HOW TO: Wire an Auber SYL-2362A2 PID for a Fridge

This is the EASY way to wire the Auber SYL-2362A2 PID controller for a kegarator, keezer, or fermentation chamber.

Items needed
1 10+ foot 14AWG 3 wire extension cord.
1 SYL-2363A2 PID Controller
1 type K Thermocouple (example here, get one with long enough leads.)
6 blue Skinny fork connectors

Tools
Wire cutters/strippers.
Crimping tool

The service cord to my freezer was only 18 AWG, so 14AWG cord is more than plenty.


Cut the extension cord in half. Strip about 8 inches of the outer sheathing back on the male side and 4 inches back on the female side. So the three wires are exposed. Should be a black, white, and green wire.


Take the side with the male plug and cut 4 inches of the black, white and, green wires.


Toss the small white and green wires. Now strip a quarter inch off each end of the small black wire and and all of the wires on the extension cord. Crimp small fork connectors onto all white, black, and both ends of the small black wire. (One is missing on the short black wire here, wasn't sure if it was going to be too long. it wasn't)


Unscrew terminal 1 and stuff the black fork from the cable with male plug and one end of the short black wire on under the screw and tighten it.
Unscrew the #2 terminal and put the white wire from both halves of the cord under it and tighten.
There should be some forks on the ends of the thermo couple. Take a philips head screw driver and loosen the screws labeled 9 and 10 and slip one fork under each one and tighten them down.

Unscrew terminal 13 and place the loose end of the short black wire under it and tighten. Unscrew terminal 14 and place the black wire from the female cord under it and tighten.


Last take the two green wires and use a wire nut to twist them together. (Strip back to 1/2" if needed.)


Double check that all the screw terminals are good and snug.

Here comes the hard part.
Plug one end into the wall.

If all goes well none of the magic smoke will escape (You followed the directions right?)

Then plug the fridge/freezer into the female end of the cord.


Bend the forks 90deg away from the PID so the wires are coming straight at the controller. Put a couple of wraps of electrical tape around the base to protect the terminals. Secure the controller to the fridge. (this is temporary with tie wraps and some sticky pads.)


Here is a pic of one properly mounted in the door of a fermenting chamber.

Set up the PID with the following parameters:

press set, enter 0089, press set again
intY = K
outY = 4 (on/off control using j2)
Hy = ? (This is the range you want it to operate in. If set to 3 the compressor will turn on at SV+3 degrees and off at SV-3 degrees. The smaller the number the tighter the control BUT you will cycle the compressor more)
Atdu = 0
PSb = ?, put the tip of the thermocouple in some ice water, adjust this number up and down till it reads 0 deg C. (I dont know if that probe is water tight. So just put the tip in the water or seal the back end with some silicone.
rd = 1
CorF = 1 (0 for Celsius)

Then you need to set one more parameter in the PID menu.
Press Set, enter 0036, press set again
ot = 20 to 40, This is the minimum time in seconds the fridge will be called to run and allowed to stop, preventing short cycling.
Everything else in this config is not applicable so leave them at their defaults.

Set the SV (Setpoint Variable)
Press set, 0001, set
SV = 50 (what ever you want your serving temp to be.)

And that is it.

I am assuming you used the $6 bare k type thermocouple. are you going to mount it in a tube and seal it?

or are you using the $32 liquid model here?

great write up. I love the looks of this... are there many folks using these, or does the programming scare them off?

chefmike said:

I am assuming you used the $6 bare k type thermocouple. are you going to mount it in a tube and seal it?

or are you using the $32 liquid model here?

great write up. I love the looks of this... are there many folks using these, or does the programming scare them off?

Click to expand...

Thanks. I think a lot of folks don't use these because it has to be wired and programmed as you mentioned. So thats why I wrote this. I am going to permanently mount the one into my fermenter sometime soon. I'll post pics when it is done.

I updated the link for the thermo couple. I've used the RTDs you posted for my brew rig, I think they are a bit overkill for a fridge. You can find ones with longer leads from e-bay.

Code,

I am very intrigued by this!! I'm reading more and more in to this electrical control stuff so that I can possibly start controlling my variables much better. Some questions for you...

1) In your 3rd post you say "Set PV = 50". Do you mean SV? The manual is calling it out as SV but maybe I'm missing something here.

2) Is this preferable over say a digital or analog Johnson controller? If so, why? Cost? accuracy?

3) I see from the #5 post that you have used these for your brew rig. Are these able to be used on gas (propane or natural)?

And finally.... Please post more pictures!!!

Thanks! This is a very useful topic!!

Oh, one other question....

Why would you use this model over the SYL-1512A2?

Geoffro,
Thanks for the typo catch, I should have said SV, (Setpoint Variable).

I don't care for the analog controller with the mechanical probe because you can't prevent short cycling and the hysteresis is unadjustable.

The digital ones use a thermistor and are a bit more configurable. Personally I think they are bulky and unappealing, functionally they may be fine.

I didn't use these on my brew rig, I use the slightly more configurable ones for that. For gas these guys would be what you want. To control the gas you would need solenoid valves to control the flow of fuel and pilot lights. do a search on asco redhat valves and you will find all the info you need. Thats about all I know about it because I don't have much experience with gas .

You can use the 21512a2, the only diff is the size and you can't see both the PV and SV.

Looks like you have the wrong part number in the initial post (2363?)

Great writeup. Thanks.

Wow. You're the man. I really like the idea of a PID for ancillary stuff like kegerators/ferm chambers.

So I guess it's about the same price as a Ranco, you just get a cooler display and more control?

I may have to wire something like this up!

Great "how to" article Jason. Lots of brewers will love this thread.

Hi and thanks for this writeup. Reading about that PID, it mentions dual relay output, but do any of you know if those outputs can be used for heating AND cooling together? I need a dual stage controller and was planning on using this love: Series TSS-2
But this PID is priced much nicer. Can they serve the same purpose? I'm talking one output for fridge cooling, one for heating within the fridge. I can't tell from the documentation if so.
Thanks!

no problem. I am going to have to make an amendment to this one day soon. A control relay should be used. I didn't realize it at the time but the internal relay on this guy is only rated for 3 Amps.... I thought it was 7 like the other... It seems to fair okay though. A lot of fridges already have a relay like this installed but trying to find it and wiring to it may be a little difficult for the average brewer.

It can behave as a heater, you would have to use one of the alarm out puts though. Set the alarm to the coldest temp you want and when it gets to that point the output will turn on and fire up the heater. for these, the heater would have to be rated less than 360W if you are going to directly drive it.

CodeRage said:

for these, the heater would have to be rated less than 360W if you are going to directly drive it.

Click to expand...

If it was more, would you use a SSR like on the electric brew rigs?

Thanks for all you write on this code, other projects may keep me from going electric right now, but I am learning a ton!

chefmike said:

If it was more, would you use a SSR like on the electric brew rigs?

Thanks for all you write on this code, other projects may keep me from going electric right now, but I am learning a ton!

Click to expand...

No problem at all. You could use an SSR but you will also have to provide a small 12VDC power supply too. A cheap wall wort would do the job.

No reason you couldn't. The 2 relays are only rated to 3A so you would need to use an external relay on them, but they each have an alarm-on-temp and and alarm-off-temp, so you could use that to, say, keep a refrigerator at a given temp, and then PID control a brew-belt or fermwrap. Only one PID control, but most cooling solutions can't take the pulsed power anyways, so it's not a huge deal.

CodeRage said:

Set up the PID with the following parameters:

press set, enter 0089, press set again
intY = K
outY = 4 (on/off control using j2)
Hy = ? (This is the range you want it to operate in. If set to 3 the compressor will turn on at SV+3 degrees and off at SV-3 degrees. The smaller the number the tighter the control BUT you will cycle the compressor more)
Atdu = 0
PSb = ?, put the tip of the thermocouple in some ice water, adjust this number up and down till it reads 0 deg C. (I dont know if that probe is water tight. So just put the tip in the water or seal the back end with some silicone.
rd = 1
CorF = 1 (0 for Celsius)

Then you need to set one more parameter in the PID menu.
Press Set, enter 0036, press set again
ot = 20 to 40, This is the minimum time in seconds the fridge will be called to run and allowed to stop, preventing short cycling.
Everything else in this config is not applicable so leave them at their defaults.

Set the SV (Setpoint Variable)
Press set, 0001, set
SV = 50 (what ever you want your serving temp to be.)

And that is it.

Click to expand...

Coderage,
Does this setup work for HLT and BK applications? I installed my PID (SYL-2352) last night, it was late and all the setup parameters and functions have me totally confused...I should have just left if alone and went to bed.

I'm trying to figure out which settings need to be changed when controlling 5,500w elements in the HLT and BK...thanks

illin8 said:

Coderage,
Does this setup work for HLT and BK applications? I installed my PID (SYL-2352) last night, it was late and all the setup parameters and functions have me totally confused...I should have just left if alone and went to bed.

I'm trying to figure out which settings need to be changed when controlling 5,500w elements in the HLT and BK...thanks

Click to expand...

I'm interested to the answer to this question as well, as I too will soon have a 5500w element in my HLT/BK.

illin8, do you have 2 SSR's switching your element or a single?

I am assuming your using 40A SSR(s) rather than 25A since for 5500w you must be running 240/220v correct?

I have one PID & one SSR...using a 3-prong outlet so I have to manually plug in whichever vessel (HLT, BK) I need to control. I am using Auber 40A SSR and heatsink on 240v (actually 245v at my house).

Did a small trial run last night with just water, aside from two leaky keggles I was very impressed. The only thing is that I don't have the PID configured correctly (I don't think) and haven't run the auto-tune (actually I did, but didn't let it finish because I started pressing buttons and screwing stuff up).

CodeRage said:

Items needed
1 10+ foot 14AWG 3 wire extension cord.
1 SYL-2363A2 PID Controller
1 type K Thermocouple (example here, get one with long enough leads.)
6 blue Skinny fork connectors

Click to expand...

I've been looking for this thread, I actually started another to find the Skinny fork connectors. I've looked everywhere I can think of to find those. Where did you get them? Coincidentally I have the same freezer and PIDs.

Any automotive parts store likea Kragen's will have crimp-on connectors, "blues" would be for 16-18 gauge wire with a tight
fit on 14 gauge wires. Always use stranded wire not solid with
"Stake-On" crimp connectors unless you crimp plus solder with
solid wire, this as a "get out of a problem case only".

CodeRage said:

no problem. I am going to have to make an amendment to this one day soon. A control relay should be used. I didn't realize it at the time but the internal relay on this guy is only rated for 3 Amps.... I thought it was 7 like the other... It seems to fair okay though. A lot of fridges already have a relay like this installed but trying to find it and wiring to it may be a little difficult for the average brewer.

Click to expand...

I love the way this controller looks and I am going to be using it to control my Keezer. What relay would you suggest and how would you connect it the controller? Also how would this affect the setting parameters?

This is a great thread. Thanks!

Edit:
Would the SYL-2342, be a better choice? It is able to handle 7A-10A depending on the voltage. It can be seen at (http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1)

evandy said:

No reason you couldn't. The 2 relays are only rated to 3A so you would need to use an external relay on them, but they each have an alarm-on-temp and and alarm-off-temp, so you could use that to, say, keep a refrigerator at a given temp, and then PID control a brew-belt or fermwrap. Only one PID control, but most cooling solutions can't take the pulsed power anyways, so it's not a huge deal.

Click to expand...

I've looked in the literature for the Auber PID and I don't see it listing the Alarm rating for voltage. Maybe they are the same as the relay voltage?

I like the idea of using a PID to control a chest freezer - good for summer and then in the winter time, since it's in my unheated garage, let a small heater keep it to temp.

Cooling and heating would be nice in the shoulder seasons - as here in Montana you can get pretty cold at night, but be warm in the day.

So...
with that said, given the amp rating for the alarm output (I couldn't find a spec) would I be better off to try to put the freezer on the alarm output and the heater on the on/off relay? OR, can would it just be wise to put it all on an SSR?

Thank you for the right up. I actually just did this with my tet612!

Thanks for the write up. I will be sure to use this in the near future.

Great thread!

It would be great to get the details/pictures on how to wire to a SSR.

CodeRage said:

no problem. I am going to have to make an amendment to this one day soon. A control relay should be used. I didn't realize it at the time but the internal relay on this guy is only rated for 3 Amps...
It can behave as a heater, you would have to use one of the alarm out puts though. Set the alarm to the coldest temp you want and when it gets to that point the output will turn on and fire up the heater. for these, the heater would have to be rated less than 360W if you are going to directly drive it.

Click to expand...

Without going off topic on Jason's great write up i'm a big fan of using blue 16-18 gauge eye vs fork crimps if I can as they can't be pulled off a terminal screw. I went cheap using parts I already had collected, a digital Johnson triggers a Mars 32382 timer preventing compressor short cycling as well triggers a SSR. Mars 32391 collection of .5 to 8 minute delays also be used. This in keeping the Johnson control happy without having compressor starting in rush current hammering it. http://www.appliancefactoryparts.com/applianceshvac/supco/hvac/Page17.html Wiring in a PID makes for a neat system I must add, the added cost is why I went with parts I already have.

MTHarrington said:

with that said, given the amp rating for the alarm output (I couldn't find a spec) would I be better off to try to put the freezer on the alarm output and the heater on the on/off relay? OR, can would it just be wise to put it all on an SSR?

Click to expand...

I use the PID output to directly control the relatively low wattage heater I use, then the cooling is done through the alarm controlling an SSR. It's a small pain when you are changing temp. You have to change the Setpoint and the Alarm Low and Alarm High each time. It works great though and holds my temp when it's cold or hot out.

Rick your in a rather mild climate mostly warm to hot year round, i'd be surprised you need a heater at all.

BrewBeemer said:

Rick your in a rather mild climate mostly warm to hot year round, i'd be surprised you need a heater at all.

Click to expand...

We do love the mild climate here, but it get's chilly at night in the winter. If I'm trying to hold 65-68 and it's low 40s in the brewery/mancave/shop it needs a bit of heat. My mat is 25W, so it's not going to be enough heat for a ferm chamber where it gets 'cold' at night. This year, with the current weather, we could easily just leave the carboy out and the wort will average mid 60s.

I hear ya were almost neighbors.
I have a Hoffman "Design Air" 100 watt electric heater
that has a mini muffin fan inside the metal box as well
a 0*F to 100*F stat built in. Before this a reptile heating
element was used. I'm about a block away from saltwater,
milder temps year round.

What's the best way to mount the pid in a keezer? Does it have to be enclosed to prevent moisture?

Ok guys. I have the SYL 2362A2 PID and a SSR 25A SSR. I read through this whole thread, but I am still confused on how to wire this with the SSR. Any suggestions?

I wonder how just a 100 watt light bulb would work as a heater inside my refrigerator?

EZFrag said:

Ok guys. I have the SYL 2362A2 PID and a SSR 25A SSR. I read through this whole thread, but I am still confused on how to wire this with the SSR. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Go to their website and open up the operating manual (pdf file). It will show how to wire many types of control outputs.

Here is the link: www.auberins.com

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see the link.

Salute!

Code?

You rule all.

Just sayin'.

Mike3701 said:

What's the best way to mount the pid in a keezer? Does it have to be enclosed to prevent moisture?

Click to expand...

That's the first thing I thought about when I saw the picture of the PID installed on the front door of the fridge. The outside of these Auberins PIDs are fairly well protected. I talked to Suyi and he tells me the front panels are IP54 rated but of course there's no rating for the insides as they're completely exposed.

Kal

Might not even need a 100W I have used a 60W with a small Computer case fan to keep air moving in my Fermfreezer. Got it hooked to a seperate thermostat. This causes me trouble in that the Johnson controller and the heater thermostat can get in to a heating cooling fight. Took me a while to get it just right.

I plan on using a SYL-2342 to control my keezer and fermfreezer. I have used these before for controlling a small RIMS heater in my system in the brewing process.

Quick question. I received a free GE 25.3 cubic foot freezer. The compressor is rated at 4.3 amps, will I need a SSR along with the PID to use it as a keezer?

Caboth said:

Quick question. I received a free GE 25.3 cubic foot freezer. The compressor is rated at 4.3 amps, will I need a SSR along with the PID to use it as a keezer?

Click to expand...

User the SYL-2342. Its output mode is rated: Relay w/ NO and NC contacts: 7A at 240VAC, 10A at 120VAC