First time heating...

[brewmcq]

And we're off! I think.

Is it normal for the element to be on for 4 or 5 seconds, then off for 45-50 seconds?

Also, I have searched and searched and searched and not really found a good SINGLE source of settings for the Auber 2352.

And the instructions with the PID read like stereo instructions.


At the moment, I have 6 gallons of just plain water sitting in my BK. I think I followed the directions correctly for "autotune".

The temp of my water has increased 7 degrees.. in the last probably 30 minutes.

Perhaps there should be a stickie in this forum that outlines a good PID setup and autotune instructions (in English, please), and how to switch between auto/manual, depending if heating strike water/mashing/boiling.

Cool. Up 8 degrees now.

 

[cank]

Not an expert like others here and I use an Omega PID but I think it should stay on "hi" constantly until it gets close to set point. Might be a setting for cycle time or %hi / lo.

**Edit
and welcome to the electric game!

 

[Kikshaaz]

sounds like manual mode

 

[jeffmeh]

Have you tried following these instructions? http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel-setup

 

[brewmcq]

Thanks for your responses... I had seen a snippet of Kal's instructions somewhere else and spent a good deal of time looking for the rest of them, so that link is helping immensely.

Copying and pasting my own little "instruction manual" into a Word document.

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding, but it seems that I have found a discrepancy between the PID manual and Kal's intructions:

A-M: This controls whether automatic or manual (or both) PID control modes are allowed. Automatic mode controls the heating element based on temperature while manual mode uses duty cycle (more information). The default value of 2 disables manual mode completely and is fine for the Hot Liquor Tank and Mash/Lauter Tun PIDs. For the Boil Kettle PID this should be set to 0 so that both manual and automatic modes can be used.

According to the PID instructions, selecting "0" places it in "manual control mode". Wouldn't I want A-M=1 so that I can use both auto and manual mode?


One of the things that is making this all overly complicated is the fact that I have a single PID (eBiaB). So I'm envisioning something like this:

1) Set the PID to "manual" 100% and get up to strike temps.
2) Once at strike temp, I can simply turn off my element and I pour in my grain, then set the PID to "automatic" to maintain my mash temp.
3) When I'm ready to boil, put it back on "manual" 100% until I get to my boil rolling, then decrease the duty cycle to maintain my boil (so it could be 75% or 80% or 50%, whatever my system needs).

Does this sound right? Do I have the modes (auto/manual) figured out correctly?

Please note that I'm not just sitting here idly waiting for someone to do all my work for me... I'm still tinkering with the PID and reading everything I can. Some of the information I'm finding is highly contradictory, which is partially responsible for my confusion.

Cheers!

 

[jeffmeh]

You have a few different ways to approach it, assuming you get the autotune and configuration squared away.

For reaching strike temp, you could use automatic mode with the set point at strike temp. Then make your set point mash temp after you dough in.

For reaching a boil, you could make the set point something just under boiling, say 210F at sea level, then switch to manual. That way, an alarm sounds before you reach boiling, and you can be sure to monitor the initial boil for boilovers.

Good luck.

 

[brewmcq]

It took some doing to figure out the PID. Quite a learning curve for me, which is odd since I'm a "gadget guy". But finally with the help of reading and re-reading the manual over breakfast as well as the invaluable (and thorough) information at Kal's site, I finally managed through autotune and getting this thing to work... a number of times, I was just randomly pushing buttons to get the friggin thing to go... I wish I'd kept better notes.

The settings I changed:
Sn: 21
Pb: (I didn't need to change this one.. it was within 0.5 degrees, so close enough)
FILT: 5
A-M: 1
COOL: 10

I followed the Autotune directions per Kal's site (link above). While it was autotuning, I reorganized my toolbox and sorted out the millions of terminal connections I've acquired over the course of this build. I didn't time how long it took, but it was quite awhile.. maybe 30-45 minutes? Dunno.


But it would appear that I am now able to heat water, maintain a boil and hit target temps. That, I believe, is half the battle.