Temp control setup for $35

I've been wanting to do a temp controlled fermentation chamber for a while now but couldn't really slide a $70 purchase past the wife. I tried the "course adjustment screw" trick but my spare fridge is one of those with just an "in" and "out" at the bottom.

About 3 weeks ago I spotted this on Amazon: Lux WIN100

What I did was run an extension cord into the fridge (I cut a small hole in the door insulation). I put the WIN100 temp controller inside the fridge (in the door compartment), then plugged the fridge's plug into that (ran through the same hole in the door insulation).

I've had it set up for about 3 weeks now, working like a champ. I'm fermenting an Oktoberfest that uses Krolsh yeast and it's holding a steady 58F.

I picked up the spare fridge off CL. I put up an add saying I'll actually be using the fridge and that I'm not one of those resellers, and someone sold me one for $20 if I came and picked it up, which was np.

So for about $55 total I now have a fermentation chamber that can hold two carboys

That's awesome, I used a Johnson temp controller for my keezer build, because didn't really want the hassle of building my own. Definitely going to get one of these for a fermentation chamber.

Thx for posting this! Just picked one up myself.

I'll try to post pics tomorrow night. There's really not much too it though, just cut a small hole in the door insulation for the cords, that's about it.

BTW that temp controller has a ton of settings (day, night, weekdays, weekends) so program it BEFORE putting it in the fridge or you'll be sitting there for a while with the door open

That's insanely cheap for a wired temp controller. How's the prob set up? I'm curious to know how well it works. Will you keep track of the temp with a sep thermometer and let us know how consistent the temp is maintained?

Thanks!

I just got mine going last weekend. Haven't had a chance to get pics up... but this is what I used for a temp controller, since I happened to have one laying around. You can look around for options other than the standard Johnson controller that's out there. I work in the HVAC industry so I had one handy. Listed here for ~$55. and I can strap it to the side of a carboy. And for running, the wiring inside... I fished the lead (with one end cut off) into the freezer thru the drain plug. I have a well insulated cable, there's no exposed wire near the drain itself, and it's on GFCI so I'm not worried abotu any possible water issue.

http://www.apexcontrols.com/141-0522-siemens-thermostat.aspx?gclid=CNCNuIjWq7ICFQUYzQodPgUAYw

Here is a pic of my temp controller.

Winning!

I also have one of those. I bought to control a small heater in winter. I have a Johnson Controller that I've had for at least 15yrs that still works on a fridge.

There is a small temp probe on top of the controller. Here's a pic of it:

This isn't too bad, but with one outlet, I'm going to speculate that it only works for heat OR cold at a given time (heat vs cool mode).

In my case, in the summer, only the cooling mode is needed, but in the fall in SC, days are warm (cooling is needed) and nights can be cool (heat needed).

MC

it is easy to extend the temperature probe on this. The probe is connected to the circuit board with some spade connectors, just use some wire of whatever length you need and splice it in. Many people have done this with great success.

pannell77 said:

it is easy to extend the temperature probe on this. The probe is connected to the circuit board with some spade connectors, just use some wire of whatever length you need and splice it in. Many people have done this with great success.

Click to expand...

I am def going to try this. Thx for the tip

I've used one of these units with success. I extended the probe so that the unit could be outside of the controlled environment to make changes, if needed. I made a jumper with spade connectors. Ohm checking will tell you if its too long.

I upgraded to an STC-1000 to gain both heat & cool control. The down sides I found with the LUX unit are the sample rate and only being able to control heat OR cooling.