Temp Controllers

I'm a noob and haven't brewed my first batch yet (well, since starting again after almost a decade). I'm having fun collecting equipment, though. I've read some threads on here that have discussed various temp controllers, but I thought I would ask about my specific situation. I have found two Sanyo 4912s on CL. I want to use one as a kegerator eventually and the other as lagerator or a fermenting cabinet. Which temp controller would be good? Someone suggested the Ranco on eBay, and I've read about the Love and seen the Johnson (that's what she said). I'm not so good at wiring, but I suppose I could learn. Any thoughts?

If there's a good thread on here I'm missing, I apologize and please direct me to it.

The ranco's are nice because all you have to do it plug in the fridge and you are set. That would be the best way to go. I have a love controller and really like it because for $50 it is digital and has some nice extra features. You can control how warm you let the temp get before turning back on (dead band) and can adjust for any temp differences.

I think it really depends on how involved you want to get with it. The love's look like nice controllers, but you will need to make your own container for them. Also I'm not sure if they come with a temp probe or if you have to buy that separate.

For ease of use both the Ranco and Johnson will work great and if you only plan on using it for cooling then you will only need a single stage. I went with a Ranco 2 stage that I wired myself for my fermenting fridge so I can add a heat source in the winter since it's in the garage.

http://www.rancoetc.com/ Here is a site with decent prices on the Ranco's that you can get pre-wired. Wiring a single stage isn't very difficult. The 2 stage was a pain forme due the the lack of room to fit the extra wiring in. I got it done though and it works great

The love controller comes with a temp probe.

i recently purchased a Johnson A19ABC-4C analog controller, and hvae yet to decoide what i think of it...

dont worry about wiring, you can know nothing about wiring and figure it out. there is alot of help available on this forum and on google. just remember that a closed circuit equals power on, open circuit equals power off and you should be all set.

as for the johnson 419-abc... well it cost $24 so i should not complain. but it is is analog, with a pretty significant temp range... if i remember right the literature says 3 degrees F, though i have yet to fully test it... (a 3 degree range means if i set the controller at 64 degrees F it does not kick on until it sense 67 degrees and it does not turn off until it sense 61 degrees).

I bought this with the intent to use a free freezer as a fermentation chamber, but having installed it i am not sure. maintaining a steady fermentation temp is important. 7 degrees is a really wide swing. hell, 4 degrees is a wide swing. so now i am debating whether or not to trust a brew in there, or to use it for conditioning.

THE POINT being - digital temp controllers, with a 1 degree differential, will serve you much better than the analog equivalents with a 3 degree or more differential. maybe someone will chime in proving me wrong, which is almost an expected occurrence at this point, but I would say that if the wallet allows it, go digital, and don't worry about the wiring... if you buy a model that need to be wired you will find plenty of help... PM half of the folk on this site and they will give you a helping hand, myself included....

Choguy03 said:

The love controller comes with a temp probe.

Click to expand...

Cool. I have wondered about that, but not enough to check for myself. I will probably look into one of those if I ever need to buy another.

I use two Johnsons, (That just sounds sooo wrong).
But I have to admit the Love controllers look really good, and seem to meet all requirements for a home brewer. I'm thinking of getting one for my kegerator and keeping the current controller as a backup for my fermentation fridge and/or kegerator.

I have seen people use gang boxes for thier loves. use a block plate on one side and power outlet on the other. also you can pick up project boxes at radioshack for cheap. and if all else fails wire it into the door like JB did on his full size freezers. i think it would look pretty sweet on the door.

Thanks for the discussion and the offer of wiring help. I'm sure I'll be back needing it before long.

The Ranco single stage can also be used for heating. Unplug freezer, plug in heater and set the heating setpoints. The Ranco also has an adjustable differential that is used as the "dead band".

Same is true for the Johnson analogue but, you have to open the controller and flip a switch.

oberon567 said:

as for the johnson 419-abc... well it cost $24 so i should not complain. but it is is analog, with a pretty significant temp range... if i remember right the literature says 3 degrees F, though i have yet to fully test it... (a 3 degree range means if i set the controller at 64 degrees F it does not kick on until it sense 67 degrees and it does not turn off until it sense 61 degrees).

7 degrees is a really wide swing. hell, 4 degrees is a wide swing. so now i am debating whether or not to trust a brew in there, or to use it for conditioning.

Click to expand...

A lot of people have swings bigger than this in their brew setups. The nature of brewing at home means tighter control is not always feasible. I don't see anything wrong with a 4 degree differential if used properly. If I want to ferment around 62 degrees I have to take a few things into consideration. 1. The temp inside the fermenter is likely to be a few degrees higher than the fridge, so I am already going to be setting it a little low. I will plan for the four degree kick on rate as well. So if I want it at 62 I'll set it around 56 degrees.

That will allow for the differential and keep it at a reasonable temp. Additionally, the 4 degree swing would matter a LOT more if it was over an hour or something, but in an insulated fridge, I just don't see that happening after fermentation has started. The liquid in the fermenter will generate a bit of heat while the yeast works, but all in all, you won't be swinging all over the place in a controlled environment.

Here is a link to how to make a box for your love controller

http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/tempcontroller.html

oberon567 said:

I bought this with the intent to use a free freezer as a fermentation chamber, but having installed it i am not sure. maintaining a steady fermentation temp is important. 7 degrees is a really wide swing. hell, 4 degrees is a wide swing. so now i am debating whether or not to trust a brew in there, or to use it for conditioning.

THE POINT being - digital temp controllers, with a 1 degree differential, will serve you much better than the analog equivalents with a 3 degree or more differential. maybe someone will chime in proving me wrong, which is almost an expected occurrence at this point, but I would say that if the wallet allows it, go digital, and don't worry about the wiring... if you buy a model that need to be wired you will find plenty of help... PM half of the folk on this site and they will give you a helping hand, myself included....

Click to expand...

I politely disagree. My digital controller is set for a 4 degree swing, in the fermenter. It kicks on at 69F and shuts off at 65f. This maintains a STEADY 67F temp. This is with the sensor taped to the side of the fermenter. With a one or two degree diff. you run the risk of overrunning your fridge or freezer. You have to consider how long it would actually take for 5.5 gallons to go up or down a degree, it takes some time. I do give my vote for the electronic temp controllers, they rule.

Love controller. Here is the best deal for one of these.

Weizenheimer said:

Here is a link to how to make a box for your love controller

http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/tempcontroller.html

Click to expand...

thats where i seen it. thx. now i need to book mark that one

Thanks for both of the posts criticizing me... you have actually made me feel a lot better and now I am less nervous about using my freezer and temp controller for my next batch!

I was planning on taping the probe to the side of the fermenter and putting some bubble wrap on the outside to try and insulate the probe from the ambient temp...

I was worried that if I set it low, especially with a high OG brew, the yeast might drop out too early if the temp swings too low on them... (ie, if I have 3 points in either direction, and I want to ferment at 64, I would set at 61 so it never goes above 64... but then it would get as cold as 58, which I suppose is not too cold, but cold enough to make me nervous with an ale yeast, since i dont imagine going up and down and up and down again is good for it or its attenuation capacity...)

I also plan on getting a temperature controller. I was thinking about getting the Johnson Analog controller. I really don't need something fancy; just something that will keep my temp within a certain range. I originally got a Sanyo fridge (the ones used as kegerators) to keep my beer cool since there usually isn't much space in the main fridge; however, with the summer heat being bad as it is, I have been using it to keep my fermenter cool. The thing is I keep a thermometer in a water bottle and judge the temp by what it indicates there and turn on/off the fridge manually.

Thanks for all the links and good info here. I'm guessing the answer is "no!" to this question, but is it possible with two probes with some sort of splitter to rig any of the controllers mentioned here or other models to control two 4912s if I wanted to keep them both at the same temp?