Favorite DIY Reflow Toaster Oven Controllers? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: SnoopKatt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2015, 12:31:53 am
content: While I've seen lots of posts about different reflow controllers for toaster ovens, pricing is all over the place, and it seems like they all claim they're "closer to industry standards than the others". For those of you that use DIY reflow ovens, what do you guys think is the best for under $150ish?I searched around for a topic like this, but didn't see anything, so if I missed a big discussion about this I apologize.Thanks!Edit: So far, to have a list of all of them in one place, I've found:Reflowster:http://store.reflowster.com/products/reflowster$120 (without cables)Zallus Rev 2:http://www.zallus.com/product/zallus-oven-kit/$95ControLeo2:http://www.whizoo.com/buy$65 - $178Spa Electronics Reflow Kit:http://www.spaelectronics.com/store/home/125-toaster-oven-reflow-oven-kit.html$70X-toaster:http://www.x-toaster.com/product/x-toaster-kit/$105Beta Reflow Controller V2:http://www.beta-estore.com/rkuk/order_product_details.html?wg=1&p=242129 EUR

author: charlespax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2015, 05:10:57 am
content: Once you calculate in the cost of a toaster oven and the value of your time, you're better off just buying a cheap finished unit like this one from Seeedhttp://www.seeedstudio.com/wish/reflow-oven-for-cmsbga-soldering-p2005I bought the same unit from eBay and it's been great. Just unpackage it and get to work.However, knowing what I know now I would have put that money towards a better hot air rework station. Much more useful.

author: Fat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2015, 03:40:51 pm
content: I built a Rocket Scream based on an Arduino Uno. It's been great. Picked up a $19 toaster oven to use with it.http://www.rocketscream.com/blog/product/reflow-oven-controller-shield-arduino-compatible/

author: SnoopKatt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2015, 04:11:04 pm
content: Quote from: charlespax on May 15, 2015, 05:10:57 amI was looking at those, and I was just a little worried about using that because there was a topic here where everyone was complaining about those :pI'll check out that Rocket Scream though, thanks!

author: EK701
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2015, 08:51:41 pm
content: I've had good results with the ControLeo2.

author: true
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2015, 04:03:25 pm
content: I've been hacking on an in-oven-mounted conversion controller. Uses an LCD to show reflow profile and to change settings, and a rotary encoder to navigate menus.https://github.com/trueserve/reflowOvenControllerNext I'll probably work on designing an external version with some COTS case or maybe even an electrical box. The fan control doesn't seem to be so important in practice and having the electronics in the oven makes for issues like heat removal and electrical hookup.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2015, 04:37:16 pm
content: My own recommendation is to not bother with a controller at all, and use your #1 eyeball instead. There's a handy window on these ovens.I did build a controller myself some years ago, but I only use it to monitor the temperature, ot does no profiling itself.Turn the oven on, wait for the solder to melt across your board, leave it on for a further fine or ten seconds, then off, and open the door to let it cool at a reasonable rate. Having an optional internal temperature readout is handy to confirm your eyes are not deceiving you. I also make sure the area's well lit with an illuminated magnifier helping particularly in the case of monitoring smaller parts.

author: Johndi
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2015, 03:51:39 am
content: If you're willing to develop your own profile, and value your money greater than your time, then scrounging around on eBay for a temperature controller that has profile capabilities would give you exactly what you're looking to do and may end up cheaper.The Love Series 32A temperature controller pops up on eBay from time to time for not much, and is a great little controller and you can do anything you want with it really.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2015, 10:45:28 am
content: I have been using an ordinary PID regulator from eBay (most popular one - REX-C100 knockoff). It has been giving me really good results.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2015, 10:27:05 am
content: Quote from: Howardlong on May 23, 2015, 04:37:16 pmProblem is you have no control of the temperature profile. The effects from an uncontroller temperature profile can be:1. Insufficient soldering and dry joints2. Mechanical stress build up on components from unequal temperatures resulting in early life failures3. Voltage de-rating of some devices, like tantalum capacitors4. Uneven temperatures throughout the oven5. Out-gassing of some components6. Melted components, such as some types of connectors and damaged speakersIt is a risk, but many of these risks are evident when you hand solder boards.Even so, I have one of these ovens and am tempted by buy a PID controller and try it out. Better than putting the oven out on the nature strip.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2015, 02:38:35 pm
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on August 10, 2015, 10:27:05 amThe problem I have with the oven/PID controller combos I used was that the oven took too long to get up to temperature as it was on the two ovens I tried, and then to cool down it took too long too. There is also significant thermal inconsistency throughout the off the shelf toaster ovens as it is: if I placed ten boards in the oven, inevitably some boards would melt way before others. The question is then, where should you put the temperature probe?I've done around 250 boards in the setup I have now over about 120 sessions, and by far the best results have been controlled with #eyeball. I only use the PID controller to monitor the temperature and act as a timer, not to actually control the oven itself.It may be I just have the wrong oven and/or the wrong PID controller, but on the basis that the thermal inertia of the ovens I've tried is so high, I couldn't see how an average toaster oven could conform to a typical profile anyway.

author: fivefish
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2015, 10:13:21 pm
content: I'm with howard. These ovens can't follow the heat profile anyway (slow to get up to temp, slow to cool down), so adding a PID controller will not improve its performance magically.That said, I use these ovens doing 4x5 big boards no problem, without any controller... just a temp probe and stopwatch on iPhone.I find it helpful to preheat the oven and then insert my board. That helps with the slow heatup speed as now I'm inserting the board inside a not cold oven. For cooling down fast, open the door, and fan the insides of the oven with a piece of cardboard. Then pull out the tray.

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 08:50:19 pm
content: There is alot of great information here.. Has anyone changed up their style or methodCause I was looking to build my own reflow controller but saw I could pid controller on ebay for less than $20.00 with thermocouple to monitor temps or am I better off getting a cheap remote temp meter from ebay? How do you guys reflow by eyeball ?? Liek do you just get it up to temp and throw it in or what ??

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 10:13:35 pm
content: I'm happy with my Zallus controller. I was going to build my own, but decided to save my time for other projects.

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 11:43:33 pm
content: I started a project based on a Attiny85, a Triac and a Diode as a temperature-sensor, but so far manually controlling the temperature and monitoring it with the multimeter worked pretty well, so I kinda abandoned that project^^

author: mmusskopf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2015, 12:14:16 am
content: Related to the PID controller, I haven't tried any. Noe related to the oven itself and the ramp-up time, I did some quick tests and can say that the insulation is essential! Have a look on the chart attached where I ran 4 trials. The Blue line was without any insulation, the others are after I poorly place a sheet of aluminium foil on the top, bottom and half of the glass door.Most of the tests I started at 60C, some with hot element, some with cold element. The last one (Green) I started at room temperature and even turned the heating element off for a period for testing.Some good references about oven insulation:http://whizoo.com/reflowoven(fancy one)http://lowpowerlab.com/blog/2013/09/06/reflow-oven-insulation/(on my tests my insulation was much worst than this one)The oven I'm using is:http://au.russellhobbs.com/products/cooking-baking/container-cooking/rhtov20-family-convection-oven.html,which is basically the same as the Black & Decker on this post:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/insulating-a-reflow-toaster-oven/.The oven is OK, 4 heating elements, 1500W and a convection Fan. The only problem up to now was to open it as the oven has been designed for "no repair", with permanent snap-ins locks on the stainless-steal so I have to cut it off to remove the cover.Anyway, just put some insulation and the performance will surprise you.Cheers

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 25, 2015, 03:07:07 am
content: I know my will have to be insulated cause mine small and only rated for 1000watts and doesn't have a fan .. So I have been checking out a alot different designs and see what works for me ..

author: mjkuwp
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 26, 2015, 01:38:05 pm
content: To answer your earlier questions, to do manual reflow control I would NOT just throw the board in an oven at temp.I would say manual operation still requires temperature feedback. I do that this way:http://mjkuwp94.tumblr.com/tarnishingPID controller will not do a lot for you but I can think of a way it can do part of the job for you. It could work for driving the oven to the soak temperature. At the end of the soak period, you likely would need to drive the oven at full power. Then you watch for the solder to melt and note the temperature of your feedback at the same time. This is just to judge how much offset is existing between the board and your feedback sensor. Then wait until you see your desired peak temperature, shut off the oven and open the door.

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2015, 03:57:52 am
content: Well today I picked up a 1000w 2 elements oven and then Unknown watts but 4 elements and convection fan..The 4 elements oven needs some work to put back together cause it was taken apart but the 2 elements is perfectly fine and waiting for upgrades.. I am just not sure what oven to use cause I want to build it once and not have to worry about upgrades later .. I still haven't decided as to using a controller or do it by eye like everyone else .. I really like the Leo controller with the servo to open the door to control the temps ..

author: packetbob
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2015, 09:48:53 pm
content: If you want any sort of "repeatability" and assurance of a decent temperature profile with your boards, any sort of controller will probably be better than doing it by eye....I have the ControLeo2 and it's great but you can roll your own or find one of the other (and cheaper) kits. It depends on how much time you want to spend on it and what you value your time at. You can add a servo to open the door to any controller as long as you have access to the source code. On the Controleo2 it simply opens the door and the end of reflow and shuts it again once the temperature drops to about 50C I think.... Should not be that difficult to add....Bob

author: morgan_flint
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2016, 03:25:43 pm
content: Another option:http://www.reflowcontroller.comThere's a long thread at RCGroups about it:http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2364340

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 07, 2016, 04:58:51 am
content: thewww.reflowcontroller.comis sold on ebay for $19.99 !!! :-)(spring sale!!)do a search on ebay for "reflow controller" and youll see them :-)cheapest one around and comes with licensed end user sourcecode including the GUI :-)

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 20, 2016, 06:58:19 pm
content: can u update the top list?any other new ones?

author: ronsegal
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 07, 2016, 07:35:59 am
content: An expensive, well insulated, fan assisted infrared oven (resistive heating elements) didn't work for me. Heated far too slowly. Bummer!However a much cheaper (new at NZ$35), smaller, quartz element oven, worked immediately and has been running successfully for a few years now, turning out perfect boards.The oven is 9 litres and uses just two elements, one top and one bottom. It can be adequately controlled using a single SSR.The SSR for my oven is installed in an old PC power supply case on a heat sink with fan for cooling. This is probably overkill.I'm using a ControLeo controller with modified software (implemented a PID algorithm). It can independently control 3 SSRs. However I bought it before discovering the little quartz element oven, which only needs a single SSR for adequate control.Best wishes, Ron.

author: wire67
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 22, 2016, 06:14:29 pm
content: Hi guys,Has anyone tried this USB dongle, with temperature profile and SSR? Dongle £21, SSR £10, Thermo £2.5 (total US$42) it seems like the cheapest option and great value/price ratio.I found it on ebay:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Temperature-controller-dongle-for-a-self-assembled-reflow-soldering-system-/282184970768?hash=item41b388f210:g:88QAAOSwQjNW9VOk#shpCntIdHere's the webpage, the MS windows software is free to download but looks awfull and doesn't start without dongle so couldn't have a proper look at it:http://www.saprojectsonline.com/products.htmlThe user guide:www.saprojectsonline.com/UserGuide_ReflowController.pdfIf not I'll probably give it a try.Jerome

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 23, 2016, 08:02:45 am
content: THISis a DIY reflow oven project from Andy Brown.It can be controlled directly or with a simple Android application from a phone or tablet.

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 10:30:07 pm
content: looks cool :-)

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2016, 10:31:22 pm
content: Quote from: iph on May 07, 2016, 04:58:51 amthis one has full sourcecode GUI included and firmware sourcecode too :-)visual c# project 2012 (free) and microchip firmware :-)

author: salbayeng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 19, 2016, 05:04:39 am
content: I'm with HowardLong,I have a PID controller, but just used for temperature readout. It's very important to have the thermocouple touching the PCB (E.g. jammed in a convenient hole)I use bottom element only for preheat , then switch to both elements for the reflow, and open the door/turnoff at 205C.Unless you go to effort of upgrading to fan forcing/ fan cooling and quartz elements, then there is no point having an electronic controller, it can't switch from bottom to both elements, and it can't open the door.

author: salbayeng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 19, 2016, 09:08:28 am
content: QuoteDon't think that will work, most resistors lose the plot around 300C (I once built this jig using two metal clad resistors to sweat some braid to a copper strip and the resistors kept failing, but even the normal ceramic resistors will be struggling to stay together much above 500C).Quartz halogen bulbs make great heating elements when they are glowing dimly, I used some in a vacuum drying jig , it was only 25 x 50 x 100mm internal volume.You can buy $$$ nice square ceramic heating elements for rework, and these could be placed under your pcb.Another option might be to hack up a cheap hot air gun to blow air under the PCB, you would need a diffuser, but it could make for a small oven.Or you could take some toaster elements and rewire for 24V, but whatever path you take, it's hard to beat a $20 toaster oven from Kmart.And you can bake out silica gel in a toaster oven, and warm up PCB's prior to conformal coating, and heat up pies!

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 19, 2017, 04:52:16 pm
content: IR elements are nice.the black and decker infrawave was a great oven to use :-) back then "the silicon horizon" was making reflow controllers.IR elements heat faster but can have hot spots too.theres a Panasonic oven with infrared elements.

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 04:05:07 pm
content: www.reflowcontroller.comsame as the one on ebay for 19.99 :-)it has free software too, pretty cool.sourcecode is avail tooI like to order on ebay and its cheaper shipping too

author: iph
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 14, 2017, 04:42:52 am
content: anyone know of any other infrared ovens besides Panasonic?

author: villekille
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 06, 2018, 04:43:08 pm
content: I have been looking at these ovens, but is there really any advantages to just using a simple electric stove? I bought for 15 euro a simple 1500W stove and I place the PCBs directly on top of that, and turn the heat setting between 1 and 2..and wait for 5 minutes..first comes smoke, then the solder melts, then I let it be for a moment and turn the power off. So far only once I burned the board when I was choose the power level too high. This is a very simple way and at least DFN-10 packages were soldered perfectly.

author: salbayeng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2018, 08:08:23 am
content: By "Stove" , I'm presuming you mean a single hotplate. I've done PCB's this way, but just little ones. (E.g. a batch of 20 connector adapters 10mmx20mm) I unscrewed the base on my hotplate and found a screwthread in the middle of the element, so I placed a thermocouple there, hooked up to a simple PID controller ($20, ebay) that is used more as a readout.Minor issues(a) temperature can be non-uniform(b) can't heat up big inductors or electrolytics properly(c) you meed to skid the PCB off the hotplate once it has reflowed to get a nice rapid cool down, to get a fine grained, shiny crystal structure(d) can't do double sided

author: Fleetz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2018, 04:48:25 pm
content: Any of you guys got any reviews of any of the reflow controllers that are on the market today?Just bought a Russell Hobbs two element toaster over and wondering which controller to go with?

author: dreamcat4
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 15, 2019, 10:22:11 pm
content: Quote from: ronsegal on September 07, 2016, 07:35:59 amHi there Ron, if you are still around can you please tell us which make and model of quartz oven you have there? Even if we cannot get it ourselves, it would still be very helpful for finding similar types of ovens. Many thanks.