Auber WS-1510 Not Reaching Temp

[Arapaho G]

Here comes another question about the Auber controller. I'm guessing this gets talked about a lot here and if so, sorry to be redundant. I have used my WS-1510 5 times now and the performance has been less than stellar. This may be because of something I'm doing wrong or maybe there is an issue with the controller. I don't know. I have had 2 out the 5 times used that the controller has performed well. Reached and held temp with no issues. The other 3 uses the controller does not reach the temp that I have set. As I write this I am smoking turkey breast. Controller was set at 275 for 600 minutes. It never got hotter than 221. I ramped up the temp to 300 45 minutes ago and it has been sitting at 226 for about 30 minutes. I am using a single step. I have not changed any of the original settings. Any ideas you may have will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[chopsaw]

I have not changed any of the original settings.

That's part of the good / bad performance .

This will get your turkey cooked :
Turn it on
Press and hold set
When it displays " Lock " enter code 166 using the plus and minus buttons
Push set
When it displays P enter 5
push set
Displays I enter 0
push set
Displays D enter 0
Push set
Cycle it off then back on .

Use 260 as your cooking temp . DON'T set it to max 275 . It will most likely over run and trip the limit switch .

That will get your cook done for today , and we can dial it in later

 

[Arapaho G]

Thank you for this. Shortly after I wrote the post, I pulled the turkey out of the smoker and put it in the oven. It had already smoked for 2 hours so I wasn't worried about smoke flavor. It's finishing in the oven so I can dial in the settings for the next time around. Any other settings information you care to share is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[chopsaw]

Shortly after I wrote the post, I pulled the turkey out of the smoker and put it in the oven.

Smart move .
I run mine around
P=5
I=210
D=218
That's a MES 30 gen 1 .
I adjust it from time to time depending on how it's acting .

 

[Arapaho G]

Smart move .
I run mine around
P=5
I=210
D=218
That's a MES 30 gen 1 .
I adjust it from time to time depending on how it's acting .

Thanks. I have the same smoker so your settings should be about what I need. Sounds like something you have to get a feel for. I was hoping for a set it and forget it. This turkey will be consumed today so I'll be doing another later this week to try it again.

 

[chopsaw]

Sounds like something you have to get a feel for. I was hoping for a set it and forget it

It is pretty much set and forget . You should understand what the settings for P I D do . That way you can adjust if needed depending on how it's acting .
I have options , so mine gets used for sausage and hams mostly . Once in a great while I'll do a pork butt or something in it .
It will also depend on where your probe is mounted . Mines in the center of the back . Top to bottom , side to side .

Kurt dr k runs his in an on off setting , which is pretty much what I gave you above , but he can help you with that . Works good for larger whole muscle cooks .

This turkey will be consumed today so I'll be doing another later this week to try it again.

Like I said , I have options . My last turkey breast cook ,

 

[dr k]

It is pretty much set and forget . You should understand what the settings for P I D do . That way you can adjust if needed depending on how it's acting .
I have options , so mine gets used for sausage and hams mostly . Once in a great while I'll do a pork butt or something in it .
It will also depend on where your probe is mounted . Mines in the center of the back . Top to bottom , side to side .

Kurt dr k runs his in an on off setting , which is pretty much what I gave you above , but he can help you with that . Works good for larger whole muscle cooks .


Like I said , I have options . My last turkey breast cook ,
View attachment 693104
View attachment 693103

I run mine in P mode P=1, I =0, D=0. On/off like the stock controller would be P=0 no matter the I D values. I like the I= 208, D=210 with low P value.

 

[Arapaho G]

I run mine in P mode P=1, I =0, D=0. On/off like the stock controller would be P=0 no matter the I D values. I like the I= 208, D=210 with low P value.

Thank you for the settings. Yes, you are correct. I don't have a real understanding of how these controllers work. Some research is in order. I was expecting a plug and play operation, but the controller is so versatile it has to be configured to your specific application. In our case, smoking and cooking meat in a box. Thanks for pointing this out before it got too frustrating!

 

[zwiller]

IMO I bet the Auber was working just fine but the MES could not keep up with the large thermal load. A turkey is BIG load for the MES... Did you preheat? I always preheat to temp before loading and even then the temps would still drag slow once I loaded. Sanity check is doing a dry run/no meat and see how it goes.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

More than likely it not the Auber but its your smoker.

 

[Arapaho G]

IMO I bet the Auber was working just fine but the MES could not keep up with the large thermal load. A turkey is BIG load for the MES... Did you preheat? I always preheat to temp before loading and even then the temps would still drag slow once I loaded. Sanity check is doing a dry run/no meat and see how it goes.

Yes you are correct that the set up performed "better" with the box empty. Better, but not accurate. It did reach a higher temp, but not the set temp, and it did not hold it. It was set at 275. Empty it went up to 272, then dropped to 265, and continued dropping to 260. At that point I shut it off as the meat was already in the oven and I had other things to do. The smoker has a new (5 uses) heating element, and the smoker itself has been wired directly to the element bypassing the malfunctioning original electronics (third replacement on the original controller and not willing to try MES electronics a 4th time). The new element is the standard 800W replacement. Also, this was a 5.3 lb. turkey breast with the bone in. Not a particularly large piece of meat. I have had the best luck with the Auber smoking salmon. Obviously a smaller, lower profile product. Yes I did preheat to 240. Also, my probe was hanging loose at about the center of the left side about 1/3 down from the top.

 

[zwiller]

Yes you are correct that the set up performed "better" with the box empty. Better, but not accurate. It did reach a higher temp, but not the set temp, and it did not hold it. It was set at 275. Empty it went up to 272, then dropped to 265, and continued dropping to 260. At that point I shut it off as the meat was already in the oven and I had other things to do. The smoker has a new (5 uses) heating element, and the smoker itself has been wired directly to the element bypassing the malfunctioning original electronics (third replacement on the original controller and not willing to try MES electronics a 4th time). The new element is the standard 800W replacement. Also, this was a 5.3 lb. turkey breast with the bone in. Not a particularly large piece of meat. I have had the best luck with the Auber smoking salmon. Obviously a smaller, lower profile product. Yes I did preheat to 240.

I played around with ALOT of various PID settings and never had issues like you did. Be curious if maybe hi temp sensor is shot and acting up or maybe element is faulty. I would test it without the Auber and another therm.

 

[Arapaho G]

I played around with ALOT of various PID settings and never had issues like you did. Be curious if maybe hi temp sensor is shot and acting up or maybe element is faulty. I would test it without the Auber and another therm.

Easy enough to do. The element is wired directly to power in the smoker so all I have to do is plug it in and let it go. I performed this test right after I rewired the smoker but I did not measure the temp, only that it was on and getting hot. I'll plug it in and measure and report back.

 

[dr k]

Easy enough to do. The element is wired directly to power in the smoker so all I have to do is plug it in and let it go. I performed this test right after I rewired the smoker but I did not measure the temp, only that it was on and getting hot. I'll plug it in and measure and report back.

With a heavy load P mode P 1, I 0 and D 0 keeps 100% output to 1/2* degree below set temp and will pulse electricity on the down swing 1/2* below set temp and full on 1* below set temp. In three cycles it's holding at few degrees with a 20lb brisket but it takes an hour + to initially get to 265*. Pulsing 50% or full on seems the best for me with the Mes 40 volume to keep within a couple degrees of set temp. As the mass starts absorbing heat you can add in I and D parameters or let it ride. For fish and starting at 140 and ramping up every hour you can do the P 3, I 208 and D 210. I just want to get to set temp asap in P mode, then deal with any over shoot, if there is any.

 

[jbruce]

My custom made PID controller keeps my stick burner within 3 or 4F for the whole cook. After you solve your initial problems, you should expect very low error from your controller. Here is my last 5.5 hour rib cook.

If you exclude those times when I opened the doors to move meat around, the average error for the whole cook was 2.93F. If you include these drops in temp, the error was 4.11F. See here for details.

 

[Arapaho G]

With a heavy load P mode P 1, I 0 and D 0 keeps 100% output to 1/2* degree below set temp and will pulse electricity on the down swing 1/2* below set temp and full on 1* below set temp. In three cycles it's holding at few degrees with a 20lb brisket but it takes an hour + to initially get to 265*. Pulsing 50% or full on seems the best for me with the Mes 40 volume to keep within a couple degrees of set temp. As the mass starts absorbing heat you can add in I and D parameters or let it ride. For fish and starting at 140 and ramping up every hour you can do the P 3, I 208 and D 210. I just want to get to set temp asap in P mode, then deal with any over shoot, if there is any.

So this is interesting. As I said earlier, the heating element is wired directly to the plug. I plugged it in and put my ThermPro sensor directly in the middle of the box. It took about 30 minutes for the temp to rise to 282, outdoor temp in Golden Co today is 47. Then it started dropping, as if it had turned itself off. I am now repeating the process to see if that happens again. This element is new, been used 5 times.

 

[chopsaw]

Here's the graph on my MES 30 after getting it dialed in . Auber 1510 ELPM .
gets there and stays there , but it likes about 10 maybe 15 pounds max .
That's using
P =10
I = 208
D = 218


Other things come into play . I'm using a mailbox . That affects air flow , and the placement of the sensor comes into play as well .

 

[chopsaw]

From post #2

Use 260 as your cooking temp . DON'T set it to max 275 . It will most likely over run and trip the limit switch .

 

[Arapaho G]

From post #2

So... there is a limit switch on the burner itself?

 

[chopsaw]

So... there is a limit switch on the burner itself?

It's wired in the circuit as a safety for run away overheating . Not sure if you left it in the circuit or not when you rewired .
I did read this ,

I said earlier, the heating element is wired directly to the plug.

If you have the cord directly to the element at the back of the smoker , then the limit is no longer in play . Just making sure .