Anyone build their own autodraw off?

[mountain man maple]

Ok forget grounding box if its plastic. Only applies to metal. I would just run power cord through a watertight cord connector then wire to terminal strip. Not sure about valve to ground you only have two wires and that's hot and neutral. Only thing would be if valve would somehow short hot wire to metal on valve the whole arch could have 120 volts in it. Are wires labeled on valve or just two wires?

[WoodButcher]

the wires are black and white on my valve. standard. i picked up a real nice 1" schneider zone valve rated for steam, 2 way, NC ...i programmed my 2 auber pid's and will have one to monitor stack temps and one for auto draw off.

the stack PID is self-explanatory from the labels, but on the draw off PID i have the main SV set for draw off temp (readout) and another high alarm buzzer set to go off 3deg over SV(draw off temp) just in case i need to increase draw off flow if/when things get hairy. the pt100 RTD is from auber and its 12" long with a 1/4" npt compression fitting, perfect for my angled draw off box port. i noticed many PID posts in the past had trouble finding rtd's long enough. well they got em now on aubers website.

the layout is very similar to Jims from smoky lake , except i added bigger LEDs for more visibility. plus my PIDs are a bit overkill for this application (auber 2352's, not 2362s) , but i am used to programming them as i use the same model for controlling my mash tun, hot liquor tank and brew kettle for making beer. one less manual to read ....

the box is a 12x12x6 watertight box from home depot , although i could have gotten away with a 8x8x4 i think. it doesnt bother me as im installing it this week next to the steam hood, out of the way and just above eye level so i can see it wherever.

i tested the valve, probes, etc with hot water by the sink, all is well. pretty cool stuff. cant wait to run some sap through her

IMG_20140204_224816_552.jpg

[gearpump]

Does the 2352's auber controller read in .1 of a degree? The drawoff controller I am building now has the 2363 controller because of higher resolution. I really like the idea of the alarm devation on your model instead of just a programmed number.

[WoodButcher]

gear pump.
The 2352 has only one Achilles heel and that is it does not read in tenths of a degree. Only whole degrees. That really doesn't bother me since I draw off heavy by 1 degree or so. I would rather be too thick than too thin and have to reheat. Then after I have about 6 - 10 gallons of finished syrup I just add a little bit of distilled water when I heat it up to bottle , so I can dilute to the proper brix.

the amount of other features the 2352 has like a high deviation alarm and a low deviation alarm among a bunch of other technical options are nice but are not necessarily needed for maple syrup production. I needed the 2352 for beer since the main output terminals 7&8 are controlled by an external SSR which is what I use for a beer.

[WoodButcher]

below is a pic of the bottom of the panel.

originally i used 2352 PIDs since i use them for brewing beer and was familiar with them . i am now convinced the 2362 is the better choice as they are much simpler to use and setup for maple

[lpakiz]

I have an auto draw off and I think the capability to read and adjust temps to the tenth is quite important. Most times, a minor adjustment, up or down, is just 2 tenths. It would be tough fine-tuning in whole degrees. IMHO.
I wholly agree to get enough stack thermocouple wire to put your controller near by, and have enough wire to route it neatly, without draping it over rafters or laying on the hood. I think I have 15 feet and it's not near enough. Remember, the controller doesn't have very big digits, so you need it near the arch door/syrup pan.

[WoodButcher]

2362 is the way to go for maple production. much simpler. i changed my original post so as to not confuse anyone.

in regards to the stack probe.... i just measured and 15' is more than enough for my setup, which is for a 2x6 arch .
i measured 2.5' up to the top of the rafters from the stack probe hole. 6' on top of rafters, 4' down to the box thats eye level, right next to front pan steam hood. = 12.5' . if i ever upgrade i can spend 8$ on more wire since the extension wire needs to be soldered in anyways.
again , this is subjective and will vary with every setup.


update 2-26 : 15' was more than enough to reach the front of the steam hood.

[CharlieVT]

...The 2352 has only one Achilles heel and that is it does not read in tenths of a degree. Only whole degrees...

I have a SYL-2342, which shares the same instruction manual with the SYL-2352 PID, so they proably work the same with respect to temperature settings. If you are willing to change the temperature readout to degrees Celcius, you can set the degrees to tenths of a degree. You can then set draw off temps to tenths of a degree. I find it easier to get my draw off working the way I want when I can adjust the valve opening temperature to tenths of a degree.

In no time, I made the mental adjustment to thinking in degrees C. I also have a little chart mounted on the sugarhouse wall that gives a degrees C to degree F conversion.

[WoodButcher]

If you are willing to change the temperature readout to degrees Celcius, you can set the degrees to tenths of a degree.

hey there charlie... ya i read that about the celcius before i bought and even emailed Frank at Auberins ... silly to have one but not the other, aint it ?
if i run into an issue i will switch it to celcius and give it a shot. thanks .

[lpakiz]

Wood butcher,
Is that extension wire for the probe--special wire for that purpose only? So no ordinary bell wire works? And it must be soldered, no wire nuts, crimp sleeves or other mechanical connections? Can I just add on any amount to the existing probe wires, no extra calibrations or anything?
I can see how a person could mentally convert to Celsius. The temp we use is all relative to whatever the hydrometer says, at least the way I do it. Once your dialed in, the actual number is not that important.
As far as fine- adjusting. Like I mentioned before, throughout the day, any adjustment I made to the draw off temp was only a few tenths, to get the hydrometer to float a little higher or lower. I hope your system with full degrees works for you.
Thanks for posting all this info, I'm sure you helped a bunch of people!