I have been casting for DECADES, and always wanted a way to more accurately control my casting sessions. I purchased (from Hatch) a group buy PID controller, and it is very well made. Using the PID will allow me to fine tune my casting sessions, and document target temperatures in an Excel spreadsheet for future use. However, the Golander logic for their "auto tune" function was actually detrimental to my casting style.
I like to get my mold up to a really hot temperature, right at still shiny boolits, but at a temperature whereby I can open the sprue cutting plate with my thumb. While the cut sprue is still sizzling hot, I tip the mold over, and drop the cut sprue into my gloved hand, and slide that into the casting pot. Depending on the weight of the boolits I am casting, and the number of cavities, the sprue can be almost 1/3 of the boolit weight yield. It would be wasteful (in my opinion) to just set those aside to cool, having to use all the energy later to heat them back up again. And, by putting the cut sprues back into the pot while I am casting, it dramatically extends the casting session.
I'm using the older style of the RCBS Pro Melt bottom pour casting pot. I like it a lot, and gave up on the cheap Lee version a long time ago. The Lee leaked, hummed (always bothered me that RF would be racing around the room, etc), and was always an issue when casting. I also didn't like the way the dispensing handle worked, and had done a modification. The Pro Melt is a much better platform. While a LOT more expensive than the Lee, the RCBS is an awesome casting pot, and well worth the money. NOTE: The new design of the RCBS Pro Melt has a built in PID controller. So, this discussion relates to older pots without the built in feature.
So, as received, the Golander controller yielded, after the AutoTune function cycled through three full heat/cool sessions, a result which cycled the ON for 1/2 second, and the OFF for 1/2 second (even though the manual says that 2 seconds is the min setting). It was taking forever to get the pot up to temperature, and then it would not maintain the target temperature because of my sliding the cut sprues back into the pot.
So, I needed to abandon the auto tune settings, and manually get into the controller for setting things more to my own needs.
The key place to get to those settings is in the "PID parameters" area of the controller, (input passcode 0036 after pressing the SET key).
So, press the SET key once, and then use the > key to move over two places, to the third position, and use the ^ and down keys to change the values to 0036. Press set again, and then index through the menu items using the ^ or down arrow keys. When you get to the setting that you want to change, press the SET key again, and change the values.
By changing the settings in this area, I was able to get my controller to stay ON until the target temperature was achieved, and then it goes off. No more 1/2 second cycling on and off. And, I adjusted the "overshoot" a bit to accommodate the sprues going back into the pot, knowing that any temperature higher than my target will soon be reduced by a cooling sprue going back into the pot.
Rather than clog up the Group Buy thread with this technical discussion, I decided to post this thread, and hope that it can assist someone else who might need the help. I was a naive novice when I first received my PID controller. I mis-understood a LOT about how it functions, etc. Unless you really need to change settings, I urge you to LEAVE YOUR PID CONTROLLER ALONE!!!!
However, if you do need to change the settings, and feel competent to do so, this thread should serve as a discussion point for doing so. For reference, here is a link for the Golander GL101 PID Temperature Controller