Bonehead question...How can I take down the level of heat on a crock pot? Is this just a resister? It has a temp control with 3 settings but it isn't really take-apart-able...and I only want to try if it is possible. Hopefully someone here can tell me if it is possible. Thanks!
crock pot mods
Mar 19, 2005
5 Replies
On Sat, 19 Mar 2005 07:25:23 +0000, Flx Cpy wrote (in article ):
A diode in series with the mains supply will halve the power supplied to the heating element.
You have to decide if this is 1) safe in your application, 2) wise for you to attempt 3) if you have the skills to do, and ... many other things of which i can't think right now.
Please, no "Go Google this" replies. I wouldn't
ask a question here if I hadn't done that already.
DaveC
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If it is one of these 'infinity controls', then the resistance between the leads when it isn't plugged in will be the same, low, no matter what the setting, right?
If it is some scheme for limiting the duty cycle through the heating elements using a triac or relay, then the resistance will probably be very large.
If they are switching in more elements, then the resistance will vary depending on the setting.
1 and 3 will allow the lamp dimmer or diode, 2 will not, I think.
Regards,
Robert Monsen
"Your Highness, I have no need of this hypothesis."
- Pierre Laplace (1749-1827), to Napoleon,
on why his works on celestial mechanics make no mention of God.
Since you only want to _lower_ the heat, you might want to try putting
it on high and using a simple lamp dimmer to take it down from there.
Make sure the wattage rating of the lamp dimmer is greater than or
equal to the wattage rating of the crock pot.
This is actually a rather interesting question. My guess is that the crock pot uses an "infinity" control, as in an electric range or oven. Full mains power is appied to the element through a bimetallic strip. The strip heats up and bends, breaking contact. The strip cools down and restores contact. When you turn the temperature control, you are applying a mechanical load that biases the strip.
So, if you reduce the mains supply via a diode or lamp dimmer, what will happen? I'd imagine that for modest reduction there might be no change in temperature; the strip would just cycle less to maintain the same total heating. But eventually, if you reduce the input below the point where the strip never gets hot enough to break contact, then the heating would be proportional to the input. The question is then where this point is, relative to your reduced power needs. Might be worth a test, if you are really determined not to take it apart. But if you can figure out how to get it open, or at least get to the control behind the knob, you might be able to tweak the bias load mechanism to get any heat you want.
Best regards
Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
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I'd almost bet it's not one, since it has three settings, not a continuous control. In which case, it's probably two elements.
Like Robert said, check the resistance.
Or, you could try a 250W light bulb in series, and see what happens - that will definitely tell you if it's got a thermostat!
And, if it's just the two elements, steady on (this is how those little electric space heaters work), then a lamp dimmer should be fine.
Good Luck! Rich
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