Giles 21215

CONTROL INFINITE SWITCH HEATER GHM

Controls of all kinds are integral parts of restaurant equipment operation. A control is a switch or other device by which a machine is regulated. A control may be manual or automatically operated. An electro-mechanical control typically consists of multiple relays, timers, and/or counters wired together on an enclosure panel. Electro-mechanical control is also referred to simply as "Relay Control", which is a more accurate term since solid state electronic relays, timers, and counters are standard components. Contactors, motor and compressor starters, valves, thermostats, and other output devices are used to turn on/off motors, indicator lights, heating elements, and other components used in the equipment.

A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. This process is independent of the direction of current.

An infinite switch is a rotary switch which controls the power dissipated by a heating element. It is used on electric ranges, hot plates, warming drawers and zones, barbecue grills, space heaters, quartz heaters and many applications which call for proportionate control of a resistive load. An infinite switch, simmerstat, energy regulator or infinite controller is a type of switch that allows variable power output of a heating element of an electric stove. It is called "infinite" because its average output is infinitely variable rather than being limited to a few switched levels. It uses a bi-metallic strip conductive connection across terminals that disconnects with increased temperature. As current passes through the bimetal connection, it will heat and deform, breaking the connection and turning off the power. After a short time, the bimetal will cool and reconnect. Infinite switches vary the average power delivered to a device by switching frequently between on and off states.