Element selector swich causes erratic movement on PID

I have an element selector switch that will open/close a contactor.

If I play with this switch back and forth the PID will give erratic readings and my temp displays will sometimes rest.

Not everytime, just when I cycle the switch on/off back and forth.

That sounds like insufficient grounding in the system. Be sure that the vessel that the thermocouple is in, is grounded. There may be other possible causes, but that is one I have faced.

My vessel is not grounded at all. I dont have the element installed. The element would be my ground

homebrewdude76 said:

My vessel is not grounded at all. I dont have the element installed. The element would be my ground

Click to expand...

How so?

Brew on

Your element is either powered by 240v which is two hot leads or 120v which is made up of a 120v line and a neutral line you need to run a third ground wire to the enclosure or drill a hole and tap the element enclosure for it to be grounded.. This with a GFCI breaker is code otherwise its a potentially dangerous situation.

Of course you may already be aware of this so disregard it if so...

My point was I don't have elements installed yet. But when I do install they will be grounded.


Not sure how this all relates to my current issue. Flickering and slight change in PID when the element selector switch is actuated. The elements are not hooked up, so it is only switching the contactor at this point in time.

It's probably noise pickup from the coils of the contactor if it's just for a second when you hit the switch.

homebrewdude76 said:

My point was I don't have elements installed yet. But when I do install they will be grounded.

Click to expand...

Your control panel should also be grounded. Everything electrical should be grounded. Not just heating elements.

You want the control panel enclosure chassis to be electrically grounded for safety reasons the same way any power tool or appliance chassis is grounded. Grounding means that the entire metal chassis (in this case the entire enclosure) is connected to your house's electrical system ground plane. This ensures that any stray current can find its way to ground instead of through something else (such as the brewer) in the off chance that something goes wrong and one of the HOT wires becomes disconnected and touches the enclosure.

You are correct however that it shouldn't cause erratic readings on the PID when you open/close a contactor, people just want to make sure you stay safe.

Kal

I appreciate all the comments on grounding. I have it grounded proper all the way back to the panel with GFI breaker.

I have temp display units. They actually flash off (reboot) sometimes.

I checked voltage on the temp display while cycling off/on the element selector.
I could not see a change in my digital meter.

My on panel volt amp display will sometimes flash an increased amp draw when flipping the element selector.

Any other thoughts?

I had a device running on the 120v circuit and it seemed to lessen.

Post a wiring diagram and lots of pictures. Hard to really understand otherwise.

Kal

I have the same problem and my enclosure is definitely grounded as are the element enclosures on the kettles and the kettles themselves. Auber PIDs, panel closely follows Kal's build. I started noticing this about a year ago and I've been using the panel for 3 years.

With respect to noise pickup, the PID is about 2 or 3 inches vertically away from the element contactors, so this would make sense. The PIDs themselves don't seem to have/need any kind of ground or shielding, which would lend support to some kind of noise or interference.

Would be nice to know for sure though.

I did not try the switch with the panel door open. This would move them away from to contactors.

After I had all the grounds and elements installed. Basiclly finished off the build.
It all went away.
Panel works perfect. I brewed up some PBW already.