Wiring Help - PID / SSR Issues

[jmrieger]

Hello all,

I just finished wiring up my small panel today for my brewery, which currently consists of a single 15-gallon BIAB setup. I have a 240V dryer outlet adjacent to my brewing area, making it quite convenient to hook everything up and brew inside.

Anyway, the problem that I'm having is my heating element seems to stick on. To clarify, say I'm in manual mode (Auber SYL-2352). If I set the level to, say, 5-25%, it operates as I would expect it to, and I can hear the heating element cycle on and off. If I set it to a value barely higher than that, it gets stuck on at 100%, and the only way to get it to turn back off is to kill power to the entire panel (or remove the heating element connector). If I remove the element, then re-plug it in with the manual value at less than 25%, it again cycles as expected.

I have the same issue in automatic mode; basically once I get above that 25% mark the heater just sticks on.

I've done some basic troubleshooting, including making sure that there are no exposed wires that would be randomly shorting out. I know the SSR isn't permanently failed in the open position, as it functions correctly at lower manual values (or stays completely off if I set the manual percentage to 0%).

Any ideas as to why it would be sticking open? Bad SSR? Did I mess up my wiring somehow (diagram attached)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

PS: My parts list is:

PID: Auber SYL-2352
SSR: Fotek SSR-40DA-H (w/ heat sink)
Heating Element Wired Through a Switchcraft HPCC4F (from another thread here)
RTD probe: Auber PT100-C (Tri clamp w/ pre-wired quick disconnect)

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Is the green line a ground or neutral? The 240v plug for the element should have a true ground, but the PID shouldn't be powered by HOT A and a ground. This is a bad combination.

I'd guess your heating issue may be with settings in the PID - have you double checked?

 

[jmrieger]

Is the green line a ground or neutral? The 240v plug for the element should have a true ground, but the PID shouldn't be powered by HOT A and a ground. This is a bad combination.

Ground, as I understand it.

I'd guess your heating issue may be with settings in the PID - have you double checked?

I followed the settings listed on Kal's site and left the rest of the settings at factory. Sn to 21 for RTD probe, Pb I left at 0, Filt to 5, A-M to 0, and ensured that COOL was set to 10 (factory). Only thing I didn't check is auto-tuning, but...

Between posts I ran another test, setting manual mode at 40%. I noted that while the light on my SSR (appears to show if it's got voltage on the input side) is off, I'll still get the heater on. Lower manual numbers cycle that light on and off, and I get the heater cycling on/off.

Joe

 

[lschiavo]

The first thing I would do is tie terminal 9 on the pid to black (of course disconnect from ground). The pid can be powered by 240V (please verify).
It may be unrelated but I've seen some strange things happen with improper grounding and electronics.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

^^^ Bingo. Using your ground line as a hacked 120 neutral, while not necessarily your heating problem, is definitely a problem. It's also sounding like a bad SSR if it wont cycle or is leaking substantial current. Do you have a multi-meter?

 

[lschiavo]

Any luck with this? I am curious what the problem may have been.

 

[jmrieger]

Any luck with this? I am curious what the problem may have been.

I have a new SSR coming in today, as I have the feeling that's the culprit. I'll post my results.

I did re-wire to run the PID off of 240 instead of sharing the ground as suggested, but that didn't solve the root issue.

Unfortunately I don't have a working multimeter at the moment. If the replacement SSR doesn't solve the problem, I'll purchase one and see if I can't track down a short or leak somewhere.

 

[jmrieger]

My final answer: Bad Solid State Relay.

My new relay came in today. I tested by bumping to a 100% manual boil from 65*F to 125*F, then bumping manual power down to 50%. Heater cycled on/off as expected. Kicked back to 100% manual for 2 minutes, then 0% manual, and heater shut off.

Thank you to both lschiavo and BadNewsBrewery for the help, specifically related to my ground wiring issue.

Joe

 

[lschiavo]

Glad you got it sorted out. Happy brewing

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Cheers!!

 

[owentp]

Is it possible that your element receptacle can go bad? I put my tester by the wires & they are hot. When I put my voltmeter on it I can't get a reading.