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Figure 28. Auto-tune
Before using the auto-tune function, you must set the cooking equipment up in the exact
configuration it will be used. For example, to tune a rice cooker, place the sensor in the
room temperature pot filled with water and plug the cooker into the controller. If the
cooker has its own thermostat or power control, turn both as high as they’ll go. Set the
controller to the appropriate power level (see next Section). Turn the controller and
cooker on, and then enter the desired set point temperature closed to your normal
cooking temperature.
To activate auto-tuning, enter Control Config menu. Go to parameter "Auto-tune", and
set it to ON then exit the menu. the display will flash alternately between normal display
and auto-tune notification (Auto-tuning Please wait…), which indicates auto-tuning is in
progress. When the display stops flashing, the auto-tuning is finished. Now, the newly
calculated PID parameters are set and are used for the system. The new parameters
will store in the memory even the power is off.
You should always write down your old PID parameters, before letting the controller to
perform auto-tuning. This way if something goes wrong, you can always go back to your
old PID parameters. Or you can use factory reset feature (note 21) to reset all the
parameters. The water amount in the pot should be the same volume as you would
have normally used. Basically, you must setup your cooking system close to your actual
cooking environment.
The duration of auto-tuning depends on how fast the system is responding to the
heating and cooling cycle. If the temperature of the cooker takes a long time to drop -
when heater is off- the auto-tuning could be a very long tuning process. This is
especially true with a well-insulated cooker. The auto-tuning should be able to tune most
of your chosen with fairly good result.
