helibrewer said:I put mine (15A breaker) between the service and the relay (black line, the pin 7 line above) because I wanted to protect the internal relay.
Isn't the stc1000 rated at 240v 10A? It might catch fire before 15a.
helibrewer said:I put mine (15A breaker) between the service and the relay (black line, the pin 7 line above) because I wanted to protect the internal relay.
Isn't the stc1000 rated at 240v 10A? It might catch fire before 15a.
I put mine (15A breaker) between the service and the relay (black line, the pin 7 line above) because I wanted to protect the internal relay.
yesAppreciate the help. So, It should look like this??
With the probe at 3 and 4; 5 gets ignored.
wickman6 said:Ok, I've read thru here a bit, but don't have like 2 weeks to fish thru the entire thread. I want to get one of these controllers, but confused a bit by the eBay description. Are there 2 separate controllers for different input voltages? Do I need to find one that is 110vac? Sorry for the basic question....
Huaco said:Buy from this ebay seller "NovaPCS" they are in New York/Jersey and are REALLY fast shippers. I have ordered several from them and they get them to me in a few days as opposed to a few weeks from China. Also, since they are in the states, they only send the 120V units out.
Quick question.
I have not seen anyone wire an STC with just the male and female ends of a cord (which is what I'm doing)
I have a dead mini fridge so cooling is not going to be hooked up at the moment.
After cutting the female end off my extension cord, I plan on wiring that directly into the heat switch and use it for my brewbelt plug in (No outlet will be on my box)
Now, wiring for that is pretty straight forward then right?
Hot/netural (black/red) into the power supply switch via male end, as well as the heat switch via female end, then just wire the ground to each other inside the box?
EDIT: wait the hot wire (male end) would go to the power switch and the heat switch. Neutral would go to female end and spliced to the power supply. Hot wire (female end) goes to heat switch. Ground would just go to eachother. I keep forgetting the STC does not power anything once power is received.
So which way of thinking is correct? The original or my edit? Or any?
Got it all wired up and working. Used my second way of thinking to wire it up, after my original post I thought about it...and it just didnt make sense.
Used the male end to power the STC, female end as the outlet to the brewbelt.
....now I just need my damn brewbelt. :cross:
Look at www.beanfarm.com You can buy the FermWrap by the foot and put your own cord on it. I've had better success with FermWrap than my brewbelt...more surface area I guess.
Some really cheap stuff on that site, thanks helibrewer.
So for the flexwat heater all I would need is the flexwatt itself, clips with insulators and a cord right?
Also, check out reptilebasics.com That is where I got my heat tape. It was just a little cheaper there than the bean farm place.
Maybe ask them if they can ship USPS instead, as long as your order is small (volume wise).Ok soooo I really liked that reptile basics site, they will wire up your heat tape and everything, very cheap..... 5ft of 4" heat tape wired up for aorund $14, not bad.
WTF shipping here to alaska is 28 bucks... looks like this is not an option.
What ever happened to flat rate boxes.
I have a dead mini fridge so cooling is not going to be hooked up at the moment.
Maybe ask them if they can ship USPS instead, as long as your order is small (volume wise).
Also, just because you are in AK doesn't mean you can close up a fermenter inside an insulated box, and expect not to need cooling. People in cold regions sometimes have it tougher than people in the deep south where the only concern, ever, is cooling (at least for single vessel/chamber systems). When ambient temps are in the 20-??F (insert max ferm temp here) range, things get funny. When fermenting in a fridge/freezer, you have a heat source trapped inside an insulated box, at least until it stops producing heat. Therein lies the rub.
In dealing with this problem myself, and not wanting to code and/or rig up or rely on an arduino, brewtroller, bcs, some hombebaked rig, etc.; I plan on wiring up a set of SS relays (one for every controller/fermenter) which will feed the control input of another relay (to switch the coolingfridge). My goal is to allow having multiple fermenters in one chest freezer without having to set the temp to some arbitrarily low number to guarantee a max temp for the most active ferm. The cooling will only come on when any one of the fermenters needs it. This approach is very similar to the method of using a a dual input relay so only one fan is needed for either heat or cool using (although IMO there is no reason not to run a fan full time in either a kegerator or (especially) in a fermenter).
The price of discrete low current SSRs is cheap enough to not bother searching for some esoteric x number input IC relay available at radio shack. Just wire up a bunch of low amp discrete relays to the control input of one capable of handling the fridge/freezer current. That is the magic that would be happening inside a similar IC anyway.
weeple2000 said:I have read some (but not all) of this thread. Thought it'd be better to just ask in case others are wondering as well. I am looking for a temperature controller for a keezer, do I need something like the stc-1000 or is there something simpler? What is the best option cost-wise? I am just looking to control when the cooling mechanism kicks in.
I have read some (but not all) of this thread. Thought it'd be better to just ask in case others are wondering as well. I am looking for a temperature controller for a keezer, do I need something like the stc-1000 or is there something simpler? What is the best option cost-wise? I am just looking to control when the cooling mechanism kicks in.
If you read my post carefully, I proposed my method specifically to avoid cooling when no fermenter needs it. Think about the problem being solved along with my description, and it should make sense. The freezer will only come on when any one of the fermenting vessels needs it. These are dual stage controllers, so they can call for heating or cooling.Your post is hard to understand without a diagram, but it sounds like you are basically going to wire the freezer to be on whenever none of the fermenter heaters is heating. Without additional logic that is going to be inefficient because it will result in the freezer kicking on when there is really no need. You are going to pay to heat and then pay to cool.
I am just looking to control when the cooling mechanism kicks in.
There are many situations where a keezer needs to be heated, the most common being when it is kept in the garage in the winter.You don't need to heat a keezer.
Over 300 posts is a long read so I am just going to ask this question and hope for an answer... Has anyone extended the length of the sensor that came with this termometer. The supplied wire is too short to make it into my keezer from where I would like the controller mounted.
Just passing this along. This PDF really helped me in my build. The parts #s are all good as well.
http://nordeastbrewersalliance.file...age_temp_controller_creation_instructions.pdf
cwi said:There are many situations where a keezer needs to be heated, the most common being when it is kept in the garage in the winter.
The STC-1000 is now down to $20 shipped, last time I ordered anyway. So, I just spring for the extra $3 for dual stage so I can use it to control a fermenter, or even turn my keezer into one, as well. In their defense, the single stage units do have a programmable/audible over/under temperature alarm which can come in handy for things like mashing. That feature can be supplied by a cheap stand-alone device (even with separate power for an unattended setting like fermenting), whereas dual-stage functionality cannot be replicated (easily) by adding another controller.
Yes. Depending on the length, type of wire, and how solid your connections are, you might need to adjust the calibration. Several people have used 1/8" headphone jacks to connect the sensor wire with the controller.
I'm a little leery of the wires connected to the sensor as they seem almost too small for the controller. How would you connect the sensor to 1/8" headphone jacks?
Only the single stage version has the audible alarm. There are other dual stage controllers with actual alarm outputs for not much more money. There are also simple add on temp monitors with alarms, although that would require another probe.I'm intrigued by your comment about using it for mash control. I was unaware that it had the audible alarms.
Quit putting words in my mouth!Are you saying you can control a mash heater of some sort with it? I thought the general consensus was that a PID was needed because it controls with tighter parameters?
I believe most people using these (correctly) as mash controllers are using them for a HERMS rig. On/off control (at full power) is generally not suitable direct heat input to the mash. A lot of folks think any direct heat input, even a PID'd RIMS with an ULWD element, is unsuitable for the mash. The liquid is where mashing occurs, more so than the grain bed, and with direct/RIMS there is localized heating well above the mash temp, especially when ramping.I ask because I'm getting ready to put an heating element under a false bottom in my mash tun and recirculate.
And now you have hit on the main reason someone would use one of these controllers for a heating element. For an HLT or HERMS bath, they will work fine, but should be used with an additional SSR so you don't fry the built in relay. The lifespan of relays declines exponentially as you increase the current.This would be way cheaper and easier to rig up than a PID for me.
I believe most people using these (correctly) as mash controllers are using them for a HERMS rig. On/off control (at full power) is generally not suitable direct heat input to the mash.
Trying to use the HLT as the HERMS bath just complicates matters, a dedicated one is simpler and better.
I have tried the direct fired recirc MLT, but it still seemed like there was some localized heating from the heated kettle bottom, even with a clad one.Yep, I have two of them controlling my gas fired HERMS, where on/off control works fine. I've also run it as a direct fired RIMS and it worked great with the MLT burner dialed down a bit.
The only benefit I see of using the HLT as a HERMS bath is less equipment by one smallish pot, which I mentioned. There is no advantage to the volume of a typical HLT for a HERMS, and it is actually a hindrance when trying to ramp temps. There is also the additional juggling required when switching from dough-in to HERMS and mash-out to sparge. That is my basis for calling it simpler and better, process wise anyway, and I would be surprised if any part of the process was simpler/better using the HLT as the HERMS bath. While equipment wise it does mean another pot in the mix, it is a similar argument as to whether a swiss army knife or a box of equivalent tools is better/simpler.IMO that depends on your process and how you set your system up. For me using the HLT as the HEX bath makes things much simpler and easier. I understand that it has some limitations and a separate HEX bath would make more sense for a lot of systems, but I don't agree that it's simpler/better in general.
The only benefit I see of using the HLT as a HERMS bath is less equipment by one smallish pot, which I mentioned.
There is no advantage to the volume of a typical HLT for a HERMS, and it is actually a hindrance when trying to ramp temps.
There is also the additional juggling required when switching from dough-in to HERMS and mash-out to sparge.
The next project I am hording parts for is a HERMS type coil directly in the mash for full volume mashes (BIAB). I don't think I am the first, but I also don't think it has a name yet- hopefully someone comes up with (very) unPC acronym for it. My main reasons are to reduce complexity, and minimize the time the product spends in the 3500 rpm blender most people call a pump- typically ~2 hours (including chilling) for HERMS/RIMS guys.
Although, it has more to do with the ability of most PIDs to vary/limit the power using PWM and SSR relays than the theoretical tighter control. The fancy PID control functionality is over-hyped for most brewing applications, and unless you get the tuning just right, is actually worse than a simple on/off controller . Even used for RIMS, it doesn't behave much differently than an on/off controller.
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