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Turning Off the Chromalox Timing Input Controller


Turning the Chromalox Heater On and Off

There is a space heater mounted on the garage ceiling over the workbench. It was installed by Anne's Grandfather, probably when the house was built in the 1970's. No instructions were available.

I was able to turn the heater on, but could not immediately figure out how to turn it off again. We eventually found the fuses that controlled the heater and turned it off at the fuse box. Fortunately no important parts of the house were affected by this. After a week, I finally got it to turn off.

I could find nothing online about this space heater or its controller, so here's my solution--



Here are the markings on the equipment;

Heater element and case:
Canadian Chromalox Company
R: 73
240 Volts, 2000 Watts
Cat No. CRT-4320

Controller/Switch
Probably a “VCF Percentage Timing Input Controller.” If it is, the timer controller energizes the heating element for a certain percentage of the preset (30 second) heating cycle.

Markings; B, 30 Sec, Percent
knob on front
Push button on L side
2 pointers on dial, one red, one black.
Circular dial scale from 3 to 100.

Turning the Heater On;

Turn the front knob counter-clockwise (CCL). The black pointer carries the red pointer clockwise (CL), from 100 to the end of the scale at “3.” This is probably the percentage setting for the heating element.

Turn the front knob CL all the way around, so that the black pointer crosses over the red pointer. The box will click, and the heater turns on.

You can also press the button on the right side of the box really hard, until it clicks.
This causes the red pointer to rotate CL, one revolution every 30 seconds. The box clicks once when the red pointer passes 100, and once again when it passes the black pointer.
Probably the red pointer is turning the heating element off and on for the percentage of the 30-second cycle indicated by the black pointer.

Click the button on the right side of the box again, and the red pointer stops moving.

Turning the Heater Off;

Probably, just click the left side button to stop the red pointer when it's between 100 and the black pointer. For safety, rotate the black pointer to “3,” the lowest setting. Check off-ness in ½ hr.

Comments

  1. Emmanuel GoldsteinDecember 18, 2015 at 10:06 PM

    The short version; Click the switch off when the red pointer is between 100 and the black pointer. If the red pointer stops in this 'cycle-off' zone, the heating element is disconnected and will cool down.

    If you click to stop the red pointer between the black pointer and zero, you halt it in the 'cycle-on' zone. The heating element then remains connected all the time, and you could possibly set something on fire.
    Beats me why there is no safety off switch, but I guess that's how they made all-electric homes in the 1970's :-)

    ReplyDelete

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