Manual
4838 Reactor Controller
Parr Instrument Company
14
Pressure Display Module (PDM)
PRESSURE
When this optional module is present, the left dis-
play in red shows the pressure, and the right hand 
display in green shows the Pressure Alarm setpoint.  
If the reactor pressure exceeds this setpoint, the 
pressure module will trip the High Limit Alarm, cut-
ting power to the heater.
This module provides a digital read out for continu-
ously monitoring the pressure within the reactor, 
plus a backup safety feature which will terminate 
power to the heater if a preset maximum is reached.  
Pressure is displayed with a 1 psi resolution and a 
1% FS accuracy. The safety cut-out feature offers 
excellent protection against accidental over-pressure 
by allowing the user to set a maximum pressure 
which, if reached, will activate the high limit relay 
and turn off the heater immediately.
The signal for the pressure display is generated by 
a transducer in a stainless steel housing mounted 
on the reactor. The transducer must not be heated 
above 120 °C; an elevated temperature can caused 
the accuracy of the transducer to suffer. A water 
cooling sleeve attached to the transducer mounting 
body can be used to keep the transducer below this 
limit when operating the reactor at higher tempera-
tures.
For applications involving reactants corrosive to 
stainless steel, the transducer body can be replaced 
with an isolator of special alloys which will keep the 
reactants away from the transducer. Users should 
consult with the Parr Technical Support before pur-
chasing one of these.
The Pressure Alarm setpoint may be adjusted by do-
ing 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.
When ordering a pressure display module sepa-
rately or installed in any Parr controller, always 
specify the reactor on which the transducer will be 
installed so that the proper mounting hardware can 
be furnished.
Note: if the pressure transducer is not attached 
to the 4838 Controller, the High Limit Reset 
may trip or show a fi xed but incorrect value. 
We recommend always operating with the 
transducer attached.
High-Temp Cut-Off Module (HTM)
TEMPERATURE
This module provides a redundant high tempera-
ture safety cut-off which will shut down the reactor 
heater if an unusual malfunction should develop in 
the primary control system. It is a completely inde-
pendent safety backup system, operating in addition 
to the high-limit control built into each Parr tempera-
ture controller. It has its own thermocouple, digital 
display and wiring, and can be preset to shut down 
the heater at any desired temperature.










