Looking at the 25/40 amp mains switching.

I have been using £20+ versions from component suppliers, which are good, but, I was wondering if the £4 versions from Hong Kong/Mainland China were worth a try.

I am only switching between 2-6 amps resistive, driving them with a 18 high power board.

I looked at the Fortek ones which from the data sheet were zero crossing and seemed OK.

Any experience would be much appreciated.

 

[Dippy]

Give us a link.


I am becoming increasingly worried as I watch more and more episodes of "Fake Britain".
Did you see last night and the not-so-cheap-to-buy but cheaply-made Ch Energy plug?

 

[Markbishop16]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Control-Solid-State-Relay-SSR-40DA-40A-24-380V-AC-Module-Fast-Switching-/170802773696?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item27c4a37ec0

Hope this works

 

[RexLan]

My guess is that it is the same SSR with a different label.
I use the 25 amp version and it works fine. I see the price for it all over the charts just like the PID controllers.

I use it for my smokehouse and some of the other guys also put a heat sink on it. I've not had a big issue and we are switching ~ 1800 watts

 

[bluejets]

My concern would be they do not give any isolation voltage rating.

 

[SAborn]

From the ones i have purchased they are exactly the same as the high priced ones, and work just fine.
Not everything is rubbish that comes from China, and in the later years the products have improved greatly. (just dont tell Dippy)

 

[Goeytex]

I have had very good luck getting name brand SSR's from EBAY. These are either used or surplus and in lots of 5 to 30. I have never received a bad SSR this way. I generally look for Gordos, Crouzett, Teledyne, Continental or Potter & Brumfield. The last time, I won the bid for 20 Gordos 25 amp (zero cross) relays and the total cost was about $70. All tested good and are still in my parts bins waiting for a new project. I tend to stay away from "cheap" stuff especially when it is used for switching mains power.

Is is true that the quality of many Asian products is getting better but I think not in a general sense, but on a product by product basis and it depends upon the manufacture and the seller/distributor. Some of the Asian companies are beginning to realize that to do continued business in the West, the product quality must be acceptable and the product must be honestly and accurately represented .... and some minimal level of support must be offered. Like providing datasheets.

 

[Billo]

I think one would have a hard time finding a 'brand name' electronic/high-tech product that did not have the bulk of it's manufacture done somewhere in the far east. The trick now becomes selecting the top quality Chinese product from the bad Chinese copy of the top quality Chinese product. My last Dell computer, a US company, was made of sub assemblies of which 100% were manufactured in the far east (China, Vietnam, Korea, etc..) and assembled in Canada. Not sure where the US content is.

 

[hippy]

The trick now becomes selecting the top quality Chinese product from the bad Chinese copy of the top quality Chinese product.

There's the rub, and it's not always easy to tell which is which nor how they will perform or in the long term.

As well as copies, fakes and counterfeits there may be those which are the genuine article but have failed testing in some way and been rejected by the manufacturer. You don't know if or when it will fail and how.

At the proverbial end of the day the best one can do is a risk assessment before buying or using. A shoddy component whose failure is simply a nuisance is one thing but something which can burn the house down or be lethal to life is another. That's definitely a false economy.

 

[Goeytex]

I think one would have a hard time finding a 'brand name' electronic/high-tech product that did not have the bulk of it's manufacture done somewhere in the far east.

Where a product is manufactured (Country) is irrelevant in regards to quality. Quality is a product of design, components, manufacturing process and "quality control". The branded products I refer to are not designed by the Asian manufacturing facility. These companies specify what components are to be used, solder specifications, manufacturing process, etc. To assure quality they will usually have someone on site to oversee the manufacturing process, and see that the MFG doesn't cheat by using unauthorized component substitutions, cheaper substandard solder for example, and does not take shortcuts that can affect quality & performance .

My last Dell computer, a US company, was made of sub assemblies of which 100% were manufactured in the Far East (China, Vietnam, Korea, etc..) and assembled in Canada. Not sure where the US content is.

The US content is in the design & engineering, and quality control.

 

[Billo]

Where a product is manufactured (Country) is irrelevant in regards to quality.

My point exactly.

The US content is in the design & engineering, and quality control.

I agree, it should be all 3, but they missed their target on the quality control. That I can assure you of, unless of course their goal was shoddy workmanship. As an Austin area resident, I hope you don't find that too offensive.

 

[Markbishop16]

So is it a yes or a no.

 

[John West]

Or a maybe.

 

[Jeff Haas]

Slight tangent...Regaring Chinese manufacturing practices, I've been reading a book named "Poor Made In China" which is one man's experience of being the go-between for American companies getting things manufactured in China. It aligns with a lot of what some people here have been saying and goes into detail of a lot of his experiences. It's also very entertaining. From the comments on Amazon, people in the sector who have similar experiences say that the book is dead on.

Something for the summer reading list, when you're away from the soldering iron!

 

[Goeytex]

As an Austin area resident, I hope you don't find that too offensive.

Not at all.

I worked for Dell from '94 to '97 and it was without a doubt the worst job I ever had. I made a ton of money going through 5 stock splits, but the work environment was so oppressive that many people were walking away from $100K jobs to keep their dignity and sanity. Employee turnover and burnout was horrific.

Imagine an Engineering/Support section of about 150 people where there is someone is sitting in a lifeguard chair, elevated 10 feet above the floor, whose job is to observe people leaving their cubicle, follow them the the bathroom, and telling them to hurry up while they are sitting on the pot.

So no offense taken at all.

 

[papaof2]

Imagine an Engineering/Support section of about 150 people where there is someone is sitting in a lifeguard chair, elevated 10 feet above the floor, whose job is to observe people leaving their cubicle, follow them the the bathroom, and telling them to hurry up while they are sitting on the pot.

Not worth $100K a year; probably iffy at two or three times that - although $300K would allow you to afford my friend Luigi who can eliminate that problem ;-)

 

[Rbeckett]

I have been using the 25 and 40 amp SSR from Ebay and they seem to do just fine. I dont load them too much, but I do switch them pretty often so they have held up just fine so far. I use them as the swiches for my temp controllers on my brew rig and the output from the PID fit their input voltages perfectly. The units are labeled Fotek and are White with a red LED to indicate when they are on. Just a word from the fringe...
Wheelchair Bob