New Ferm chamber and beer freezer (fridge)

So I picked up a Vissani 52 bottle wine cooler and am currently using it for a ferm chamber. I set the course screw on the thermostat such that half way gives me optimum low 60's for belgian high gravity ales (which I brew mostly).

The problem with the kenmore upright freezer is that the course screw is floored with the greatest screw compression and it still doesn't go higher that 20F. I tried the screw with least opposing force where it is less coiled and that does the opposite so I believe I must now get an external controller, right?

I checked the thread on vissani wine coolers and the one by assistantbrewer for the course screw adjustments on freezers already.

You could buy a temp controller like the Johnson or you could make an on off digital controller from a home thermostat for like 20 bucks ...I saw a pretty good how to on YouTube from a lady from Texas who does BIAB

Yea I saw that one from Jan. I might get the Johnson one , purely mechanical, which I like .

You could get one of these

http://www.ebay.com/ctm/Mini%20Digital%20Temperature%20Controller%20Thermostat%20Aquarium?nfItemId=270531863176

and hard wire it in. Its not that difficult if your fridge is an old analog. Just wire it in place of the internal thermostat. that way the fridge light still works.

this link has a simple explanation of the wiring of the controller.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

This aquarium controller has the ability for heat as well as cooling and my ferm chamber is kept accurate to 1/2 a degree. Its only in Celsius, but the price is right.

Mine is an upright freezer so how can heat possibly be used? It contains r134 in all the evaporator coils and compressor. I rather just get the johnson for this purpose. No lamp either and an analog thermostat with thermocouple.

djbradle said:

Mine is an upright freezer so how can heat possibly be used? It contains r134 in all the evaporator coils and compressor. I rather just get the johnson for this purpose. No lamp either and an analog thermostat with thermocouple.

Click to expand...

You could put a small screw-bulb fixture in, with an aluminum paint can around the bulb, or use one of the ceramic reptile heat bulbs.

Just because its capable of controlling a heater as well as a refrigerator, doesn't mean you have to use it. You can just use it to control the freezer cooling temperature.

They are cheap and easy to set up. I bought one of these and am going to use it on the ferm chamber I'm building from a dorm fridge.

Or even use a heating pad/bucket heater.

So this controller will wire up a heat lamp as well as control a cooler at the same time? It looks like there's only one sensor though.

djbradle said:

So this controller will wire up a heat lamp as well as control a cooler at the same time? It looks like there's only one sensor though.

Click to expand...

Yep. It has connections for a temp probe, heat controller, and cold controller. You can set it up as a single way controller for either heat or cold, or to control both at the same time. If you never need to heat your freezer, then you don't need to worry about a heater, but its nice to have just in case.

You set it up with a temperature range. Say you want to keep it at 65F (or whatever degree C that is), then you can set a temp differential above and below that. If it falls outside of that range, it will either turn on the heater or the cooler to get the temperature back within that range.

Perfect!

BeardedIdiot said:

Yep. It has connections for a temp probe, heat controller, and cold controller. You can set it up as a single way controller for either heat or cold, or to control both at the same time. If you never need to heat your freezer, then you don't need to worry about a heater, but its nice to have just in case.

Click to expand...

This is true. However the heat and cool are never on at the same time. Either one or the other with a buffer between them that you can set, starting from one tenth of a degree. If you kept your freezer in the garage in the winter time or for guys up north where a basement will get too cool for proper ferment, then the heat feature would be necessary. For most environments the cooling is all that is needed. Fermentation generates heat so its important to tape the temp probe to the carboy with some insulation over it to so that it reads the ferment temp, not the air temp of the chamber.