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Thread: PID kit on ebay, are they any good?

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    PID kit on ebay, are they any good?

    I recently got interested in a PID for my Lee pot. I've looked at several threads and most come up with costs of $150 + just for parts. Yesterday I looked on ebay and found a set up with the PID, An 40 A SSR w/ heat sink, and a thermocouple with 3 ft lead for $49.00. shipped from Canada it would come to about $66.00.
    Has anyone had any experience with this outfit? Are the parts any good? I would like to get a setup for less that the Lee pot costs.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    Mike W1's Avatar
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    First off we don't know which kit you looked at for starters so we don't know which parts are in it. The PID's likely either a Rex or a Mypin, either of which can be fine. But a lot of Rex's are NOT for SSR output and you have to watch for that. Chances are the SSR and heat sink are just fine. The odds are though that thermocouple is not suitable. It's likely the kind that are to be screwed in and not a 4" probe like you need for your pot.

    PM me if you want to save a bit more money on parts and some unasked for advice!
    Mike

    Benefactor Member NRA
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    There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.
    One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”
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  3. #3
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    I've seen a kit with parts as you describe for as cheap as $15 plus 99¢ shipping from Hong Kong.

    Any good ? probably ...there are lots of posts to learn about it here.

    If you think you might need customer support, I wouldn't order parts from Hong Kong or Canada...I'd order from a US source.
    The first PID I ordered from Hong Kong, it turned out to be defective right out of the box, I took it apart and it was obvious the problem was a poorly soldered PCB and how knows what else? ..No support from Hong kong. So, long story short, I ordered another one from a US source, lesson learned.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  4. #4
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks for the good advise.
    I found a combo PID, SSR 40A, Heat sink and Thermocouple, on ebay from US seller. They say delivery by 1/12/17. Good price. TC is most likely the screw in type, but at the price I should be OK getting a Type K probe and still be within my small budget.
    I just rewired the Lee pot to 3 wire So should be good to go. Again, Thanks for your input.

  5. #5
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    FYI, many of the Fleabay sellers offering those combo deals, will send you the type of TC you need, if you send a them a message. Usually they have that suggestion in their product description, but even if they don't, it doesn't hurt to ask.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  6. #6
    Boolit Mold
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    I have already ordered the combo unit, but will most likely need to get a Thermocouple with 100mm probe. what should I look for in ordering the TC? There seem to be a lot of them on ebay and amazon, but what do I need to look for in the specs? Appreciate any advise.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by ThorfromFresno View Post
    I have already ordered the combo unit, but will most likely need to get a Thermocouple with 100mm probe. what should I look for in ordering the TC? There seem to be a lot of them on ebay and amazon, but what do I need to look for in the specs? Appreciate any advise.
    As OBIII says, "K" type.
    anything else is dependant on how you'd like to mount it.

    I ordered the cheapest K type 100mm from China (and then I ordered a spare). Others have had failures, luckily I haven't yet.



    I used a spring mount, like a standard thermometer uses, so it's portable (I have two pots), also I can place the probe near the bottom pour spout, right where I want it...but is easily moved for cleaning/scrapping.


    3m cable was long enough, I put the finished unit on a shelf above my Lead furnace
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  8. #8
    Boolit Mold
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    I've ordered a K type TC from Amazon, should be here Wednesday. Hope to have the PID & SSR by Friday. I must thank all of you have so kindly and generously given of your time and knowledge to help me with this small project. This is my first time asking a question on this website and I'm so proud of my fellow casters for the help you have extended. I'll keep you updated as I progress with putting everything together. Thanks so much!

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    I got the PID, SSR and heat sink in a combo deal on ebay. Still waiting for the TC to arrive. It should be here by Friday. I couldn't find a cheap box for putting the parts in, so I went to a thrift store and found an old VCR. Bought it for $5.00. Took all the guts out, and mounted the PID on the right front panel, SSR & Heat sink on the inside Left. Drilled some holes in the back panel, and will prop open the VCR door for ventilation. Hope it works OK. Its bigger that I really needed, but it is easy to work inside, and route the wiring.
    I'm having a bit of difficulty hooking up the SSR. The terminal markings are not like any of the diagrams. Looking at the rear of the SSR the top left marking is #1, with a squiggly line, then marking 24-380 VAC. the top[ Right is marked #2 and the squiggly line. the bottom right terminal is marked #3, with a positive sign(+), The bottom left is marked #4 with a Negative sign (-). Between the two bottom terminals is a marking "3-32 VDC" and a marking "Input".
    I'm just guessing that the Input terminals are the "In" lines from the PID. There is no marking of T-1 and L-1 on the upper terminals, Which is which? Anyone know? Does the Top left terminal go to main + power on terminal on the Terminal Strip? Does Top Right go the powere side of the pot?

  10. #10
    Boolit Mold DrewSeeg's Avatar
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    Thor ... The (+) and (-) sides (spot 3 and 4) are what hook up to the PID ... the PID should have a + and - connector labeled SSR. + to + and - to - and the pid tells the relay to switch on or off by those connections ... The other side marked 24-380 VAC is where you would hook up your power ... for me I connected the SSR #1 spot to my hot (usually Black also the smaller connect on the plug in) going into the PID ... then the SSR #2 spot to my Hot line going to my extention cord ... then the neutral on your extension cord connects to the neutral on your PID. If that makes sense ... you could also directly connect by cutting your pot power cord but for me it was easier and more useful to just use the end of the extension cord i cut to power the PID.
    DRS

  11. #11
    Boolit Mold DrewSeeg's Avatar
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    Forgot to mention that I am using the REXC-100 off fleabay ($15) ... and it works pretty dang well. But have only had it for a month so we will see ... Also directions that come with mine, at least, were 100% Chinese... so there's that.
    DRS

  12. #12
    Boolit Mold
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    DrewSeeg,Thanks for your input. I got everything hooked up and tested it this morning. My first time in putting together anything like this. It works! all the lights go on as they should and the TC reads out correctly for ambient and Ice water temp. I haven't checked hot water yet. Hope to put it in the lead tomorrow, after I get back to town. Total cost of parts, PID, SSR, Heat sink, Heat sink grease, Terminal strip, wire connectors, and extension cord ends, used as in and out connectors at back of box, came to $40.06 along with about abut 15 hours of labor, because I'm electronically challenged. My deepest thanks to Mike W1, and the rest of the members, who provided valuable advise to help me get the job done. Hope to be casting tomorrow.
    Last edited by ThorfromFresno; 01-22-2017 at 02:51 PM. Reason: Misspellings

  13. #13
    Boolit Master




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    I bought a solo sl 4848 pid from Automation direct, It works great and they have excellent customer support.

  14. #14
    Boolit Mold DrewSeeg's Avatar
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    No problem Thor. It makes a huge difference with my lee pot and is definitely worth the time.
    DRS

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy hermans's Avatar
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    I have been using the REX C-100 bought off Ebay very cheaply, for a couple of years now without any problems. I have a second one I use to regulate the lube temp in my Star, also no problem.
    The only "problem" was that as mentioned in post #2 by Mike W1, that the output was not suitable for using a SSR. Found a video on YouTube showing in detail how to modify the unit to be ready for a SSR. This was done easily, and since then these "cheap Chinese" units works like a dream.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    I run a rex-c100 that came from Hong Kong or China too. It didn't work straight from the box, but i'd put money on the fact if it was bought from my home country there is a possibility it wouldn't have workd either. People that sell the same model from the USA just buy them in bulk from China and re-sell with their mark up on top. Mine said it was made by RIK in Japan, sounds legit right?

    I got it going again, bad solder joint on the transformer windings.

    Mine was not made for SSR output, as when i bought it, i wanted to use a relay. I modified it to SSR output, just remove the relay and install two jumper wires and the PID is suitable for SSR output.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master

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    I have built a number PID temperature control units.
    The Rex C100 for 120 VAC with SSR control can be bought for about $12 shipped from China.
    You need to ensure it is not internal relay and suitable for the SSR relay. It takes about 10 minutes to modify one of these from internal relay to control an external SSR (Video on YouTube on how to do this)
    SSRs can be $3 and up,
    the thermocouple (4 inch probe type k) is about $6.00.

    You can download istructions on how to set up the Rex C100 - These include terminal diagrams and wiring. Sometimes you have to set the PID to use the K thermocouple. Not difficult once you have gone through the set up menus. Usually they com preset for K thermocouple.
    Some are set at max 400 C, but the upper limit can usually be reset once a K thermocouple is selected.
    The Rex C100 usually only reads in Degrees C.
    I sometimes use those as a Thermostat (can be changed from PID control to thermostat control in the settings) - it will hold the alloy temperature just the same on thermostat as it will on PID control. PID control of a lead pot is like using a sledge hammer to break eggs. It works well but all that is needed is a simple on/off setting in the PID unit to turn it into an electronic thermostat (like the mechanical thermostat in the pot controller ) to keep the alloy temperature within 1 to 3 degrees of desired casting temperature
    Go now and pour yourself a hot one...

  18. #18
    Boolit Mold
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    Today I finally got the time to set up my casting Pot and bench. Wish I had enough room to leave it set up permanently. Hooked up the PID and put the TC into the lead. Hooray!!! It works. Temp varied quite a bit at first, then settled down and kept within 2-3 degrees C, as long as I didn't add cooler lead from the Propane pot. that pot was kept at 625 Deg. F, so it took a few minuets for the electric pot to come up to temp. I started casting with the temp at 357 deg C, that is 675 Deg F. Had a bit of problem with the spout being too cool, so raised to 371 deg C = 700 deg F From then on no more problems. All things considered, went pretty well for forst time. My thanks to all the members who so generously provided solid information and help while I was stumbling through getting the parts and putting the unit together. I'm hooked!

  19. #19
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    That's good news.

    I suspect over time, if you chose to use different alloys and/or different molds and/or varied ambient temp/wind(if casting outside), you probably find that each situation will require a little bit different temperature setting, I know I did.

    Geargnasher taught me, the rule of thumb for alloy is, having the pot set "about" 100ºF above liquidus temp, which can vary quite a bit, as Tin has a low melt temp and the more Tin in the mix, the lower the melt temp. Pure lead melt temp is 621ºF where as Solder (63/37) melts at 361ºF...Not that you will be casting with solder, but that gives the idea.

    So an example, when I'm casting with 94-3-3 with in a 41 cal, 4 cavity Iron mold, which easily over heats, I set the temperature to 650º (about the lowest temp I can run that alloy without the spout freezing up). But when I'm casting a large aluminum mold with 4 or 5 small cavities, like 22 cal, I'll run the pot as hot as 720ºF. I've had problems running the pot hotter than that...unless I'm casting with pure lead for muzzleloader.

    OK, I guess I got to rambling.
    Good Luck.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    I built my own controller for may star sizer. Ordered parts from amazon, probably paid more that I needed, but it works and I'm happy. I am electronically challenged. If I did it anyone can. My mistakes: project box not big enuff, had to find another. Ordered C instead of F, but once I figure where I want it I'll write it down on box. Big mistake: when you test the heating element don't touch it.
    I learned how on this forum reading all your posts. Thank you. Now I'm looking for a reason to make another.

    Main components I bought:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check