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Originally posted by robusto link=1168898277/0#8 date=1169027502
Just adding to Mals comments....light dimmers as available in hardware suppliers are about 4-500 watts, which is less than half the rating needed to operate the heater.
--Robusto
Yep you need to mod them to get them up to around the 2 kW rating. It takes a new triac/diac pair and a beefier coil to handle the extra current. Not too hard, but youd probably want to know what youre doing.
Thanks Mal & Robusto for your input. . .
Im a compulsive tinkerer which can be a curse : )
Ive pretty much given up the idea and will probably go the way of Thundergod. . .it was getting a bit too complicated what with running a new power supply for the fan etc. I thought if you could wire something simple up that could be plugged/unplugged from popcorn maker to popcorn maker as they died and you got a new one, it would be cool. . ..but if its a major wiring job and you have to have bits hanging externally it would become dangerous for the un-initiated.
Thanks again all much appreciate your input
cheers Simon
Just adding to Mals comments....light dimmers as available in hardware suppliers are about 4-500 watts, which is less than half the rating needed to operate the heater.
I wouldnt rush into doing this mate.... You dont mention the brand of the popper you intend modifying but even so 95% of them seem to be manufactured in the same plant and if yours falls into that 95% group, what youre proposing to do wont work.
The heating elements in this group of poppers forms what is called a "voltage divider" and it is the Voltage Drop across one of these which provides the voltage supply to the rectifier bridge and then on to the fan. Adding resistance into this circuit in any form, whether a Pot or a fixed resistor will reduce the power output of the heating elements and upset the ratio of the dividing network feeding the fan.
Also, if you are dead set on trying this just to prove a point, then your Pot will need to have at least a 5.0 Amp rating since it will be in series with the heating elements. And since it is directly connected to the "Live" 240V AC section of the circuit, it must also be rated for this and have approved protection to prevent accidental contact from the person adjusting the Pot. In short, the whole scenario is far too risky to warrant attempting and should not be attempted by an unlicensed operator. If the worst should happen, there is also a real possibility that your Insurance company(ies) will void the policy(ies) due to unlicensed or unapproved work.
Thanks everyone for your warnings and suggestions, its given me a bit to think about.
My thought was to add a POT to the central thermostat coil which would reduce the heat output from the main heating element, this shouldnt affect the running of the fan (I dont think) but Ill try it and see. . . if it does Ill whack in a variable power supply so I can run the fan at greater speeds too
thanks again for your input
cheers simon
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Guest replied
Re: Modifying a popcorn maker?
Thanks Thundergod, I will search for the post. Having taken both poppers apart, the crazy popper blows the Black & Decker popper away ! (excuse the pun).
I have managed to extend the roast times in my Crazy Popper from 5 minutes to 12 minutes without changes to the electrics.
If you do a search you should find the thread which explains all.
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Guest replied
Re: Modifying a popcorn maker?
Hi,
On my crazy popper I have un soldered the wires on the motor circuit board, then soldered two wires directly to the motor and connected those wires to a 0 to 30 volt 5 amp DC power supply, when Im roasting I run the fan at 30 volts, this extends the roast time to about 7 to 10 min, after roasting I then press the on off button on the popper to turn the heater off, the fan is still running and cools the beans very quickly. Just to add, the crazy popper motor is rated @ 24volts the Black and Decker motor is rated @ 18 volts, I have run both types at 30 volts without any problems for about three weeks now, also if you see the temperature stalling you just lower the voltage on the motor by about 1 volt, the temperature will start to rise again, I have also bye passed the thermostat on the popper. The only down side to all this is if you stop the fan before turning the heat off you will burn the unit out !!!
First the mandatory warning..... be very careful playing inside.... 240V has a lethal kick and modified high power devices can start fires....
OK, it is not easy to modify a popper although several have done it (mainly overseas). The fan in the popper is low voltage (generally about 20 Volts and to get this voltage it is dropped by the heater element. Any change to the heater element will affect the fan - and probably cause it to fail.
The first thing (and this assumes you know what you are doing with electronics) is to isolate the fan circuit and run it from a transformer (cost >$20)...... you can then do what you like with the heater circuit - generally a high powered lamp dimmer is used (cost >$20 also).
Dont try to modify the actual heater wires- that will almost certainly result in a blown fuse or fire!!
IMHO its not worth spending that sort of money when an old bread maker and heat gun does a far better job (including bigger batches)....
Has anyone looked at modifying a popcorn maker to reduce the output temperature?
I pulled one apart and its got the main heating coil in a loop around a small straight coil (about 50mm in length). . . would I be right in guessing that the straight coil is heated by the big circular main heating coil and creates a certain amount of resistance at different temperatures and therefore controls the amount of cuttent that is fed into the main heating coil?
If this is the case would it be possible to add a bit of length to the straight coil causing more resistance and less heat? or maybe adding a POT in there somewhere so that we could adjust the amount of heat from the main coil.
This would allow longer roasting times in the humble popcorn maker.
Any thoughts???
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