So a quick search revealed there are PIDs with ramp/soak, such as this Auber one -
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4
Has anyone ever used them for this type of application?
I looked into something like this when I designed my panel years ago, and decided against it because:
(1) They're a pain to program (you see and set one number at time). They're meant for cases where the same ramp is done over and over again and timing is very critical. Think of some plant floor equipment where they do rubber molds or something similar and the machine runs day and night, doing the same thing over and over again. With brewing timing isn't critical (if you hold at certain temp a little too long it doesn't matter). You'd also have to reprogram for every single batch which takes longer than just using the buttons while brewing. Since I brew once a month this means every time I turn on the panel I'd have to go in and make sure the entries are all cleared if I just want to do a single step infusion mash. I wouldn't remember how it was set last time so you need to check every time.
(2) It's faster to just hit the temp "UP" button a few times on brew day to do the ramp myself than program it all in ahead of time. Again, timing's not critical. If my first step runs 20-30 mins longer than I planned, it doesn't matter, because of the way the enzymes are converted and we move from lower to higher temps and we need to hold for a minimum amount of time for conversion to happen - there is no max really.
(3) Doing it myself is not prone to errors. With the way these things are programmed (one temp/time at a time) it's much easier to make a mistake and end up fat fingering one of the steps, missing a step, mixing up the order, etc. It's not like you see the final list of temps and hold times in a nice table or anything and can confirm.
(4) Most of the time I'm doing single infusion mashes anyway.
(5) Having all the PIDs in the same in my control panel gives me backups.
So at the end of the day to me it seems like more work, more prone to errors, and you use a more expensive, more specialized (non standard) PID.
IMHO, it's just overcomplicating a very simple process with zero benefit. If you brew the exact same beer over and over again every day and it uses a set of step mashes, then I could see it making sense. But most of us are not making Bud Light day in and day out.
(In all seriousness, Bud Light uses a long multi-step 3-4 hour mash schedule to get it as dry as they do - I've used it a few times now with IIPAs like Pliny the Younger that I want to get as dry as possible).
YMMV
Kal
