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desA
28-11-2009, 01:01 PM
I'd like to ask the opinion of board members regarding the reliability of Carel electronic controller series.

My first hiccup with Carel began when testing a prototype machine. We investigated a fan speed controller. The technician came out, sat all day trying to get it to run, eventually giving up in the end. He claimed that the (new) unit was defective.

Today, I'm running another machine, which only has around 30-off run-hours, & one of the controllers appears to be losing a LED segment - it has faded & dulled down to around half the brightness of the surrounding segments. I've checked & tightened all wires - but no change.

:(

I have never known controllers & process electronic equipment to give faults so early. I'm beginning to have serious doubts about Carel's quality assurance at their factory, & their local checks.

I'm going to look around at other controllers, in the meantime.

Can anyone recommend a few reliable international brands. Dixel?

desA
28-11-2009, 01:13 PM
Details of the defective controller:



Carel digital temp controller - one relay output
Code : PJ32V6E000
S/N : A0093133
Rev : 1.112
Date : 28-Aug-09

Input probe : PTC


If anyone could advise me of similar simple, reliable-brand controllers, I'd be most grateful.

chemi-cool
28-11-2009, 02:29 PM
Regardless of the name brand, controllers are made all over the world. The manufacturers are always looking for cheaper places to manufacture them. You probably have seen the results......

i have worked all the years with Eliwell and Dixell and very rarely had any problems.

Eliwell have a new line and it looks good.

I do not buy controllers that do not have the manufacturing country name on them!

My moto in such cases is: WHEN THERE IS A DOUBT, THERE IS NO DOUBT!

chemi-cool
28-11-2009, 02:37 PM
here is a link for thet controller
http://www.leocom.kr/PJ32V6E000/CAREL/%EB%94%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%94%8C%EB%A0%88%EC%9D%B4-%EC%A0%84%EC%9E%90%EB%B6%80%ED%92%88/%EC%B9%B4%EC%9A%B4%ED%84%B0/%EC%A3%BC%EB%AC%B8%EC%BD%94%EB%93%9C/1300211

desA
28-11-2009, 03:19 PM
Thanks so much chemi-cool - much obliged.

The Carel products were 'manufactured in Italy', or so the sticker states.

Many thanks for the references to Dixell & Eliwell. I'll give them both an opportunity to quote on supply. I'm simply not prepared to work with doubtful electronic quality. It is not worth the hassle, in the long run. I'd think that Carel are not the best of components.

Frikkie
28-11-2009, 08:58 PM
All the Carel controllers I have seen have been very reliable. They're very tricky to program (cold room and freezer room controllers) with lots of HACCP settings.

al
28-11-2009, 10:30 PM
For ease of use and standardisation i've pretty much switched to Dixell, easier to program than Elliwell and a clearer display.

al

lowcool
28-11-2009, 11:25 PM
im with al,have made more money replacing carell units versus the dixell to be sure

Tayters
28-11-2009, 11:56 PM
Out of the few controllers Ive replaced, Carel seem the most confusing to set up unless you just copy the old settings if possible. Their technical line was very helpful though and took time to answer all my questions about certain parameters.
Eliwell were dead easy and I believe very reliable.
Danfoss case controllers pretty straight forward but I did have a few pages to help me along. If it wasn't for that then I would have been stuck with a freezer refusing to go below -5 because somewhere there is a minimum limit to adjust.
Dixcell controllers on a Porkka coldroom, again easy once I had the instructions.
If I was choosing my own then Eliwell on reliabilty and ease of use.

desA
29-11-2009, 01:51 AM
Thanks everyone.

Seems like Dixell & Eliwell are leading the pack.

Has anyone had experience with the Emerson Alco range of temperature controllers?

lowcool
29-11-2009, 11:01 AM
tried one,not again its a pain in the mule to program

Peter_1
29-11-2009, 01:44 PM
Thanks everyone.

Seems like Dixell & Eliwell are leading the pack.

Has anyone had experience with the Emerson Alco range of temperature controllers?

Dixell = also Emerson now

desA
29-11-2009, 01:59 PM
^ Thanks Peter. I'd heard that their founder had split off again from the corporate backers. Not sure whether this was Emerson group, that was being referred to.

Peter_1
29-11-2009, 02:06 PM
And wasn't the Dixell founder not the original Eliwell founder who started Dixell after he sold Eliwell to Invensys?
Smart guy.

Bet we have next year another similar brand, Flaxell or Duwell or at least something with ELL in it.

Frank Day
29-11-2009, 04:09 PM
desA,

Have a look at the Danfoss range, its good gear.

Rgds

Frank Day

desA
29-11-2009, 04:35 PM
Many thanks Frank.

DEVIL
29-11-2009, 06:20 PM
You might favor others but no one (i believe) is having a wide range of products like Carel
and still never had a Carel on a cold room but i have in service some large PCO controllers, and small chiller controllers, didn't had problems with them except some but not because of the controller but because of the environment, or age.

But when wen it comes to eliwell i hat a ton of problems with one, programmable one, for a chiller and not even today one of the funs isn't working because there is no output from the controller, and no one could provide me with spares to change the display (remote) they was trayng to make me replace the entire controller.

And for cold rooms, i had Lae, Dixell, AKO, never had problems with them, and AKO is as cheep as it gets, and yet no problems.

I don't know in what country all of carel are made, but from my last order of a small controller i noticed the lable made in china and yet no problems

desA
30-11-2009, 03:56 AM
Thanks, DEVIL.

The label on the Carel states 'Made in Italy' - I have my serious doubts, though - especially being in SE Asia. My bets are that this is a locally-sourced unit, re-badged.

coolerman
30-11-2009, 02:29 PM
Carel Ürünlerinde hataya rastlamadım ama şunu söylemeliyim bu elektronik tamamen şans bence danfos denetleyiciler bile hata veriyor bazen

saygılar

desA
30-11-2009, 02:46 PM
I wonder if you would mind translating that into English for me?

chemi-cool
30-11-2009, 07:20 PM
Have a look here, impressive line of products, I have seen them here controlling glycol chillers.

www.evco.it

Peter_1
30-11-2009, 09:24 PM
Is Everycontrol not the same as Eliwell?
At least, all the parameters have the same logic.

desA
30-11-2009, 11:57 PM
Have a look here, impressive line of products, I have seen them here controlling glycol chillers.

www.evco.it

Thanks chemi-cool. I hadn't heard of them before.

Now those controllers look to be very interesting. Time to explore a little more deeply.

goshen
04-12-2009, 01:06 PM
hi dessa :
we have worked with all these brands carel dixell eliwell all are the same quality wise we rarley had problemes !
spicific controllers might have unique bugs .
carel and dixell speed controllers are phasecutting devices and usualy dont last long due to wrong sizing of motor to driver.

desA
04-12-2009, 02:35 PM
hi dessa :
we have worked with all these brands carel dixell eliwell all are the same quality wise we rarley had problemes !
spicific controllers might have unique bugs .
carel and dixell speed controllers are phasecutting devices and usualy dont last long due to wrong sizing of motor to driver.

Thanks for your input Goshen. Much obliged. :)

The Carel digital controller in question seems to be an intermittent fault to the digital readout segment - sometimes bright, sometimes 50%.

For the other controller - phase-cut speed control, the controller couldn't even manage to run a tiny test fan - let alone the unit fan. The controller was sized well on the upside compared to the unit fan - it should have experienced not problems. It didn't even get off the starting blocks.

:eek: