I recently build a rims system using a tube and a 1500W element, auber pid/ssr, etc. Over the past few brews, my system kept malfunctioning, where the pid controller was blowing past my target temps the second I hit the "on' switch for my heating element. I couldn't figure out what the issue was.
Then I went back to the drawing board, took my control box apart, etc. and found nothing wrong, really leaving me to scratch my head. I did another test run with plain water, redid the autotune for the PID, and STILL I was blowing past temp when I was actually brewing.
On a whim, I decided to increase my flow rate through the RIMS tube, and voila! Suddenly, the system worked perfectly maintaining temp. In several ways, I don't understand why flow rate should matter, since I would assume that with a slower flow rate the element would simply fire less often, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say.
Has anyone else made a similar observation? Similarly, anyone have any clue why my system is acting this way? Ideally, I'd like to use a slower flow rate if at all possible.
Then I went back to the drawing board, took my control box apart, etc. and found nothing wrong, really leaving me to scratch my head. I did another test run with plain water, redid the autotune for the PID, and STILL I was blowing past temp when I was actually brewing.
On a whim, I decided to increase my flow rate through the RIMS tube, and voila! Suddenly, the system worked perfectly maintaining temp. In several ways, I don't understand why flow rate should matter, since I would assume that with a slower flow rate the element would simply fire less often, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say.
Has anyone else made a similar observation? Similarly, anyone have any clue why my system is acting this way? Ideally, I'd like to use a slower flow rate if at all possible.