So I did a little test run this morning...the controller is set at 70, differential at 1, and asd at 1. When I got to my freezer, the controller temp was at 69 and the freezer motor was off. I pulled the probe from the water bottle, placed it in my hand for a few seconds and warmed it up to 76 degrees. Once the temperature on the controller hit my 70 degree mark, the power to the freezer turned on (good sign). Then once the temp hit 76, I placed the probe back in the freezer between the water bottle and a towel that I folded over and taped to the side. I also put a regular thermometer in the freezer to monitor ambient air temp.
I found the freezer power stayed on until i hit 69 degrees (success, controller is working fine). Once the power to the freezer turned off, the air temp of the freezer continued to drop to 53 degrees, and the probe stopped dropping at a temperature of 66 degrees. So it appears that my controller works fine, it just has a little swing when the freezer motor kicks up but isn't a huge swing.
Porcupine, I will start collecting water bottles and will fill up my freezer with those to try and decrease the dramatic change in air temperature. good tip.
One possible cause of my temperature variation may be that my freezer is in the garage. During the day, the temps are reaching high 70s-low 80s; but at night, they're dropping to high 50s-low 60s. could the outside air play such a major role? The freezer is highly insulated and I've got a 20lb weight on the lid to ensure it is completely sealed. Does anyone think I'd actually need to switch it to heating and get some heating element in the winter if left in the garage? Or should i stop asking questions and just move the thing inside?