Sparkie Needed: Wiring Up A Beerbelly "broad Range Temp Controlle

[LethalCorpse]

It's only illegal to perform work on non-fixed 240V appliances in Queensland. Everywhere else, it's perfectly legal. If you do it wrong, and start a fire, you'll probably be charged under reckless endangerment and the like, but there isn't a law that specifically prohibits doing your own wiring of appliances.

That said, suppliers are breaking the law if they sell devices that plug into the mains which have not been certified to Australian standards. Getting a device certified is expensive, so it's far cheaper and easier to buy OEM components from overseas and sell them as components (which is legal). The downside is they can't wire them to mains connectors for the customers, and can't be seen to give "advice". My solution to that has always been to not provide advice, simply information. All information I provide assumes that the reader is suitably qualified to use it in a safe manner, and the reader assumes all responsibility for the consequences of what they do with that information.

 

[LethalCorpse]

Lethal,

Idiot hey. Can you explain why my reptile heater turns on when the temp of my fridge increases?

I watched my leccy mate do it. It was two wires swapped (ie it cools when temp rises rather turns on when temp drops).

$30 from your local pet shop. ( I suspect that that the fascination of HBers with buying unwired equipment from a HB dealer is CHEAP). Mine came with plugs, all wired. Took about one minute to swap the wires over. You are correct that I would not have done it myself and thanks for the information that it is ILLEGAL to do it in QLD.

cheers

Darren

Yep, perfectly legal modification for anyone outside QLD to do. The difference between what you did, and what other folks are doing with their tempmates, etc, is nil. Yours came supplied with the connectors, and was cheaper - good for you. Still the same wiring procedure though - just because some of the wiring was included with yours, doesn't mean you had to have a lesser understanding of the circuit in order to make the modification safely. Meanwhile, does yours have a digital display with some stated precision of measurement and setting? Or is it a knob that you twiddle, and guess roughly what temperature you're going to get? Does it have built in delays to prevent compressor burnout? You can do this with a $10 adjustable thermostat, or you can pay up to a few hundred dollars for a PID module. It remains up to the user how tightly they wish to control their temperature, what reliability they require and thus which method they use.

 

[enoch]

Yep, perfectly legal modification for anyone outside QLD to do.

I wouldn't hang my hat on that if I was outside of Qld. Qld has slightly less restrictive rules than most other states (they are all close though) and I would be failry sure that even to attach a plug strictly requires a licence. I should pay more attention during meetings but technical regulation can be a bit dry.

 

[LethalCorpse]

I wouldn't hang my hat on that if I was outside of Qld. Qld has slightly less restrictive rules than most other states (they are all close though) and I would be failry sure that even to attach a plug strictly requires a licence. I should pay more attention during meetings but technical regulation can be a bit dry.

For commercial purposes, you're right. If the device is going to be sold, or used in a commercial environment (any workplace), it needs to be done by an electrician. For personal use, though, only QLD has legislation preventing it. No, I'm not a lawyer, and again, this doesn't constitute advice, but I have researched the subject fairly extensively.

 

[glaab]

dunno about Qld but here you only need a ticket to work on a fixed installation. I'm a radio engineer [adv dip] and have worked on hundreds of electronic apparatus. I've worked on production lines as inspector and have seen plenty of electrical/ electronic equipment turned out from start to finish that hasn't been touched by anybody with any industry qualifications. That's including gear made to grade 3 standard which is the highest. Go to a TV / electronic repair shop and you won't find anyone with an A class ticket, they don't need one. If the OP wants to PM me I'll check it if you assemble it and bring it by before you power it up. Cheers :icon_chickcheers: