petoly
Well-known member
This is a tutorial on how to make your own Rheostat for farely cheap. The benefit also is you get 600watt max load, vs the rheostat I believe zilla sells which has a 300watt peak load and costs like 50 bux. With this rheostat you can control the temperature of your heat mats, heating tape, heat rope or whatever heating device you use as well as dim your spot lamp lights to lower temps if needed or for nite time viewing.
Equipment needed:
Assembly
Step 1
Cut the extension cord in Half, and strip the ends carefully Look closely at the two cords. One will have a ridge or a black line or something subtle to distinguish it from the other cord. I marked the cord with a sharpie so I know which end goes to where
Step2
With a flat head screw driver press on the slots on the bottom of the outlet box to pop them open. Feed the wire stripped ends through the holes made like so. So one half of the extension cord is in one hole and the other is in the other hole.
Step 3
Remember the wires I marked? the wires you checked for the ridge or sign to distinguish it from the other wire? Take each one of them and twist it with either one of the black wires on the dimmer switch. Take the other marked wire from the other half of the extension cord and twist it to the other black wire on the dimmer switch. Leave the green wire of the dimmer switch alone. it's not needed. Now you should have two extension cord wires connected to the dimmer switch and two floating extension cord wires. Connect the two floating wires together.
Step 4
Use the elecrtical screw caps to secure the wires in place. Optionally for extra security you can wrap electrical tape right under each screw cap.
Step 5
Carefully stuff the wires in the box and secure the dimmer to the box with the screws the dimmer came with.
Step 6 (optional)
secure the faceplate with the screws it came with to the dimmer, put the knob on and voila'! you just made yourself a 600 Watt rheostat for 11.25$ And it works better than the 50$ model! =)
I hope you enjoyed this diy and please feel free to ask any questions
DISCLAIMER:
I am not responsible for any damages caused by your own rheostat you built. This is for informational purposes and you chose to build this at your own risk.
Equipment needed:
- screw driver (flat head)
- electrical tape (optional)
- extension cord (walmart) 2$
- a single pole rotary dimmer 6.99$ on amazon or home depot or lower or osh. But I think at the store they are a bit more pricey
- electrical twist caps (the orange things) 0.75$
- outlet box 50cents (the grey box which encases the dimmer)
- protective cover 99 cents (the white cover ) this is optional but it looks nicer and encloses the electric parts
- scissors and or wirestrippers
Assembly
Step 1
Cut the extension cord in Half, and strip the ends carefully Look closely at the two cords. One will have a ridge or a black line or something subtle to distinguish it from the other cord. I marked the cord with a sharpie so I know which end goes to where
Step2
With a flat head screw driver press on the slots on the bottom of the outlet box to pop them open. Feed the wire stripped ends through the holes made like so. So one half of the extension cord is in one hole and the other is in the other hole.
Step 3
Remember the wires I marked? the wires you checked for the ridge or sign to distinguish it from the other wire? Take each one of them and twist it with either one of the black wires on the dimmer switch. Take the other marked wire from the other half of the extension cord and twist it to the other black wire on the dimmer switch. Leave the green wire of the dimmer switch alone. it's not needed. Now you should have two extension cord wires connected to the dimmer switch and two floating extension cord wires. Connect the two floating wires together.
Step 4
Use the elecrtical screw caps to secure the wires in place. Optionally for extra security you can wrap electrical tape right under each screw cap.
Step 5
Carefully stuff the wires in the box and secure the dimmer to the box with the screws the dimmer came with.
Step 6 (optional)
secure the faceplate with the screws it came with to the dimmer, put the knob on and voila'! you just made yourself a 600 Watt rheostat for 11.25$ And it works better than the 50$ model! =)
I hope you enjoyed this diy and please feel free to ask any questions
DISCLAIMER:
I am not responsible for any damages caused by your own rheostat you built. This is for informational purposes and you chose to build this at your own risk.
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