- Apr 5, 2013
- 98
- 10
yea it was set to the other type of thermocouple.So it was still set for a K type thermocouple.
I would go a head and do a ice water bath test and boiling water test to see how it reads then. There is still an offset that can be entered but it should be pretty much dead on.
Also when it's finished and hooked up in the smoker, don't forget to make sure and connect those ground wires properly for safety.
Then you just need to run an auto tune cycle and let the PID detect how the heating element performs in your actual smoker (push and hold the "AT" button for more than 3 seconds to start the process. The "AT" light should come on and it will go off once the process is complete - it may take a while). It will need to be in the finished smoker under actual working conditions for the auto tune to work properly.
Glad it's working now. I was really concerned you had a bad unit, but it looks like it was just the initial wiring and changing that internal setting.
Also if you did not get that MYPIN TA4 manual downloaded (the better link I posted at a FTP server), send me a PM with your email. Apparently that FTP server is no longer public but I do have a saved copy of the manual I can email you. It's much better than the factory manual IMO.
how bout the heat sink question in the above postThe green ground wire in the extension cord should be grounded to the smoker and the control box your parts go in if it's metal.
If you keep the female pigtail, it needs to be grounded also (you can bond them all together with a wire nut and run a new wire from that bundle to a screw on the metal cabinet and/or parts box). I would eliminate the female cord pigtail in the final build and just hard wire the heating element to the SSR (which is why I showed a terminal strip in one set of diagrams, that is what most people use to distribute power). I would also put in two breakers/fuses to protect the PID and the element (PID needs low amperage protection of around 2 amps and the heating element would need a 15 or 20 amp protection depending on wire gauge you used).
Let us know how the ice water and boiling water temp tests come out.
They do make heat sinks where the fins extend outside the housing, but your SSR is pretty much the same size as the top of your heat sink so there is no way to mount like that. Looking at the photos of your SSR on the heat sink, you sink is designed to be mounted inside a box. The box will need to have vents and probably should also have a fan to blow fresh cooler air across the heat sink.Oh also how should the heat sink be placed? Out side my project box or bolted to the inside? I was thinking to the outside by maybe I'm wrong
ill just leave the cover open some for now and order a small computer fan to put in.They do make heat sinks where the fins extend outside the housing, but your SSR is pretty much the same size as the top of your heat sink so there is no way to mount like that. Looking at the photos of your SSR on the heat sink, you sink is designed to be mounted inside a box. The box will need to have vents and probably should also have a fan to blow fresh cooler air across the heat sink.
Also you should have some thermally conductive grease. You need to put a thin film of this between the SSR and the heat sink. It helps the heat transfer to the sink better.
[size=-1]TABLE[/size] [size=-1] 1[/size] | [size=-2]Changes in Standard Temperature and Pressure (in Hg) as a Function of Altitude[/size] | [size=-1] (Ref. 1)[/size] |
[size=-1]Altitude (ft.)[/size] | [size=-1]Pressure[/size] [size=-1](in. Hg)[/size] | [size=-1]Boiling pt.[/size] [size=-1](° F)[/size] |
[size=-1]-500[/size] | [size=-1]30.466[/size] | [size=-1]212.9[/size] |
[size=-1]0[/size] | [size=-1]29.921[/size] | [size=-1]212.0[/size] |
[size=-1]500[/size] | [size=-1]29.384[/size] | [size=-1]211.1[/size] |
[size=-1]1000[/size] | [size=-1]28.855[/size] | [size=-1]210.2[/size] |
[size=-1]2000[/size] | [size=-1]27.821[/size] | [size=-1]208.4[/size] |
[size=-1]2500[/size] | [size=-1]27.315[/size] | [size=-1]207.5[/size] |
[size=-1]3000[/size] | [size=-1]26.817[/size] | [size=-1]206.6[/size] |
[size=-1]3500[/size] | [size=-1]26.326[/size] | [size=-1]205.7[/size] |
[size=-1]4000[/size] | [size=-1]25.842[/size] | [size=-1]204.8[/size] |
[size=-1]4500[/size] | [size=-1]25.365[/size] | [size=-1]203.9[/size] |
[size=-1]5000[/size] | [size=-1]24.896[/size] | [size=-1]203.0[/size] |
[size=-1]5500[/size] | [size=-1]24.434[/size] | [size=-1]202.0[/size] |
[size=-1]6000[/size] | [size=-1]23.978[/size] | [size=-1]201.1[/size] |
[size=-1]6500[/size] | [size=-1]23.530[/size] | [size=-1]200.2[/size] |
[size=-1]7000[/size] | [size=-1]23.088[/size] | [size=-1]199.3[/size] |
[size=-1]7500[/size] | [size=-1]22.653[/size] | [size=-1]198.3[/size] |
[size=-1]8000[/size] | [size=-1]22.225[/size] | [size=-1]197.4[/size] |
[size=-1]8500[/size] | [size=-1]21.803[/size] | [size=-1]196.4[/size] |
[size=-1]9000[/size] | [size=-1]21.388[/size] | [size=-1]195.5[/size] |
[size=-1]9500[/size] | [size=-1]20.979[/size] | [size=-1]194.6[/size] |
[size=-1]10000[/size] | [size=-1]20.577[/size] | [size=-1]193.6[/size] |
ok yes I follow. I think I should order that strip after all and hook it up so every angle is protected.You can use fuses or "push to reset" type breakers. Fuses are a pain as you have to keep spares. In theory, it should not be tripping breakers or blowing fuses if it's wired correctly and they are safety devices designed to protect the components should something go awry.
There are various brands that look like this. You drill a round hole and the nut holds it in place. I would get a 2 amp breaker for the power to the PID and a 15 or 20 amp breaker for the power to the heating element (depending on wattage of the element and the gauge of the wiring). You would want to protect them separately as the PID would fry a long time before a 15 or 20 amp breaker would even trip. When the breaker trips, the center part (the white button with the 15 on it in this photo) will pop up about 1/2". You push it back in to reset.
To properly wire a smoker with breakers you will need that terminal strip we talked about a while back. Power comes in from the wall plug to the terminal strip and then goes to the different devices (the PID and the SSR/heater loop) with a breaker after the terminal strip but before the device. You cannot use the SSR AC feed off the back of the PID in the final setup with breakers as if you do, they are still in parallel and it just won't work.
As to auto tuning the PID, you just run the smoker. It would work best with some sort of mass to at least simulate meat in the smoker. You could put a couple of bricks in on a rack or a frying pan full of sand, or use real meat if you want. If you mostly smoke at 225* then let it heat up to 225* and hit the AT button for about 3 seconds (until the AT light comes on). Leave it alone and it will do it's thing. What the PID is doing is a bunch of mathematical calculations on how the temperature is actually swinging up and down as the heating element turns on and off. Once it learns the heat profile of your smoker it will anticipate when the heater needs to be on and hold the set temp much closer than a simple switch type thermostat. If you tune it for a full load of 6 to 8 pork shoulders, the response curve of the pit will be different for 2 fatties. But if you are fairly consistent with the mass of your meat from smoke to smoke you can tune it and pretty much forget about it. If you change mass like in the fatty/shoulder example above, just re-auto tune it at the start of the smoke.
Don't get too hung up on auto tuning. It will run just fine for a smoker with just doing it one time and forgetting about it after that. These controllers can hold fractions of a degree in more critical applications - I mean it's not like you are opening valves to control the coolant in the core of a nuclear reactor if you follow me.