User Manual
4848B Reactor Controller
Parr Instrument Company
10
Instructions for the 4848B Reactor 
Controller
Caution!
Check that controller settings are set to 
factory defaults before operating for the fi rst 
time. The default settings are listed at the 
back of this manual. 
Note: Controller parameters can be found in 
Appendix A on page 24 of this manual. 
Temperature Control Module
PRIMARY
TEMPERATURE
The 4848B Reactor Controllers are available with a 
microprocessor based control module that provides 
full three-term PID control with adjustable tuning 
parameters. The temperature control interface is 
labeled as Primary Temperature on front panel. 
To facilitate start up with reasonably good PID con-
trol, parameters for both heating and cooling are 
pre programmed at the factory. 
Output 1 on these controllers drives the heater. 
Output 2 can be used to activate a cooling system. 
The control parameters can be set independently for 
each of these outputs.
Two lines of information, labeled PV and SV, are 
shown on the display during normal operations. 
The upper line (PV) shows the actual temperature 
as read by the control thermocouple. The lower 
line (SV) shows the set point. When the controller 
is heating, the Out1 light will illuminate or blink. 
When the controller is cooling, the Out2 light will 
illuminate or blink. When an alarm condition has 
been reached, the High Limit Reset will trip, cutting 
power to the heater, and the ALM light will illumi-
nate indicating a High Limit was activated.
Temperature Control
The easiest way to control temperature with the 
4848B Controller is to use setpoint control. With set-
point control, the controller will attempt to bring the 
temperature to the value of the setpoint by adjust-
ing the heater output. 
The setpoint may be adjusted by doing the following:
1.  Press the up or down arrow until the lower 
display shows the desired setpoint. The lower 
display will blink, showing the value has not 
been set yet.
2.  Press the set button. The lower display will stop 
blinking, showing the new value has been set.
High Temperature Alarm Setpoint
The 4848B Reactor Controller also has a High Tem-
perature Alarm built into it. When the temperature 
exceeds this limit, it will pop the High Limit Reset, 
preventing power from going to the heater. The 
High Temperature Alarm setpoint may be adjusted 
by doing the following:
1.  Press the circular arrow key three times. The up-
per display will read AL1H and the lower display 
will read the High Temperature Alarm setpoint 
(usually 375C). 
2.  Use the up or down arrow to adjust this to the 
desired setpoint.
3.  Press the up or down arrow until the lower 
display shows the desired setpoint. The lower 
display will blink, showing the value has not 
been set yet.
4.  Press the set button. The lower display will stop 
blinking, showing the new value has been set.
5.  Pressing the set button again will return the dis-
play to the main screen.
PID groups
a.  The primary temperature controller contains 
4 groups of PID parameters (PID0, PID1, PID2 
and PID3), which can be used to store up to four 
different sets of PID parameters. Each group is 
identifi ed by the SV used during the autotuning 
cycle.










