PID Controller (Timer, Ramp & Soak)

A1. Do I need a ramp soak PID, or a PID with timer?

It is based on your requirement. If you want to control the ramp up/down rate, or if you want to input a temperature & time profile (different temperature for different duration time), or if you need a delay on step so you can turn on your heater later, you need a PID controller with ramp soak. See options below. 

If you want a simple timer function on this controller, like to start the timer once your oven reaches your set temperature, hold for one hour then stop the heater, you need a PID controller with a timer, like SWA-2451B/SWA-2441B series. See product list here. 

A2. Introduction for Wireless (WIFI or Bluetooth) advanced PID controllers

We offer three advanced wireless PID controllers at this time. 

AW-SYL-2342 / AW-SYL-2352 / AW-SYL-2372: WIFI PID basic controller. It can be connected to your phone via your home router. iOS/Android app is provided. You can check/change all the parameters in the App. When the alarm is triggered, you will receive a push notification on your phone. It has a basic data plot in the app, time scale is 50mins or 2hours. You can also export the data through the app. 2342 has a 10A dry relay output; 2352 has a 12V SSR output and 2372 has a built-in 2A AC SSR. 

AW-SYL-2342P / AW-SYL-2352P: WIFI PID controller with ramp soak. It can be connected to your phone via your home router. iOS/Android app is provided. Ramp soak steps can be controlled in the app. You can check/change all the parameters in the App. When the alarm is triggered, you will receive a push notification on your phone. It has a basic data plot in the app and you can also export the data through the app. 2342P has a 10A dry relay output and 2352P has a 12V SSR output. 

N20K48: Bluetooth PID controller with short profile. You can use your phone/computer to get access to this PID via Bluetooth. iOS/Android/Win app is provided. You can check/change all the parameters in the App. No data plot nor push notifications in the mobile apps. Bluetooth connection via the mobile app is convenient and quick. No initial connection setup is required. It only takes a few seconds to connect to the controller every time. Ramp soak feature & timer feature is optional. Professional data logging feature & software is available via the external RS485 addon module. 

A3. Comparison table for ramp soak PIDs

Currently, Auber offers three different PID models with ramp soak:

SYL-23X2P Series, including SYL-2342P, SYL-2352P, SYL-2372P and also low voltage version SYL-2LX2P

SYL-53X2P Series USB controller, including SYL-5342PA and SYL-5352PA

N Series LCD controller N1050, N20K48

	SYL-23X2P	SYL-53X2P	N1050	N20K48
Computer access	N	Y, RS485 & Windows software	Y, USB & Windows software	Y, USB & Bluetooth
Programming steps	30 ramp/soak steps	32 ramp steps and 32 soak steps (total of 64 steps)	4 steps per profile, up to 5 profiles (total of 20 steps)	9 steps per profile, up to 20 profiles (total of 180 steps)
Timer unit	Minute	Minute or Second	HH:MM or MM:SS	HH:MM or MM:SS
Single step mode function	N	Y	Y	Y
Program ending alarm	N	Y	Y (By using separate timer)	Y (By using separate timer)
Separate timer	N	N	Y	Y
Temperature alarm	AL1 + AL2	AL1 only	Y	Y
Alarm suppression after power up	Y	N	Y (Initial blocking of alarm)	Y (Initial blocking of alarm)
Step jump by keypad	Y	Y	N	N
Force turn on/off relay by program values	Y	N	N	N
Power outage settings	Y	Y	Y	Y
Parameter lock modes	Y	Limited	Y	Y
Features	Best Selling Mode. Low voltage version available.	Computer access with Win software	Computer access with Win software. Built-in timer. Data Logging**	Similar to N1050 but it has Bluetooth, remoted control by phone app. Data Logging**.  Expandable capacity***
Limitation	No computer access.	It doesn’t have special command like SYL-23X2P. So you cannot program the step to jump/hold, or manually turn on alarm output. SSR output is 10V DC*.	SSR output is 5V DC*. Ramp soak steps is limited to 20.	SSR output is 5V DC*. RS485 function is only available for external add-on modules.

*The SSR output for SYL-2352P is 12Vdc, which can drive 6 single phase SSRs in parallel OR 3 three-phase SSRs in parallel.

The SSR output for SYL-5352PA is 10Vdc, which can drive 5 single phase SSRs in parallel.

The SSR output for N1050/N20K48 is 5Vdc, which can drive 3 single phase SSRs in parallel OR 1 three-phase SSR. 

** Data logging feature requires the PID controller with RS485 port, such as N1050-B or N20K48 with the external RS485 module. Data logging feature cannot be achieved via Bluetooth, nor via the micro USB port on the side of the controller.

*** N20K48 has expandable design, so you can connect external modules to the base of the controller for different features, such as linear output module, RS485 module and WiFi module. See N20K48 listing for details. 

A4. Auber controller complexity level comparison

The table below shows the operational difficulty comparison for the different controller modules based on Auber's opinion.

Controller model	Difficulty level
SYL-2342/SYL-2352/SYL-2372/DSPR1/DSPR-5	0 (Easiest)
SYL-1512A/SYL-2362/SYL-2381/ SWA-2441B/SWA-2451B/DSPR120/DSPR220	1
SYL-2342P/SYL-2352P/SYL-2372P/DSPR310D/DSPR320A	2
SYL-5352PA/SYL-5342PA/N1050/N20K48	3 (Hardest)

See PID module selection guide here

A5. Comparison table for wireless ramp soak PIDs

Currently, Auber offers three ramp soak PID with remote access:

	AW-SYL-23X2P	N20K48	N20K48 with WiFi module
Wireless Feature	2.4G WiFi	Bluetooth	Bluetooth + 2.4G WiFi
Wireless Control Type	App based	App based	App based (Bluetooth & Intranet); Web based (Internet, Novus Cloud)
Notification Type	Push	N.A.	Email only (free plan); SMS (paid plan)
Program Steps	30 steps	9 steps per profile, up to 20 profiles (total of 180 steps)
Timer Unit	Minute	HH:MM or MM:SS
Computer access	N.A.	Win software (via Micro USB port or Bluetooth)
Output Type	12V DC SSR output (2352P), or 10A dry relay output (2342P)	5V DC SSR output and 3A dry relay output. Addon relay modules can be installed for more outputs.
Note 1	Alarm relays can be forced turned on in the steps	Ramp soak feature can be enabled/disabled on user end.
Note 2	User can start/stop/pause the program in the app and by the front keypad.	User can start/stop the program by chnaging the status parameter in the app and by the front keypad. No pause function.
Note 3	No Bluetooth. WiFi connection requires a router.	Mobile apps are only for the Bluetooth, not compatible with WiFi connection. Mobile apps can only allow you to change settings. No temp reading nor data plot in the mobile apps. (Novus Cloud) Unable to change settings in the web portal.

A6. List for PIDs with a built-in timer

Some of Auber's PID controllers come with a built-in timer function. The mode of the built-in timer is pretty basic, not as powerful/complicated as a standard alone timer unit (like JSL-74A). But the built-in timer can still achieve some simple tasks and recommended for many applications. For example, the timer can be started when reading temp reaches the set temp. Once time is up, it can turn off the output. For details of the timer mode, please check the PID's manual.

Here are the product list (PIDs with a built-in timer):

SWA-2451B: Best selling model. Its main output is 12V DC (SSR). 1/16 DIN size. 

SWA-2441B: Similar to SWA-2451B, but its main output is 10A dry relay contact. 1/16 DIN size. 

N20K48: 1/16 DIN size. Bluetooth PID. It has one SSR output and one dry relay output. Modular design PID.

N1050-B: 1/16 DIN size. It has RS485 port. It has one SSR output and three dry relay outputs. 

N1020: 1/32 DIN size. It has one SSR output and one dry relay output. 

N3000: 1/4 DIN size. It has four dry relay outputs and two SSR outputs. 

 

Updated on 2/26/2025