PID for electric build

I am wondering if anyone has used this PID to control a 4500W240v element. It looks like this would do the trick and the whole setup is cheaper than the auber pid.

skarude said:

I am wondering if anyone has used this PID to control a 4500W240v element. It looks like this would do the trick and the whole setup is cheaper than the auber pid.

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Are you using it for boiling? If so, I dont think that will work, no. I have seen these before, and they are generally cheaper because they do NOT have a manual mode

Are you using it for temp. control? If so, yes, should be fine. No manual mode necessary.

Yeah that was my concern...I guess the Auber ones are probably the cheapest with manual mode, but by the time I buy 2 of those it is almost worth going the extra mile for one of the BCS-460s.

The Pol said:

Are you using it for boiling? If so, I dont think that will work, no. I have seen these before, and they are generally cheaper because they do NOT have a manual mode

Are you using it for temp. control? If so, yes, should be fine. No manual mode necessary.

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For boiling couldn't you just set the temperature to say, 213F maybe higher and let it run? Or not?

I have seen this discussed before and I think the basic reasoning why this wouldn't work is that above 212 the liquid becomes a gas. So the PID will always keep the element on trying to reach 213 and just keep boiling harder and harder. Then if you set it to 212 it will hit boiling then shut off until the boil stops and then cycle back on, but I have not tried it so I am only going off of some other threads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PID-Temperature...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b9343805

Ok what about this one? It mentions manual control in the description. Or are we now paying as much as for the Auber stuff that we #1 know works and #2 know will show up in a timely fashion?

For those prices just buy one from Auber and get a cheap chinese SSR and type K thermocouple.

CodeRage said:

For those prices just buy one from Auber and get a cheap chinese SSR and type K thermocouple.

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Agreed...

Yah, beat to death the 213F temp. controlled boil is.

CodeRage said:

For those prices just buy one from Auber and get a cheap chinese SSR and type K thermocouple.

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Just to let you know the Auber SSR is chinese also.

+1 on the Auber PID and Ebay SSR being a better deal than the Ebay PIDs with manual mode. Oh well...At least I didn't pull the trigger on one of the one without manual mode. Thinking I might go brewtroller or bcs-460 so I can eventually control pumps and valves with it.

Photopilot said:

Just to let you know the Auber SSR is chinese also.

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Yeah I know, but they ship out of Atlanta, not Hong Kong
Their support is great if you need it. Not like a few other Chinese vendors I have worked with.

CodeRage said:

Yeah I know, but they ship out of Atlanta, not Hong Kong
Their support is great if you need it. Not like a few other Chinese vendors I have worked with.

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Agreed I called on Friday and left a message wondering if I would hear back or have to call next week. I did not get a call that day but was working in the shop on Saturday and saw I had a message. Technical support that will call you back and on the weekend at that is hard to find.

Got my Auberin stuff wired yesterday now for the test today.

I am getting close myself! Good luck with you testing everyone!

Question on this setup Pol?

I am currently working on my control panel. Dragged a old computer server to work today. Got some strange looks. I dismantled all the guts from it and am going to build and install the components.

On this setup are all those relays? What about the things in the center, are those electrical lugs? How are you encasing all the electrical components, is that a metal box or wood case?

I'll be ordering my Auber stuff today or tomorrow then, the extra $30 is no big deal for support after the sale and the assurance that what I'm getting is what I need to make it work.

Photopilot said:

Question on this setup Pol?

I am currently working on my control panel. Dragged a old computer server to work today. Got some strange looks. I dismantled all the guts from it and am going to build and install the components.

On this setup are all those relays? What about the things in the center, are those electrical lugs? How are you encasing all the electrical components, is that a metal box or wood case?

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Those are all SSRs yes. The large thing in the center is the distribution block. There really is no "encasing" it is an electronics bay in the rig.

Be careful when buying a PID. I bought two TET612's almost a year ago on ebay when I first started planning my CP (before I had ever heard of Auber). I did some very basic testing (basically to make sure they powered up and worked with the included K Thermocouple. Yesterday I finally fired up my CP for testing, and it turns out that one of the PIDs has some sort of internal short or current leakage when using an RTD, so it's reading almost 20F higher than it should. It still reads correctly with the thermocouple, but I've already installed RTDs at all measurement points. The great thing about Auber is that they have really responded to interest from the homebrewing community and have been very supportive. Since I found Auber, I've bought all the new parts I've needed from them and have been very pleased. Unfortunately, it looks like I'll be placing an order for a new PID...

Hey Pol are those ebay SSRs like these? If so how was the shipping on them? I would really prefer not to wait 30 days for them, but this seems like a great deal.