Freezer/temp controller

I just recently bought a chest freezer and have been trying to hook up my Johnson temperature controller to it but no such luck. When I plug the freezer in to the wall it cuts on but when I plug the temp controller into the wall and the freezer into the controller, the freezer never cuts on. The temp controllers display is on and I can change my set temperature and everything. The freezer just never starts up, and the temp never drops. What am I doing wrong?

It may have a compressor protection feature like the STC-1000 does.

Set it with the freezer plugged into the controller and wait 10 minutes to see if it kicks on.

I left everything plugged up while I went to work today. Just got home and nothing has changed. Still sitting at 73 degrees. What could be keeping the freezer from cooling down?

Make sure the controller jumper is set to cool mode. Usually they ship that way, but you never know. Do you hear the relay click at all when the temp crosses the set point ?

Which Johnson temperature controller are you using SW33K? The digital one that I'm familiar with might need to be changed from heating mode to cooling mode. Do you have a model number or picture?

Here's a pic of the controller I have. Also I have it set to 37 degrees but it doesn't vary from the room temp of the house...

definitely check the jumper setting. sounds like your in heating mode

How do I change that? I've read the manual that came with the controller and can't find any mention of it. I've also noticed when I plug the freezer directly into the wall the green light at the bottom turns on but when I plug the freezer into the controller, the light never comes on.

http://cgproducts.johnsoncontrols.com/MET_PDF/125188.PDF

Page 7 has the jumpers and how to set them.

What happens when you set it to 110degrees?

Stop torturing the freezer (it's innocent I tells ya! ) and plug a lamp into the controller. Then review your set point and differential settings - because the display shows you have the controller in cooling mode...

Cheers!

I set it for 80 degrees before work and when I got home it was still sitting at 74 degrees. So I guess it isn't set in heat mode either.

What would plugging in a lamp do?

Bulbs are cheaper than compressors.

Who wired up your Johnson? (ok, yeah, I went there) 'cuz it's either miswired or it hath shatteth the beddeth...

Cheers!

Ok tried plugging in a lamp through the controller and tried cutting the lamp on and off. No deal. Not getting any power. Same thing with freezer. Power light never came on. Is my controller faulty then?

Sure sounds like it to me.

Did the controller ever work correctly?
If not, who wired the controller?

Cheers!

I'm not sure it ever worked. I bought back in 2011 to use with my friends step fathers chest freezer when we're brewing at his house but we moved out of there into an apartment not long after that so we didnt have the room to brew there. Finally got our own place and started brewing again. Bought a chest freezer and now it doesn't work with the controller. So to answer your question it's just been sitting in a box until now.

Ok, then the validity of the wiring is unknown, along with the internal condition of the unit. Perhaps we can help at least eliminate mis-wiring as the root-cause of your problems. A couple of well-taken pictures of the wiring at the back of the unit would be a good start...

Cheers!

display shows that you are in cooling mode, but there are cut in/cut-out settings. you want to be in cut-out; it will turn off when it reaches the setpoint. I found the instruction manual very helpful.

I dunno if those photos help or anything, but everything looks wired up ok to me.

how about the probe?

get some hot water and some cold water and you should hear a "click" when moving the probe between the two temp extremes. If not, it's possible the probe is kaput - instead of the whole controller.