Orchard-Rite Autostart Prep for Altrac

The Altrac ST100 uses the Orchard-Rite Autostart to run the wind machine on demand. It does this by spoofing a temperature to the Autostart. For this to work correctly, please follow the following guide. 

Temperature Spoofing

The Altrac ST100 sends the Orchard-Rite Autostart a call to run signal by spoofing a temperature to the autostart. When the ST100 wants the Autostart to start and run the machine, the ST100 sends a temperature of 20F (-6.7C). When the ST100 wants the Autostart to stop and keep the machine off, the ST100 sends a temperature of 90F (32.2C). Due to calibration settings in the Autostart, the ST100's sent temperatures may have an error of 5-10F (3-6C).

The wiring for the ST100 temperature spoofing is as follows:

Once you've wired the ST100's wiring harness into the terminal block, you can check that it is operating correctly by turning the Autostart on via the physical switch and observing the temperature displayed. When the ST100 is not sending a start signal, you should see 80F - 100F (27C - 37C). When the ST100 is sending the start signal (do this by adjusting the start temperature to above the current ambient temperature) you should see 10F - 30F (-12C - -1C).

Setting the Autostart Start Temperature

The start temperature set on the Orchard-Rite Autostart needs to be higher than the low temperature sent by the ST100 (20F, -6.7C). To ensure this works with all Orchard-Rite Autostarts and their custom internal calibration values, we recommend you set the start temperature to at least 32F (0C). 

You can do this by rotating the Autostart's dial to "S" for temperature start point then pushing in the dial and rotating until the Autostart reads 32, if your autostart is set to fahrenheit, or 0 if your autostart is set to celsius.

Ensure the Autostart is Armed

In order for the Altrac ST100 to start and stop an Orchard-Rite through it's Autostart, the Autostart needs to be "Armed". This is the same mode the Autostart needs to be in in order to run from its factory temperature probe. 

To arm the Autostart rotate the dial counter clockwise until you get to the first setting. This will show either "RUN" or "STOP". If the Autostart shows "STOP" push the dial in and rotate until it says "RUN". At this point an LED light will begin flashing on the front of the Autostart indicating the autostart is armed and ready to run.