Mash temp controller

[brew]

Wonder if this would work? For $13 hard to beat:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Automatic-LCD-Di ... 036wt_1184

[Kyle]

I think Richard has one of those for his keezer

[chrismccull]

I have one for my Fermentation Chamber, it works well.

[brew]

Yes that one is 220/240v though - I know some have bought the PID instead but I think those are a little more expensive as a Mashing temp controller?

[fakr]

$45 for a good quality PID controller isn't overly expensive Brew.  Very good quality, and will do everything you want, from PID to manual updown heat adjustment like stove:

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_ ... ducts_id=3

I made the mistake of buying an el cheapo PID off ebay...when I started changing things I realized it wouldn't accept most temp sensors I had bought, and didn't have manual mode for the boil kettle, so I had to buy another one, and bought a good one that accepts pretty much any temp sensor out there.

I highly recommend it Brew...it will be the last one you ever have to buy....unless of course you wanted 2 of them!  

[brew]

Hmm so what's manual mode do?

[fakr]

I should ask how you would rig that controller up to control your mash temp?  would it turn onoff a 220V heating element?

[brew]

Yeah I guess it varies by a set amount - 1 deg minimum - then it turns on the circuit - I suppose the PID you have listed has a better resolution than that maybe?

[fakr]

Manual mode turns the controller effectively into a 0-100% duty cycle type controll...pretty much the same thing as a stove 0-10 dial knob.   Manual mode isn't good for hitting and maintaining a specific temp, but it's great for a boil kettle where you want to slightly turn up or down your output to increase or decrease the intensity of the boil.
you can't really use a PID for the boil as water boils at 212F.  anything above that will cause a boilover, and anything below will reduce or stop the boil altogether.

[fakr]

are you going to be maintaining your mash temp through a herms or rims system brew?

[brew]

I was debating about making myself a simple RIMS tube. Not sure - also debating about using the controller with the HLT to get water at my strike temp...

[fakr]

The temp controller you listed would be good for cooling or heating something where +- a few degrees is acceptable, but you'd be better off with a PID if you want to maintain an exact temp over a period of time.

[brew]

Yeah I think I see a "real" PID would be a better idea

[fakr]

Here's a cool application for a PID:

I have a PID controlling my HLT heating element.  The HLT has a builtin HERMS coil.  I'm recirculating wort from the MT through the HERMS coil.   My temp sensor is reading the return wort temperature back into the MT, and is adjusting the HLT heating element temp accordingly to maintain an exact 150F wort temp.

With the above example, I don't care what the water temp is in the HLT, I'm only concerned with the wort temp returning back into the mash.

That would be very hard or impossible to do with a regular temp controller.

[fakr]

I still have that el cheapo PID kicking around if you want it Brew.  you'd just need to buy an RDT sensor for it.  All the ones I had were NTC, and that is one of the ones it won't accept.

If you're using it for a PID application, it will do what you want...but I don' think it does manual mode...