NYC

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Awesome, thanks LandoLincoln et. all! I'll also give this a shot soon.

smpow

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nice pics, might be doing something like this very soon. This should be a great help!

NYC

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An update, after a few stops and starts (note to self: 20 AMP extension cord is very different than 15 AMP cord; 12 AWG wire is not easy to bend, etc.) I got it running today. I'm so excited, this was my first real electronic project.

Lincoln et. all, thanks so much! Your patience with someone as new to this type of project as I am is greatly appreciated.

Now to play around with it...

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LandoLincoln

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Thanks to NYC for bringing this deal to our attention in the first place. Cheers!

oze1911

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Wiring up this bad boy thanks to everyone's help, but I have a few questions.

1. Has anyone extended the sensor lead? Did you just use 26 AWG wire? Where'd you get a short length?

2. Is it ok to just use a 14 AWG appliance cord (flat) to provide power? Seems like everyone was using generic round black extension cords

Thanks for your help guys!

Imbibecules

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Thanks for all the info guys!

I had an old Johnson mechanical unit that bit the dust recently and this controller is the ideal replacement. I got it working over last weekend with Lando's modified wiring diagram, and drac0's part list from this thread http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/chest-freezer-fermentation-chamber-268999/index4.html.

There was some question as to extending the sensor lead. The PTC sensor that it ships with can be extended to 100' according to the manufacturer's web site. http://www.controlproductsonline.com/temperature-sensor-302degf-p-62-l-en.html I used a good pair of 24 AGW wires out of an otherwise damaged piece of CAT5 network cable to do so.

Also, make sure to read the manual and check the sensor for accuracy. I had to adjust the calibration on mine by 2 degrees.


Cheers!

Hop

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I'm considering getting one of these but I'm a total noob at dealing with electrical wiring. I was looking at the manufacturer's website and was wondering why you guys didn't mimic their diagram. http://www.protectedhome.com/documents/TC9102DHV%20120%20VAC%20Wiring%20Diagram.pdf

Any other help is appreciated. I'd like to get this one, but I keep wavering because I'm not confident with electricity. It kills!

__________________
Hop the Mad Alchemist

LandoLincoln

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Their wiring diagram wasn't that helpful to me, and using their diagram I didn't wire it right. Maybe the problem is mine, I don't know. But the way I wired it is the same way that the other guys that use the ebay aquarium temp controller wire theirs, and mine has been working just fine for the past few months.

Don't be afraid of this electrical project. It's not that complicated once you get into it.

time2brew

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I've wired one of these up and want to configure it to keep a fridge at a set temp.

I've successfully turned off relay2 which I won't be using, but I could really use some help figuring out how Set Point1, High Set Point1, Low Set Point1 work.

I can set the values but I don't understand how they work together.

Could someone post an example to help get me started?

To keep the fridge at 45 degrees:
SP1 = ___
HSP1 = ___
LSP1 = ___

Thanks!

LandoLincoln

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The HSL (high side limit) and LSL (low side limit) don't do anything to the temperature. The HSL and LSL function is there to constrain your choices to a certain range. This is useful if some doofus comes along and tries to set the unit too high or too low. But since you're probably going to be the only doofus using this unit, it's okay to bypass this safety feature.

I set my HSL to 90° (which is higher than I'll ever go) and my LSL to 30° (which is lower than I'll ever go).

SP1 would be set to the "COOL" function.

Let's assume your stage 1 differential (df1) is set to 3° (which is the default), then the unit will turn on SP1 when the temp reaches 3° above whatever you set, and then will cool it down to the set point.

So if you want temps to stay in the 42° to 45° range, set the SP1 to 42°.

If that is too wide of a temperature range, you're going to have to lessen the differential to something less than 3. Doing this is going to kick your compressor on more frequently, though, and that will shorten the life of the compressor.