Diy pid controller

[BeardedBrews]

Sorry not sure why the smily faces p I have off, I I have set to 20 and D is off

What sort of system are you trying to control?


My build is in my signature, basically a 5500W element inside a keg with 4 layers of reflectix on the sides and no lid.

My last mash was pretty stable (±1F) and I ran with the following:

P = 60
I = 1
D = 30

The settings will be very dependent on how fast your system heats up and cools down.

 

[jcs401]

What sort of system are you trying to control?





My build is in my signature, basically a 5500W element inside a keg with 4 layers of reflectix on the sides and no lid.



My last mash was pretty stable (±1F) and I ran with the following:



P = 60

I = 1

D = 30



The settings will be very dependent on how fast your system heats up and cools down.

Right now I am only doing 3-5 gallon batches using a 2000 watt ULWD element. I usually mash around 152 and can get to 165 degrees for about 75 degree water in 40 or so minutes. Using a 11 gallon kettle with one layer of reflectix but will try to double up on that. Any ideas what I should run the pid at?

 

[BeardedBrews]

Right now I am only doing 3-5 gallon batches using a 2000 watt ULWD element. I usually mash around 152 and can get to 165 degrees for about 75 degree water in 40 or so minutes. Using a 11 gallon kettle with one layer of reflectix but will try to double up on that. Any ideas what I should run the pid at?

You will have to do some experimenting to know for sure. Unfortunately no one will be able to really tell you much without watching your system run.

If you want to start from scratch, set P=10 I=1 D=1 and tell it to go to a temperature. Press the SET button so you can watch the power output, and then just play with it for a while.

You can also try Auto Tuning it. Let it get close to your temperature and then Hold SET and \M until the light flashes. When it stops flashing, it's done.


No matter what, remember that the PID works best if there is very little delay between when it heats the element and when the temperature probe heats up. This means you need to help the heat get from the element to the probe by recirculating with a pump, stirring all the time, or keeping the grain away from the element and probe.


Don't forget that if you get frustrated, you can always wrap the kettle up with a sleeping bag and bungee cords and turn the control box off entirely. If the temperature stays the same, the beer doesn't really care if the PID was on or not

 

[jcs401]

You will have to do some experimenting to know for sure. Unfortunately no one will be able to really tell you much without watching your system run.



If you want to start from scratch, set P=10 I=1 D=1 and tell it to go to a temperature. Press the SET button so you can watch the power output, and then just play with it for a while.



You can also try Auto Tuning it. Let it get close to your temperature and then Hold SET and \M until the light flashes. When it stops flashing, it's done.





No matter what, remember that the PID works best if there is very little delay between when it heats the element and when the temperature probe heats up. This means you need to help the heat get from the element to the probe by recirculating with a pump, stirring all the time, or keeping the grain away from the element and probe.





Don't forget that if you get frustrated, you can always wrap the kettle up with a sleeping bag and bungee cords and turn the control box off entirely. If the temperature stays the same, the beer doesn't really care if the PID was on or not

What does auto tuning do? And I tried pushing the SET button and a couple times it read 0 on the output but the element was still going when bringing up to boil. Why wouldn't it read 100% output? Is one of my setting off on the pid? Is there a way to say RESET To Factory?

 

[BeardedBrews]

What does auto tuning do?

It automatically tunes the values of P, I, and D to your system.

http://milantrend.com/TDusermanual.pdf

If you are in "Automatic" mode the P/MV light will be off. Pressing SET will cycle between displaying the setpoint and the current power output (which will change based on how much power the controller thinks it needs)

If you are in "Manual" mode the P/MV light will be solid on. Pressing SET will cycle between displaying the setpoint (which doesn't actually do anything) and the current power output (which will stay at what you set it to)



If the "OUT 1" light is off, but the element is still getting hot, then you have a bad SSR or are wired up wrong.

If the "OUT 1" light is on solid, then the power output should display 100.

If the "OUT 1" light is blinking, then your power output should be something less than 100 depending on how fast it's blinking.



The questions you're asking seem to span more than one thing at a time, which might be making this more confusing.

There are two things going on:

1. You have a controller, which turns the element on and off. Compare the indicator lights on the controller with the indicator light on the SSR and the heat on the element to see if this is working the way you expect.

2. Your controller can use "smart" control to maintain a certain temperature. To do this, it needs to know values for P/I/D, otherwise the best it can do is plain old dumb control. You can either auto-tune the PID or manually pick values, but either way won't work if #1 isn't working.

 

[jcs401]

It automatically tunes the values of P, I, and D to your system.

http://milantrend.com/TDusermanual.pdf

If you are in "Automatic" mode the P/MV light will be off. Pressing SET will cycle between displaying the setpoint and the current power output (which will change based on how much power the controller thinks it needs)

If you are in "Manual" mode the P/MV light will be solid on. Pressing SET will cycle between displaying the setpoint (which doesn't actually do anything) and the current power output (which will stay at what you set it to)



If the "OUT 1" light is off, but the element is still getting hot, then you have a bad SSR or are wired up wrong.

If the "OUT 1" light is on solid, then the power output should display 100.

If the "OUT 1" light is blinking, then your power output should be something less than 100 depending on how fast it's blinking.



The questions you're asking seem to span more than one thing at a time, which might be making this more confusing.

There are two things going on:

1. You have a controller, which turns the element on and off. Compare the indicator lights on the controller with the indicator light on the SSR and the heat on the element to see if this is working the way you expect.

2. Your controller can use "smart" control to maintain a certain temperature. To do this, it needs to know values for P/I/D, otherwise the best it can do is plain old dumb control. You can either auto-tune the PID or manually pick values, but either way won't work if #1 isn't working.

I think it is working correctly but the last time I used it I had it set to 165 and it worked fine with the OUT light on solid and the element was working but the percentage was showing 0.0. The P was set to off, The I was at 20 and the D was set to off. Why wouldn't it show say 100% ?