ebay aquarium temp controller build

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Sounds like it would work to me, if you don't get enough heat from the light bulb you could always wire in a 2nd one. You may also want to think about wiring in a little muffin fan/computer fan for circulating the air.
 
ILOVEBEER said:
Android,

Thank you for posting this buddy, I think I found my answer. This is what I am trying to accompish:

I have a 15CF chest freezer that is dedicated to fermenting two sanke kegs of 10 gallon batches each. During the summer my garage is hot. I purchased this http://www.chicompany.net/freezer-conversion-thermostat-remote-bulb-933.html
and think it is a POS that will work for the summer if I can ever dial in the temperature correctly.

Now the winter is a different story. I will need heating since the garage drops to 40ish at times. I was considering doing exactly what you did with the control box and receptacle. One for cooling and one for heating. The cooling is obviously accomplished by the freezer and MY heating would be accomplished by a 100W lightbulb secured within the freezer.

Does this sound like it will work?

Thanks for the help
Joe
Click to expand...

Should work fine. Since my fermenters are clear glass, I used an infrared heat bulb I got at the pet store instead of a regular light bulb. It's 100W and provides more than enough heat to keep my chamber warm. The thermal mass of 20 gal of beer doesn't need a whole lot of help to keep a constant temperature.
 
light bulbs work fine, but i'm going to use a little space heater. the one we have (not sure what amperage it draws, looks much beefier than that HF one) works fine plugged into the 'heat' outlet.
 
Here is mine, works like a charm. Using 2 brewbelts because my closet is real cold right now.

heaterp.jpg
 
I just crammed mine in a 4x4x4 PVC enclosure. Seems to be working! Thanks for the wiring discussion earlier in the thread, I had mine mis-configured at first, and was able to look through this thread and see where I went wrong. Now I just need to assemble a chamber and get the heater / cooler set up. One step at a time I guess :)
 
Just got mine in the mailbox today. I've already got the wiring in place so I'll be installing it tonight once I've triple checked all the connections. I'm planning on putting it through the collar on my keezer then probably putting a small junction box on the backside. Then I can flip the switch and shout manically 'It's ALIVE!'

All that'll be left then will be to create a frame around the cover, tile the surface, and get real taps to replace the picnic taps.

EDIT: Iiiiit'ssss Allliiivvvveeeee! I really like the controller, dead simple to wire in, and the degree of flexability is awesome for something this cheap. I just need to print out that C->F chart.
 
I just wanted to thank Andrew and all you guys for posting replys on this thread. I just got mine in the mail and can't wait to get this hooked up. The thing that suprised me was the size, it's small. Can we use another temp probe?

Thanks again
 
I wired mine up over the weekend. I'm an idiot with this stuff but even I was able to get it to work without too much trouble. A nice unit that does what it says it will do. I'll keep my eye out for another for my eventual fermentation chamber.
 
Great_Neck_Brewer said:
I just wanted to thank Andrew and all you guys for posting replys on this thread. I just got mine in the mail and can't wait to get this hooked up. The thing that suprised me was the size, it's small. Can we use another temp probe?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

I tried to wire mine up with an Auberins thermocouple and it didnt work. This model to be specific, http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=109 I would be interested to know if the controller would work with another probe as well. I had little luck searching for Replacement NTC Probes, this was about all I could find...

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=955
 
Ordered mine last night to control the guts of the mini fridge I just tore apart. Looking forward to finally being able to ferment at stable temperatures - hooray! :ban:
 
My RIS just gushed all over my basement, partially due to bad temp control. I ordered mine today and will be building a ferm chamber right away before more precious wort drains across the floor.
 
rcm_rx7 said:
The instructions that came with my controller say it's rated for 15A.
Click to expand...

Hmm, now I'm curious what it should be, the confusion appears to be that the specs in the auction are for the 220V version:

# Relay contact capacity (Heating): 10A (max) 250 V
# Relay contact capacity (Cooling):10 A (max) 250 V

I'd love to pick up another and wire it into my HLT if it handles 15A@110. It might even encourage me to pick up one more for RIMS on my MLT.
 
I need some help. I think I'm missing something.

I built my temp controller, and it worked fine at first, but after the heater kicked in and got the temp up to where I want it and the heater turned off, it never turned back on. The temperature dropped below where I have it set, but didn't turn back on. Now, I've been messing with it for a couple days, and it's been below temperature and had the "heat" light on, but it's also been below temp and the heat light didn't come on. Now, earlier tonight I didn't have anything plugged into it, and the light was on. When I plugged my heater in, it turned on and got it up to the right temperature, but then it wouldn't turn on again when it cooled down.

I double-checked the wiring, and it's wired just like Android's diagram.

Any ideas/suggestions?
 
MatterOne said:
I need some help. I think I'm missing something.

I built my temp controller, and it worked fine at first, but after the heater kicked in and got the temp up to where I want it and the heater turned off, it never turned back on. The temperature dropped below where I have it set, but didn't turn back on. Now, I've been messing with it for a couple days, and it's been below temperature and had the "heat" light on, but it's also been below temp and the heat light didn't come on. Now, earlier tonight I didn't have anything plugged into it, and the light was on. When I plugged my heater in, it turned on and got it up to the right temperature, but then it wouldn't turn on again when it cooled down.

I double-checked the wiring, and it's wired just like Android's diagram.

Any ideas/suggestions?
Click to expand...

What happens if you just plug in a light bulb or lamp to the heater outlet instead? Is the heater drawing more than 10-15amps?
 
wyzazz said:
What happens if you just plug in a light bulb or lamp to the heater outlet instead? Is the heater drawing more than 10-15amps?
Click to expand...

Good question. I thought of that same thing, so I switched from using a heater to using a Goldenrod (meant to be used as a gun safe dehumidifier). It draws very little power and I still have the same problem.
 
Two things

First, it has to be below where you have it set by a specific amount. That's the differential adjustment. If you have it set at 5C with a differential of 1C, it won't turn on the heat until the temp gets to 4C.

Second, if the temp is dropping quickly, you could be running into the anti short cycle delay. After it turns off, it won't turn back on within that amount of time.
 
Scimmia said:
Two things

First, it has to be below where you have it set by a specific amount. That's the differential adjustment. If you have it set at 5C with a differential of 1C, it won't turn on the heat until the temp gets to 4C.
Click to expand...
Agreed. that was my first thought.

Scimmia said:
Second, if the temp is dropping quickly, you could be running into the anti short cycle delay. After it turns off, it won't turn back on within that amount of time.
Click to expand...
It only has a delay for the cooling..."compressor cool down" as they call it.
 
If that's the case, I'd say you've got a bunk controller. Contact the seller to see if they can ship you out a replacement? They're in China so it may not be easy or even worth the $30.00 you spent on the controller, but it's worth a shot.
 
i thought differential as well. let us know if that fixes it, otherwise, i'd definitely contact them about getting a new one. i bet they will help you out.
 
I haven't really been able to monitor it at all because I haven't been around, but it seems to be working okay now.

I thought that the temperature differential was the amount it would overheat. For example, if it were set at 5c with a differential of 1c, it would turn it on at 5c, and heat it until it got to 6c.

Apparently, I was mistaken.

So, I'll try to keep an eye on what it's doing over the weekend and I'll be sure to update.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.
 
MatterOne said:
I haven't really been able to monitor it at all because I haven't been around, but it seems to be working okay now.

I thought that the temperature differential was the amount it would overheat. For example, if it were set at 5c with a differential of 1c, it would turn it on at 5c, and heat it until it got to 6c.

Apparently, I was mistaken.

So, I'll try to keep an eye on what it's doing over the weekend and I'll be sure to update.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.
Click to expand...

If I remember the instruction correctly, the heating contact closes when T=Tsetpoint - Tdiff

The cooling contact closes when T = Tsetpoint + Tdiff

Both turn off when T = Tsetpoint
 
Alright, I understand now. (In the second line, you meant to say cooling contact, right?)

It seems kind of backwards to me that they would do it that way. Oh well.

But that was my problem, and everything is working fine. Sorry, I'm a little slow sometimes.:drunk:


So, while we're at it, where is everyone setting their differentials? Mine is set at .6 right now, giving me a one degree F swing.

Aaaaaand what is the point of the cooling delay?
 
MatterOne said:
Alright, I understand now. (In the second line, you meant to say cooling contact, right?)

It seems kind of backwards to me that they would do it that way. Oh well.

But that was my problem, and everything is working fine. Sorry, I'm a little slow sometimes.:drunk:


So, while we're at it, where is everyone setting their differentials? Mine is set at .6 right now, giving me a one degree F swing.

Aaaaaand what is the point of the cooling delay?
Click to expand...

Fixed it...thanks.

it really doesn't matter if it switches lower than the setpoint or higher..it's still a set differential. My set point is at 4.4C with a .5 differential. haven't really noted how often it cycles.

The cooling delay is to let the compressor cool down before the next cycle. starting a hot compressor will reduce the life (lots of current draw to start when already hot is a bad thing). :)
 
MatterOne said:
Alright, I understand now. (In the second line, you meant to say cooling contact, right?)

It seems kind of backwards to me that they would do it that way. Oh well.

But that was my problem, and everything is working fine. Sorry, I'm a little slow sometimes.:drunk:


So, while we're at it, where is everyone setting their differentials? Mine is set at .6 right now, giving me a one degree F swing.

Aaaaaand what is the point of the cooling delay?
Click to expand...

I'm using a .5 degree differential with a 10 or 15 minute delay. The point is that often refrigeration doesn't like being short cycled, sometimes to the point of an early demise.
 
I've ordered me one of those little contollers off of ebay. I recently was given a 20 cu ft fridge from a friend of mine. He was remodeling his kitchen and wife wanted a new fridge. He just wanted the one he gave me out of his house. Thing is, his fridge is better than the one I have now. So I'm gonna take my old one and convert it to a being a fermenting chamber/ lagerator. My controller wont be sent until after the Easter holiday. No matter, I have plenty to work on until it arrives.

Thanks to the OP for posting the info. :mug:
 
Greetings all - I'm about to start building my first Kegerator (Keezer actually) and this temperature controller looks perfect since it is only 30 bucks shipped. My only concern is the max amperage rating of 10 amps at 220 volts. Is that a high enough rating to switch a Freezer compressor? I'm not sure how much amperage a freezer draws, but I do know that 10 amps at 110 volts is half as much wattage as 10 amps at 220 volts. I'm not sure if that matters, but if anyone could give some insight as to whether these aquarium temperature controllers can handle a freezer, I'd appreciate it.
 
theminor said:
Greetings all - I'm about to start building my first Kegerator (Keezer actually) and this temperature controller looks perfect since it is only 30 bucks shipped. My only concern is the max amperage rating of 10 amps at 220 volts. Is that a high enough rating to switch a Freezer compressor? I'm not sure how much amperage a freezer draws, but I do know that 10 amps at 110 volts is half as much wattage as 10 amps at 220 volts. I'm not sure if that matters, but if anyone could give some insight as to whether these aquarium temperature controllers can handle a freezer, I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...

check the current rating on your freezer...if it's less than 10 amps, you should be ok. The starting current of a compressor is going to be high, but it shouldn't be enough to fry your contacts.

again (this was covered a few pages back) wattage has nothing to do with relay contact ratings...only current and voltage. Don't exceed them and you'll be fine.
 
Maybe this is showing my ignorance...but my freezer says current = 1.70. Does anyone know what that equates to for the controller?
 

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