ebay aquarium temp controller build

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
wyzazz said:
How about this or this.
Click to expand...

yeah i have been looking at those a little bit. I am going to search a little more as i am looking for something that reads F and is a little larger. Many of these are tiny. I am hoping for something that i can read as i walk across the garage from the fermentation chamber. We will see.... maybe ill end up with something similar to one of these.
 
ubermick said:
fermentor01.jpg
Click to expand...

ubermick, do you have an image file of the C to F chart you used that you can post?


thanks
 
ubermick said:
Yup. Printed these on 4x3.33 labels, which is Avery number... erm, 8164

https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/celcius-to-farenheit.gif
Click to expand...

Thanks for the image link!

also, I am going to do the heat, cool, fan with a relay and self contain the whole thing in a project box, the fourth outlet I will make always hot for an extra power outlet for my grain mill etc..... does this wiring diagram which I modified make sense?

wiring%20fermenter.jpg


I want to make sure I have this right before I begin building

thanks
 
I'm no expert, but I'd shy away from using a wire nut for that many connections. A small terminal block would probably be a lot more safe/reliable and maybe $2 more.
 
NNatic said:
Quick newbie electrical question. What does the / a relay do. I understand the rest, but that is not clicking for me.
Click to expand...

7-8 is the coil and energized with heating comes on. Pin 1 is the Normally Closed contact (NC), pin 2 is the common, and pin 3 is the Normally Open contact (NO).

1. when both heating and cooling are off, the fan is off.
2. When cooling comes on, the contact between 1 and 2 are closed and the fan turns on.
3. When the heating comes on, the coil is engergized, the NC contact opens and the NO contact closes and the fan comes on.
 
ScubaSteve said:
I'm no expert, but I'd shy away from using a wire nut for that many connections. A small terminal block would probably be a lot more safe/reliable and maybe $2 more.
Click to expand...

I soldered mine together, then used a wire nut. :D

I know, I'm a dangerous man when I get my soldering iron in hand.
 
I moved the Freezer down stairs yesterday and this morning I plugged it in with the temp. controller. I can't wait to brew again and use this to control fermentation temps. What an easy build. I think I will go back and solder my wires together or go buy a terminal block.
 
wire nuts are fine. Soldering makes for a messy rewire (if you change things in the future) and terminal blocks add unnecessary expense and require more room.

Besides: Do you constantly worry about your house burning down? All your wiring there is connected with wire nuts.
 
Bjornbrewer said:
Maybe not for you or me...but I've seen some real hack jobs when trying to resolder wire. ;)
Click to expand...

I suppose you're right, I have a buddy that can weld with the best of them but can't solder wire or even copper pipe to save his life! Of course I can't rag on him too much because he welds much better than I do. ;)
 
TRainH2o said:
I checked my temp this morning and it had reverted back to 10˚C. I missed the part where you had to push the power button to save changes. The directions that came with mine didn't say that you had to.
Click to expand...

It must be a GA thing. i just did the exact same thing... damn. Good thing i decided to test it out for a few days before i throw my brew in there on Sunday. Going to do Terrapin's Rye Pale Ale.
 
Question on wiring from wiring diagram with the fan.

If I use an AC fan from an old bath room fan, would there still be a need for the 125 Relay?
 
thekingofspain said:
Question on wiring from wiring diagram with the fan.

If I use an AC fan from an old bath room fan, would there still be a need for the 125 Relay?
Click to expand...

depends.....

if you don't mind running the fan 24/7 then no

if you only want the fan to run when the heating and cooling are on, then yes

if you want the fan to only run when the cooling is activated, then no

if you want the fan to only run when the heating is activated, then no
 
vincemash said:
depends.....

if you don't mind running the fan 24/7 then no

if you only want the fan to run when the heating and cooling are on, then yes

if you want the fan to only run when the cooling is activated, then no

if you want the fan to only run when the heating is activated, then no
Click to expand...

I agree, however, I think the king is missing the point of the relay all together.
1. You have to use an AC fan anyways. The entire system is running off of 120V ac.
2. The relay is there to control the turning on of the fan (see my post that explains this) when using the heating AND cooling capabilities.
 
Bjornbrewer said:
I agree, however, I think the king is missing the point of the relay all together.
1. You have to use an AC fan anyways. The entire system is running off of 120V ac.
2. The relay is there to control the turning on of the fan (see my post that explains this) when using the heating AND cooling capabilities.
Click to expand...

I just wired up my keezer as temporary fermentation chiller using old hand made extension cord. The steady basement temp of 68 to 72 is now 76. I bought the relay but have not wired it in. The main wire I am using is probably older than me.

Not much into analog, and even less into AC. Spent most of my EE degree on the digital side. Did not realize a relay was just and boolean OR condition. Thanks for the clarification.

Thinking about buying another one for seperate fermentation controls now.
 
ubermick said:
fermentor01.jpg


Box says heat - red lights up, heater comes on, and fan starts to spin.

Box says cool - blue lights up, fridge guts come on, and fan starts to spin.

When it's at temp, lights go off, and fan stays off too. Perfecto!!
Click to expand...

This all makes great sense...but I'm having a hell of a time finding 115v incandescent/neon lamps like you have. Its all LED's nowadays, and I don't want to screw with power supplies etc to power the leds. I checked Digikey, Mouser, and Radioshack (has a nice red lamp, but no blue). Where'd you get these?
 
Bjornbrewer said:
7-8 is the coil and energized with heating comes on. Pin 1 is the Normally Closed contact (NC), pin 2 is the common, and pin 3 is the Normally Open contact (NO).

1. when both heating and cooling are off, the fan is off.
2. When cooling comes on, the contact between 1 and 2 are closed and the fan turns on.
3. When the heating comes on, the coil is engergized, the NC contact opens and the NO contact closes and the fan comes on.
Click to expand...


I wired up my project last night, I changed my wiring diagram to match the exact pin layout on the relay, I also listed the part number of the exact relay I used....so here we go

7-8 is the coil and energized with heating comes on. Pin 1 is the Normally Closed contact (NC), pin 5 is the common, and pin 3 is the Normally Open contact (NO).

1. when both heating and cooling are off, the fan is off.
2. When cooling comes on, the contact between pin 1 and 3 are NC and the fan turns on.
3. When the heating comes on, the coil (pin 7 and 8) are energized, the NC contact (pin 1 and 3) opens and the NO contact (pin 3 and 5) closes and the fan comes on.

I'll take some pictures tonight of the finished product and post.
 
So, I'm still waiting to use mine. I posted that I had a freezer that I had move down stairs to use. Plugged it in and it turned on. The next day I go down stairs and it's not cold. So I removed the temp controller and plugged the freezer right in to the wall, still not cold. So I figure it's shot and have to get some thing else. One week later my wife finds a freezer at a garage sale. The lady said that it works and that they had just bought an upright freezer. So I go and pick it up and wait a day for it to settle. I plugged it in and it didn't get cold either WTF. So now I have 2 freezers that don't work.

When I plug them in they both turn on they just never get cold. Is there any one on here that know what I could do? I would like to get one of them working.

Brew on
Craigbrew
 
craigbrew said:
So, I'm still waiting to use mine. I posted that I had a freezer that I had move down stairs to use. Plugged it in and it turned on. The next day I go down stairs and it's not cold. So I removed the temp controller and plugged the freezer right in to the wall, still not cold. So I figure it's shot and have to get some thing else. One week later my wife finds a freezer at a garage sale. The lady said that it works and that they had just bought an upright freezer. So I go and pick it up and wait a day for it to settle. I plugged it in and it didn't get cold either WTF. So now I have 2 freezers that don't work.

When I plug them in they both turn on they just never get cold. Is there any one on here that know what I could do? I would like to get one of them working.

Brew on
Craigbrew
Click to expand...

Probably 99% of the time if you hear the compressor running and it does not get cold, there is some sort of breach / leak in the cooling line.....which means the thing is bricked
 
vincemash said:
Probably 99% of the time if you hear the compressor running and it does not get cold, there is some sort of breach / leak in the cooling line.....which means the thing is bricked
Click to expand...

This happened to me too. i was so crushed.
 
yep...gotta have it perfect:drunk:

actually it only took 10 minutes to make that.....plugged the formula into excell and printed it as a pdf
 
So after reading this thread and realizing what a great idea it was, I ordered the wrong controller. The one I received is labeled as "STC200+" from the instructions it seems to be a single stage and the wiring diagram is different. I've attached a link to the instructions it came with. I'm not exactly sure how to wire this up, if anybody wants to tale a look and give me a tip or two it would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.kibnt.com/uploadfile/microcomputertemperaturecontroller1/20091020020020kFmyF.pdf

If it's a lost cause I can always try and order the correct model. I'd just hate to let this go to waste.
 
Single stage wouldn't be a problem if all you want is cooling. A different wiring diagram wouldn't be a problem since we could help you with that.

What is a problem is that this is the 220VAC model, where your normal wall power is 110VAC. I'm sure you could make it work by tapping into a 220 circuit or getting a transformer, but it's going to be far more trouble than it's worth.

The one that everyone's using comes in both 220 and 110 models. I'm not even sure that the instructions that came with it said 110 on them. Got a link to the auction? If you're sure you have a 220 model, see if you can return it.
 
Heres the link to the auction:

Ebay Auction

It said they would send a 110v/220v model depending on where you ordered from, mine was labeled 110 on the box so I'm assuming it is. However the link in my above post is the only documentation it came with and I'm not sure how to wire it.

I don't mind it being single stage, I don't have much reason to heat anything in Florida. The wiring just seamed much more straight forward on the other model but that could just be my ignorance for electricity. Any guidance would be welcomed. :mug:

Thanks
 
OK, looks like you have the 110VAC model, then. In that case, wiring this is no different than wiring the other one. 7 and 9 on yours will be the same as 1 and 2 on the other one. 1 and 3 on yours will be the same as 7 and 8 on the other one. Then, of course, 11 and 12 will be for your sensor. Just follow any of the wiring diagrams with these modifications and you should be fine.
 
Thanks Scimmia, that actually makes sense. I'm hoping to have time to wire it up today and I'll let you know how it goes. I'm excited to actually put my chest freezer to use for fermentation. You guys are awesome. :D
 
so whats the final cost to build one for cooling only? did the thermostats use to be a lot cheaper on ebay?
 
they were no cheaper.

the box is 7 bucks i think
electrical outlet is like 1.99
outlet cover is like .99
ebay temp controller is $35
extension cord is like 6 bucks

Some or a lot of this you may already have at home... making this an even cheaper project.
 
actually i take that back - it used to be 20.99 so it was 5 bucks cheaper.
 

Similar threads

B
eBIAB PID Controller Wiring Diagram - Feedback Requested
Replies
14
Views
1K
beerisambrosia
B
W
Power distro
Replies
1
Views
328
whoaru99
W
kotamoore23
120/240v DIY PID Controller Help
Replies
17
Views
1K
whoaru99
W
L
Building a potentiometer controller
Replies
25
Views
1K
doug293cz
doug293cz
A
BrewPiLess esp32 Build
Replies
4
Views
542
DuncB
D
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top