Pids, pids, pids

[Mike W1]

Back when I first built my first the talk for casting was basically 3 brands and models. In one of my idle moments I did a bit of poking around on a couple sites to see what might be out there now as a couple new ones have seemed to come up in the period since. Didn't really check them out as even I can't imagine needing another one for myself. Inkbird and Golander are what I've been noticing lately so was curious. Just wrote down a few of them for kicks. Actually I'm doing a fine job of avoiding going out and rotating tires on the car!

Only thing that stood out to me was the Golander which shares an indicator with the AT signal and the OL. Seems a bit confusing to me but probably something one could get used to I suppose. The 3 brands I've used had separate indicators for those 2 different functions. Anyhow here's what I spotted on 2 sites and I'll be there's more out there. Lots of models in the different brand of course.

Rex
Berme (basically a REX knockoff)
Auber
Mypin
Golander
Inkbird
Sinotimer
Yalian
Sestos
Siepem
Omega
Hanyoung
Morning Group
TET612
XMT612

[RedlegEd]

Hi Mike,
I'm not really familiar with many of the brands you listed, but I recently replaced my Inkbird ITC-106VH with an Auber SYL-2352. The Inkbird was not cycling the SSD proportionally, rather cycled as a simple full on/off switch. It really didn't have an intelligent response to changing temperatures and had a tendency to overshoot. The Auber, on the other hand, will keep the temperature much more stable and apply power proportionally to keep the temp in the "happy zone." The Auber is about $10 more than the Inkbird, but I think in this case, you really get what you pay for. Ed

[popper]

Omega isn't cheap.

[Phlier]

Hi Mike,
I'm not really familiar with many of the brands you listed, but I recently replaced my Inkbird ITC-106VH with an Auber SYL-2352. The Inkbird was not cycling the SSD proportionally, rather cycled as a simple full on/off switch. It really didn't have an intelligent response to changing temperatures and had a tendency to overshoot. The Auber, on the other hand, will keep the temperature much more stable and apply power proportionally to keep the temp in the "happy zone." The Auber is about $10 more than the Inkbird, but I think in this case, you really get what you pay for. Ed

Built the Auber SYL-2352 four years ago. Works great.

[Mike W1]

Hi Mike,
I'm not really familiar with many of the brands you listed, but I recently replaced my Inkbird ITC-106VH with an Auber SYL-2352. The Inkbird was not cycling the SSD proportionally, rather cycled as a simple full on/off switch. It really didn't have an intelligent response to changing temperatures and had a tendency to overshoot. The Auber, on the other hand, will keep the temperature much more stable and apply power proportionally to keep the temp in the "happy zone." The Auber is about $10 more than the Inkbird, but I think in this case, you really get what you pay for. Ed

That 2352 was what I used for my first unit also. At this point I've been unsuccessful in understanding or even trying to understand this proportional bit. But now the gears are grinding a bit so to speak. I wired my 2352 with a indicator showing when power is going to the pot, same as the one on the unit except it's a lot more visible. Next PID I built was a Mypin TA4SNR wired the same way as the 2352.

Drove me nuts watching that power out lamp constantly blinking instead of for lack of better description periodically pulsing on and off at much faster intervals than the 2352 was doing. It seemed to work OK on a pot but wouldn't do worth a darn on the hotplate when I switched the units around. Probably should have looked a little further into the theory of things but didn't.

Returned the Mypin and tried a REX C100 which held the temperature as well as the 2352. Only drawback being it was in Celsius but then that's pretty easy to convert to Fahrenheit and it's not like you're gonna be resetting the SV all the time anyway. Now I use the Auber on the hotplate, both pots have their own Rex and my luber heater has it's Rex also. Didn't need em' all but I like toys!

And NO, the Rex cannot be converted to read in F, though you'd get that impression from the instruction manuals. Something is not there in the C100 model that is evidently needed. Maybe in the higher end models but I don't know that. Another thing I learned was wiring alarms in like I did on the 2352, was relatively useless. My units are visible where they sit. If they were on a buzzer that would possibly make more sense. I don't even set the values on the 2352 and didn't bother to wire indicators on any of the Rex's.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking that my units are operating in ON/OFF mode not proportional. The PID function to me at least, "learns" how often to turn the power on to maintain temperature. Thus the longer periods that it's either off or on.

[Mal Paso]

I've had inkbird and mypin and wouldn't buy either again with Auber only a few bucks more. Auber also has technical support. A little hard to understand but he really knows his products and walked me through a custom setup offering programming possibilities I had not thought of. Like a hidden maximum temperature to prevent accidents.

Omega was expensive last I checked, $250 range if I remember correctly.

[RedlegEd]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking that my units are operating in ON/OFF mode not proportional. The PID function to me at least, "learns" how often to turn the power on to maintain temperature. Thus the longer periods that it's either off or on.

Mike,
You aren't wrong at all. Maybe my use of the term "proportional" is incorrect in that the PID cannot control the amount of current going through the SSD, it just cycles it off and on. What I meant is the proportional way the PID handles how much it comes on during the set cycle time to maintain a certain temperature, which of course, is learned by the PID over time. From the Auber manual about Cycle time "t," "For example, when t=2, if the controller decides output should be 10%, the heater will be on 0.2 second, and off 1.8 seconds for every 2.0 seconds." That's why you'll see the Output light sometimes flicker or coming on in a short duration depending on the cycle time setting. My little PC oven has an indicator light that illuminates when power is applied, so it's easy for me to watch how the PID is controlling the cycle time. For the Lee pots, you'll hear the heating elements humming when power is applied. The problem I had with the Inkbird is it never really "learned" how to do that and acted more like a simple thermostat.
Ed

[Mike W1]

Think we're both kind of right. From the Auber manual:

3.4.3For all controller models listed in this manual, the power is controlled by regulating the duration of on time for a fixed period of time. It is not controlled by regulating amplitude of the voltage or current. This is often referred as time proportional control. For example, if the cycle rate is set for 100 seconds, a 60% output means controller will switch on the power for 60 seconds and off for 40 seconds (60/100= 60%). Almost all high power control systems use time proportional control because amplitude proportional control is too expensive and inefficient.

[shoebox56]

Currently using AGPtEK TA4-SSR. Not listed. Working so far.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Omron E5CC is another one. They are spendy from industrial suppliers & Amazon ($200+), but they are also on fleabay for $50 and up, shipped from Hong Kong or other Asia location. There are several different flavors, and I haven't researched them.

[Ranger 7]

Built one using an Auber several years ago, still working great! highly recommend.

[NineInchNails]

Auber makes excellent stuff. I have 3 Auber PIDs and never had a single issue. It's worth the few bucks more. You cannot go wrong with Auber.

[mattw]

I use a Mypin and it is cheap and holds very well.

[bosterr]

Another reason the buy from Auberins. I had one of their SYL-2352 controllers start to act up a while back. They said send it in along with 5 bucks. They re-soldered a connection and returned it fast all for 5 bucks. It's been running like a top ever since.

[dpoe001]

Redlion controls is another brand. i have been using them for years.