19
minutes will provide enough energy to heat 10 gallons (38 liters) of water up by 108°F
(60 °C). If your have a pot that is bigger than 10 gallons and the heater is drawing 15 A,
and you need to raise the temperature by 108 °F, you better use one of the methods
mentioned below to reduce the heat in the controller. Otherwise, you might damage the
controller.
Please note that when the ambient temperature is hot, as it often is the case in some
commercial kitchens, the temperature of the controller will get hotter. This is because the
heat dissipation is mostly determined by the temperature gradient (the temperature
difference between the ambient and the controller) instead of absolute temperature of
the controller itself. If the controller reaches 50 °C when the ambient is at 20 °C, it will
reach 70 °C when the ambient is at 40 °C.
Solutions to reduce the heat stress on the controller
.
1) Use hot water. If you fill the pot with hot water that has a temperature close to the set
temperature, the heat dissipation of the controller is not an issue. As we have mentioned,
once the temperature is close to the set point temperature, the controller starts to pulse
(PWM) the power. The effective current is much lower, making heat not an issue.
2) Limit maximum output power. If you set output reduction parameter to 80%, then, a
15A heater will become a 12A heater. It will take 25% longer time to heat up the pot, but
the controller will not over heat.
In addition to these solutions, following information will also help you to manage the heat.
Place the controller in the right place. The SSR of Auber WS series controller is mounted
in the bottom of chassis. The chassis is made of 3 mm thick aluminum for good heat
dissipation. Do not cover the controller with any insulation. If you are running at 15 A with
a large pot, placing the controller in a well ventilated area and tilting the instrument up
with its front legs will help remove the heat more efficiently. However, the tilted position
may result in water collected at the back frame. Although the controller is splash proof,
you should avoid water to be dripped on the controller when you open the lid of the
cooker.
Increase the P value. This can only provide limited help for reducing the heat. P is the
proportional band. P=200 means the proportional band is 20.0 degrees. When the
temperature is raised to less than 20 degree from the set point temperature, the
controller will start to reduce the power sooner. But if the integration time is set to very
short, the controller might start to run at full power again soon.
