Auber Instruments WS-1500ES Administrator Guide

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Operation Instruction Manual
WS-1500ES
Precision PID Temperature Controller
Version 1.4
Auber Instruments
5755 North Point Parkway, Suite 99
Alpharetta, GA 30022
770-569-8420
www.auberins.com
Dec, 2016
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Auber WS series temperature controller. We sincerely
appreciate your decision and trust that our machine will meet your expectations in both
the quality of the result and the value of our product. While we are delighted that you may
be anxious to operate the controller for your project, a few minutes of your time reading
through this manual will only serve to enhance your experience in the months and years
ahead. In particular, we urge you to read through the safety warnings below. Although
this plug-and-play controller is very easy to operate, the process involves high
temperature and high wattage appliances, and your safety is paramount.
SAFETY WARNINGS
This controller is designed only to be used with devices that have limited power
and their own thermal cut off protection, such as a thermostat or thermal fuse in
case of controller failure.
Do not place any objects on the top of controller surface which is used to vent
excess heat during its operation.
The maximum electric current this controller can handle is 15 ampere. For 120
volt AC in US and Canada, this limits the heater power to1800 watts. Due to its
compact size and the splash proof design for kitchen applications, the controller
has a limited ability to dissipate the heat generated by the internal solid state relay
during the initial heat up. The initial full power heat up process cannot be more
than 90 minutes. If you system need take longer time to warm up, please read
Appendix 1 “Managing the heat generated by the controller”
Always place the sensor in the controlled subject when the controller is on.
Before turning on the controller, please make sure the sensor is placed inside the
container to be controlled. Leaving the sensor outside will form an open loop

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operation. If the sensor is left outside, the controller will assume the temperature
is low even if the controlled subject is already very hot. The controller will provide
full power to the heater, which will not only overheat the controller, but also
damage your appliance or even cause a fire. If the sensor is not permanently
mounted on the system and left outside of the system, there is a potential problem.
You should enable the open loop alarm function (see page 11 for details).
This controller is designed to control the devices recommended by Auber
Instruments only. Using it to control a non-recommended device can be
dangerous and cause fire. Auber Instruments is not liable for damages caused by
misuse of the controller. If you are not sure whether the controller can be used,
please contactAuber Instruments before use.
If an abnormal display or noise is observed, turn the controller off, unplug the
power cord and contact the manufacturer before using it again.
Clean the controller only when it is cool and unplugged.
Do not allow children to operate the controller.
Specifications
Input voltage: 100 to 240 VAC 50 /60 Hz.
Output voltage: Same as the input.
Maximum Current: 15A at 120V, 10A at 240V
Fuse Size: 20A Fast blow.
Control Action: Heating (reversed action) or cooling (direct action).
Control Mode PID, PI, PD, P or On/off.
Output switching device: Built-in optically isolated solid state relay with zero voltage
crossing switching.
Sensor type: Pt100 RTD sensor.
Sensor tip dimensions: 4 mm diameter x 40 mm long.
Sensor cable length, 3 ft (915 mm).
Alarm: High limit alarm and Open loop alarm with LED and
buzzer.
Timer Range: 1 to 9999 minutes. It can be turned off by user.
Temperature display unit: Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Temperature resolution: 1 °C or 1 °F.
Temperature display range: -50 to 400 °C or -58 to 752 °F.
Temperature accuracy: +/-1°C in 10 to 100 °C range
Dimension: 6 x 3.2 x 7 inch (155 x80x170 mm) W x H x D.
Weight: 2.9 lb (1.3 kg).
Warranty: 1 year for controller, 90 days for sensor.

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Operating Instructions
1) Description of the controller.
Figure 1. Front Panel
(1) Parameter Window (LED) - for displaying temperature values and controller's
system parameters.
(2) Output status indicator - In normal mode, this LED indicates the heater status.
When it is on (lit), the heater is powered. When it is off, the heater power is off. When
it is flashing, it means the heater is on and off intermittently to reduce the power
output. It should be synchronized with the power light on the cooking device.
(3) SET Key - for showing current temperature settings, entering parameters setting
mode and confirming various actions taken.
(4) “+” Key - To increment displayed value.
(5) “-”Key - To decrement displayed value.
(6) Time Key - Change the Parameter Window between current timer and
temperature values, when pressed.
(7) Alarm indicator - Lit when the alarm is on.
(8) Timer status indicator - In normal mode, when “(8)” is on and “(9)” is flashing,
LED shows the time passed since it’s powered on.
(9) Mode indicator - the small “dot” is used to indicate what mode the controller is in.

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When it is flashing and “(8)” stays on, “(1)” is the time that has elapsed since
it’s powered on.
When it is flashing “(8)” is off, the controller is in the parameter setting mode.
“(1)” is the value can be changed by using (4) and (5) key.
Figure 2. Back Panel
2) Connecting the controller
Figure 3. Typical connection between the controller and
the heating device (in this example, the cooker).

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The connection of the controller should be done in the following steps.
Plug the temperature sensor to the back of the controller.
Plug the power cord to the power outlet on the wall.
Turn on the controller to make sure the controller powers up properly and the
temperature display is in the range expected. Then, turn off the controller.
Plug the heater to the back of the controller. If the heater has a switch, put it in the
off position. Put the sensor inside the container to be controlled.
Turn on the controller.
Turn on the heating device.
Remark The connector of sensor contains a slot for correct pin connection. It also has a
spring lock to prevent disconnections from accidental pulling on the cable. The following
pictures show how to install and remove it.
Fig 3a. How to install the sensor.

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Fig 3b. How to remove the sensor.
3) Operating the controller
3.1 Setting the temperature.
Press SET key twice. Both 1) and 2) will start to flash. The LED shows the current
temperature setting. Use “+” and “-“ keys to change the setting. When finished, press the
SET again to confirm the change.
Note: the temperature setting will not be changed if SET is not pressed (confirmed). The
display will return to the normal display mode if no key is pressed within 3 seconds.
3.2 Switching the display between temperature and time.
This is done by pressing the Time Key “6)”once. When “8)” is on (lit) and “9)” is flashing
at the same time, the LED is in timer mode and shows the actual time passed since the
controller was last powered on. When “8)” is off (not lit), the LED is in temperature mode
and shows the current sensor temperature.
3.3 Setting the timer.
Press SET key once and release it, both “1)”and “8)”will start flashing. The LED shows
the current timer setting in minute. Use the “+” and “-“ keys to change the timer setting.
When finished, press the SET again to confirm the change.
Note: the timer setting will not be changed if SET is not pressed (confirmed). The display
will return to the normal display mode if no key is pressed within 3 seconds.
Using the timer The timer can be used in two different ways.
a) Use it as timer. If you set the timer for 1200 minutes, the controller will stop sending

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power to the cooker 1200 minutes after it is powered up. It will display “End” on the
window and send an audio beeping sound. Turning off the power and on again will reset
the timer.
b) Use it as a clock. Instead of using the timer function, many users just use it as a clock
to find how long the food has been cooked. To use it as a clock, set the time longer than
you need to use, or, just set the timer at 9999 minutes. During the operation, press the
“time” button once will change the display from temperature of the pot to the time that
has elapsed since powered up. Pressing the “time” button again will change the display
back to temperature.
3.4 Tuning the controller
This controller is shipped with parameters set for commercial rice cookers. You can try to
use this setting for other cooking devices also because the setting is suitable for a typical
slow response and balanced system. If you feel the performance is not ideal, you can try
to use the recommended PID parameters listed in Table 1. These are the parameter we
obtained from tuning the system manually. If your cooker is not listed in the Table 1 of
our pre-selected cookers, or the PID parameters we provided are not working for your
liking, you can use the auto-tuning function to let the controller determine the PID
parameters automatically. You can also manually tune the PID parameter if you are
familiar with PID control technology. To activate the auto-tuning processes or change the
P, I and D parameters, please see next section and Fig 5.
Symbol
P
I
d
Display
P
I
d
Commercial Rice cooker, steam table
180
700
40
Commercial Rice cooker, steam table
18
0
150
Home use rice cooker,
54
60
15
Home use rice cooker, wine fermentation. (PD
mode) Switch set at Warm position
17
0
40
Slow cooker, 7 quart
180
700
40
Slow cooker, 4 quart
54
60
15
Slow cooker, PD mode (low overshoot)
40
0
40
Bradley Smoker
70
600
150
Table 1. Recommended PID parameters that can be used as reference point.
Please note that the P value in table is in Fahrenheit unit. If the controller is using
Celsius unit, divide the P value by 1.8. If you switch from Fahrenheit display to
Celsius, the controller will automatically convert all the settings.

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4) Controller System Configuration Parameter.
This section discusses how to configure the controller for a specific application. For most
sous vide cooking users, there is no need to read this section. The controller’s default
setting is for most common configurations of sous vide cooking.
The controller parameters are divided into two groups.
A) The first group of parameters is related to the control performance. They need to be
adjusted based on the system to be controlled. Table show the list of these parameters,
their range and initial set values.
Table 2. List of control parameters and its initial settings under code 166.
Symbol Display Description Range Initial
PPProportional band (in 0.1 Degree) 0-600 180
II
Integral constant (second) 0-900 700
ddDerivative constant (second) 0-300 40
AT AC Auto-tune 0=off 1=on 0
TCCycle rate (second) 1-100 2
Details about each parameter
P. Proportional band. It is in 0.1 degree units. This parameter controls the output
of the controller based on the differences between the measured and set
temperatures. The larger the P number means the weaker the action (lower gain).
e. g. If P=100, the proportional band is 10 degrees (100 x 0.1=10). When the
sensor temperature is 10 degrees below the proportional band (10 degrees below
the setting), the controller will have 100% output. When the temperature is 5
degrees below the set point, the output is 50%. When the temperature is equal to
the setting, the controller will have 0% output (assuming integral and derivative
functions are turned off). This constant also affects both integral and derivative
action. Smaller P values will make both integral and derivative actions stronger.
Please note the value of the P is temperature unit sensitive. If an optimized P
value was found when operating the controller in Celsius, it needs to be multiplied
by 1.8 when the temperature unit is changed to Fahrenheit.
On/off mode. If P is set to 0, the control mode will be changed from PID mode to
On/off mode. On/off mode should be used for controlling an external relay, a
solenoid valve, or a compressor of freezer. You also need to set the hysteresis
band (dead band) for the on/off mode. In the on/off mode, Integral and Derivative
parameters are not valid.
I. Integral time. The unit is in seconds. This parameter controls the output of the
controller based on the difference between the measured and set temperature

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integrated with time. Integral action is used to eliminate temperature offset. A
larger number means slower action. e. g. assuming the difference between the
measured and set temperature is 2 degrees and remains unchanged, the output
will increase continuously with time until it reaches 100%. When temperature
fluctuate regularly (system oscillating), increase the integral time. Decrease it if
the controller is taking too long to eliminate the temperature offset. When I=0, the
system becomes a PD controller. For very slow response systems such as slow
cookers and large commercial rice cookers, setting I = 0 will significantly reduce
the temperature overshoot.
d. Derivative time. The unit is in seconds. Derivative action contributes the output
power based on the rate of temperature change. Derivative action can be used to
minimize the temperature overshoot by responding to its rate of change. The
larger the number is, the faster the action will be. e.g. when the door of an oven is
opened, the temperature will drop at a very high rate. The derivative action
changes the controller output based on the rate of change rather than the net
amount of change. This will allow the controller to act sooner. It will turn the heater
to full power before the temperature drops too much
AT, Auto Tune.
Every type of cooker has its own unique set of tuning parameters. For the
controller to heat with stability, it should have programmed with the tuning
parameters for the cooker currently being used.
When Should the Controller be Tuned?
The auto-tuning function (it’s often known as self-tuning) can automatically
optimize the PID parameters for your chosen cooking system. The auto-tuning
function will heat up your cooker then let it cool down. It will repeat this heat/cool
cycle several times. Based on the response time of the whole cooking system, the
controller will calculate and set the PID parameters for your cooker.
Figure 4
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

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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 close to your normal cooking temperature.
You should always write down your old PID parameters, before letting the
controller perform auto-tuning. This way if something goes wrong, you can always
go back to your old PID 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 the 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 heaters/cookers/smokers with great result.
To activate auto-tuning, set Ato 1 then exit the menu (see Fig 5). The display will
start to flash alternately between Aand the current water bath temperature,
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 when the
controller is restarted.
T, cycle rate. The unit is second. This unit determines how long for the controller
to calculate each action. e.g. If T is set to 10 seconds, when the controller decides
the output should be 10%, it will turn on the heater 1 second for every 10 seconds.
This parameter should set at 2 second for heating with an electric heater. When
controlling a solenoid valve or a compressor of refrigerator, the T should be set to
10-20 to reduce the frequency of on/off.
To prevent changing critical parameters by accident, an access lock, LCK is used.
Special code is needed to open the lock for these parameters.
This group of parameters can be accessed by input code 166. Figure 4 is the flow chart
that shows how they can be changed.