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Wiring- very simple, but not for me

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rthrthrth

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:D ok here goes, i have an electric skillet (rocket candy making) ;)

It has two prongs sticking out for + and - terminals, but no ground port, only a hole going through a thick portion of the pan, AND all i got for a power cord was a computer wire, with three prongs... so you can see where im going with this.

should i just wire the ground directly to the pan? or leave it out- does adding an unused ground help or increase the risk of shock?

also, im just soddering the wires- that is okay right :) Yes, i "M" noobie :D

Oh and i bought a 50 cent light dimmer- could i install this to controll temperature of pan?

LOL( the date sticker on back says Oct. 1986, and its a really fake looking marble texture, sheweet) :D
 
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Are you in the US?
 
What is "rocket candy making"?:confused:
 
.

No, canada and "rocket candy" is model rocket fuel made with stump remover and powdered sugar (thus the candy part) mxed together (jamesyawn.com for more)

But point is that im not sure if i want to use the ground wire? should i just forget it or put it in?
 
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rthrthrth;712666 But point is that im not sure if i want to use the ground wire? should i just forget it or put it in?[/QUOTE said:
Do you own an Ohmmeter or Continuity Checker?
If so, test for low resistance between the two prong, and infinite resistance between either prong and the pan itself. If that checks, connect the white to either prong, the black to the other prong, and the green to the pan.
 
i dont get it.. i thought the green would be live wire? thus conecting it too the pan would zap me? Plus i want to wire a dimmer in there to controll temp- and i am starting to think that the long prong on this one jst holds the power cord in place, but since i dont have that, i was just going to put whit on one and green on other.

grr, im just afraid it'll zap me is all, with the 120 v it gets serious.
and i only have a voltmeter, but i see a symbol with somting looking like an arrowhead, with a line and a line striking verticle after it, is that continuity/?

if so, i get 036 between the prongs, and if i reverse the polarity 015?

and nothing between pan and prongs.. well where i was going to sodder and prongs..

so which of the green white black do i put to the two prongs then?
 
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i dont get it.. i thought the green would be live wire? thus conecting it too the pan would zap me? Plus i want to wire a dimmer in there to controll temp- and i am starting to think that the long prong on this one jst holds the power cord in place, but since i dont have that, i was just going to put whit on one and green on other.

grr, im just afraid it'll zap me is all, with the 120 v it gets serious.

Green is the safety ground. Black is the power lead, called L1 in the trade, which in the USA and Canada carries 120Vac at 60cycles per sec (Hz). White is the return conductor, near 0V, called Neutral.

For your Frying pan, make sure that the wire in your cord is at least 14 Gauge. If it came from a computer or monitor, it is likely only 18Ga. Some made in China power cords have Blue, Brown and Green conductors. Green is still the safety ground, and should be tied to the pan. The other two can be tied to the outer Prongs in any order.
 
its fairly thick stuff, from a wall plug cord and its going directly onto the prongs so i believe it is good enough,

and i did some testing on the three, it seems black will work with either the white or green, so do i put both green and white on one, black on other?

LOL no- both white and green together blew the breaker, thus bad idea!

so, what now?

PS this wll be plugged in outside to work with, so fire saftey isnt a
concern with the location im in- gravel al around.


Oh, and is the light dimmer a good idea for controlling temp>?
 
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its fairly thick stuff, from a wall plug cord and its going directly onto the prongs so i believe it is good enough,

and i did some testing on the three, it seems black will work with either the white or green, so do i put both green and white on one, black on other?
No, if you want to run it without a safety ground, dont connect the green to anything.
LOL no- both white and green together blew the breaker, thus bad idea!

so, what now?

PS this wll be plugged in outside to work with, so fire saftey isnt a concern with the location im in- gravel al around.

If you connected White to Green, and it blew your breaker, then either your house or outlet is miswired, or the outlet you plugged into is GFI protected?

You never connect the Green to either White or Black! You are supposed to connect the load (heater in your Pan) between Black and White. The heater in your pan should be isolated from the pan itself (you never answered about the Ohmmeter?) so the Green wire does not conduct unless there a fault (short) occurs between the heater and the pan...
 
ok, i think all three might have touched by accident though, and im not sure abut GFI or anything ,,, but okay- so its black and white, nix the green i guess, is the ground really nessesary? I dont know... its outside and far from the house so no?
\
oh, and i was just testing with a voltmeter- not the appliance..
 
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ok, i think all three might have touched by accident though, and im not sure abut GFI or anything ,,, but okay- so its black and white, nix the green i guess, is the ground really nessesary? I dont know... its outside and far from the house so no?

If you are using the frying pan outside, then having a safety ground (Green wire) connected is MUCH more important. Here is what will kill you:

Suppose you are touching the metal part of the frying pan body. Further suppose that the heater element inside the base of the frying pan develops a break in the insulation to some part of the cast aluminum cooking surface.

If the green wire is connected to the body of the frying pan, then that might trip the breaker in the house, or at least it will keep the voltage on the frying pan to less than a volt or so.

If the green wire is NOT hooked to the pan, and if the insulation break happens to be near the Black wire end of the heater, then you could have up to 120V on the pan. If you are standing on the earth, and there is the slightest amount of dampness around, then your body becomes a conductor as a.c. current flows from your hand, down your arm and body, out the soles of your shoes into the earth. It only takes a few milliamps of current through your chest around the heart to stop it...

All outside appliances are supposed to have three conductors for this very reason. Only TOTAL IDIOTS cut the third prong off an extension cord or appliance!!!
 
Oh, on the dimmer. The dimmer is probably rated at 300W or less. Your frying pan is likely to draw 1500W, so your dimmer will let the magic smoke out...
 
600W rating for the dimmer... so will that be enough?
i think it says 1230 W for the pan

and i did connect the green just to the pan- but to be safe anyways, i am going to use a wooden spoon to stir with..
 
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No on the dimmer. dimmers have to be rated higher than the load they are controling.
If your making rocket fuel you reeeeeally want that ground wire hooked up!

Why not just go the the local salvation army or thrift store and buy a good used one for a few dollars?
If you own a four wheeler you can afford a frying pan!
 
did you give up on the after burner for the ATV?
and now your going for a home made RATO unit?

Or these totaly unrelated to each other?

If they are related WE WANT VIDEO!
 
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yea, till i get another ignition coil its not possible- and how the heck do i solder the ground wire to the sanded metal? it never seems to stick.

and at $4.00 it seemed like a good deal, a very good deal compared to the 30.00 new, this is used, new to me tho :D
Oh, right and in a way these are related,
i plan on having a rocket launcher's on the quad, plus an afterburner later :)

And later i plan on getting a minitruck as my first car, japanese import suzziki carry, with side mounted rockets and afterburner, but for now the quad :p
 
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Your best off drilling a small hole and just screw the ground lead on. solder does not stick to aluminum.
 
kk, afraid id half to take a stroll and find the dang drill!! And yes i will post video if i ever get this fuel mixture right for the rockets... just bought a coffe grinder and made the kno3 into a powder today- now to pack it into motors and build a launcher.

Will post a new thread later with links to video though!
 
Super! my brother does amature fire works so I know what you are trying to make. Way cool but use caution and common sense.
Some of that home made stuff can give you a third degree burn before you even have time to actualy feel it! Or get in your eyses and permanently blind you in a few seconds!

Seriously, be carefull!
 
yep, already did a test burn. Wow does this stuff smoke alot! Need to make a mandril to pack into the tubes i already made- should be ready for the quad soon :) Although im just going to do the poweders only mixed, not going for the more powerfull melting method- not untill ive got some experience...

And ive alreafy had some experience- estes rocket modor powder exploderd in my face already a while ago- luckily back then i wore glasses! pure white, but still have them as a reminder- now i always wear saftey glasses but phew!
 
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