Issue Reducing Power in Manual Mode for Auber SYL-2352 PID

[M54B25]

I've just started researching this but figured someone here might be able to point me in the right direction: I just brewed a beer on my kal-clone system and when I got to a boil I tried to turn down the element to 60% in the Auber SYL-2352 manual mode, except this time it did not actually reduce the power. The PID showed 60 but the boil was just as vigorous as before and my amp meter continued to show a constant 24 instead of somewhere around 14. I turned the element switch off then back on a few times and finally ended up switching my boil kettle over to use my HLT PID instead and that worked fine on the lower power to avoid boil-overs.

I'm wondering if this is definitely a PID issue, or if it could be something upstream or downstream? I've used this exact setup for at least 1 (probably 2+) successful brews. In total, I've used it successfully for 10+ brews easily, but somewhat recently I had to replace the boil SSR and element due to an element melt-down (also in my post history here).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/ thoughts anyone has!

 

[Bobby_M]

Was it working in temperature mode? If it kept the element lit 100% on temp mode, even when temp was satisfied, you have a stuck OPEN SSR. Since you just replaced it, it very well could be defective. Spend at least $15 on an SSR.

 

[M54B25]

you have a stuck OPEN SSR.

Wow, spot on! I tested with the multimeter and you're absolutely right! Fortunately, I have a replacement already which I did pay more than $15 for... but it's also the same brand and from the same source as the one that lasted 2~3 batches of beer. Hopefully that one was just a dud, or...

I'm realizing now that this is most-likely related: during my ramp-up to boil the GFI breaker tripped and I found my boil pilot light had died. I wonder if it shorted and killed the SSR, or maybe the other way around? I'm slightly concerned about electrical gremlins on the boil side because I had my element meltdown (which also fried an SSR), and now this. I'll keep a close eye on it going forward but things look good after swapping the SSR.

Either way, thanks for the help! Your accurate diagnosis on this made me reflect on how much use I've gained out of this forum and prompted me to pull the trigger and become a supporting member.