Cannot control the boil.

[BWN]

I have brewed my third batch on my eHERMS and am starting to get the hang of it. One problem I am having is my boil is really vigorous. I have my PID set to manual but even at one I boil like crazy. I just did a batch and ended up with four gallons instead if 5.5. Is it something in the settings or a wiring problem? I have included a picture of my PID during the boil.

 

[Yooper]

Can you switch it to manual mode, and just boil at reduced power? When I had a PID for my BK, I would use 100% power to get to a boil, and then turn it down to 65% for the boil. You want a nice rolling boil, but you don't have to boil the heck out of it.

 

[rcm_rx7]

When you press the A/M button does it show an "M" or "A" on the left side of the display? It should have the "M" if its actually in manual mode.

If that isn't the problem then maybe your relay output from the PID isn't wired correctly. Check the PID diagram and make sure the correct output is going to the SSR.

 

[milldoggy]

There is a setting to enable manual mode, can't recall what it is, but theelectricbrewery.com has details

 

[BWN]

I thought I was in manual mode. I guess I will have to double check that.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

It's in manual mode. The top LED (on the left) indicates manual mode as being selected. The bottom one indicates the element is being told to fire / not fire. When you're at 1, the bottom LED should be off 99% of the time and only on 1% of the time.

My suggestion: Go to http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel-setup and verify that your settings are all good.
If the PID still doesn't kick into manual mode (IE, if you set it to 1 and the bottom LED stays lit indicating that the PID is telling the element to fire) then you may have a bad PID, or you may not actually be putting it into manual mode, or some other issue with the PID itself.

If you get the bottom light to blip briefly (indicating that it really is only at 1% power), but you still have over-the-top boils, then you have an issue with your SSR or wiring somewhere.

Based on the photo you submitted, I think there's an issue with your PID. Whether it's a mechanical issue (bad PID) or a mental issue (bad operator input), I think the PID is the place to focus.

-Kevin

 

[BWN]

Thanks. I thought I had everything set up just like Kal's site recommends. It is very possible I missed something though.

 

[danb35]

Some troubleshooting steps--I'd try these in order:

1. Make sure the OUT light on the PID flashes on just briefly. With it set at 1% (as it appears to be in your photo), it should be on only 1% of the time--0.02 sec. out of 2 sec.
2. If this is correct, measure voltage on the SSR input. It would be best to use an analog voltmeter, or a digital one with a bargraph display, for this. It should show a low DC voltage (12 volts or less) when the light is on, and zero when it is off.
3. Measure the voltage on the SSR output. It should behave the same as the input, but with 200+ VAC rather than <12 VDC.
4. If this is correct, measure the voltage at the terminals on the heating element. It should show 220+ VAC when the light is on, and near-zero when it is off.

You may find these steps easier if you increase the power to 30-50%, just to give a little more time to see the voltage output.

If the first step fails, either the PID is faulty or you're setting it incorrectly somehow. If the second step fails, either the PID is faulty or the wiring to the SSR is incorrect. If the third step fails, the SSR is faulty. If the fourth step fails, the wiring to the heating element is incorrect.

 

[BWN]

I think I got it. It was operator error. I didn't realize you had to press set then press A-M button to go between automatic and manual.