Keezer Temp Controller

I am going to replace the analog controller I have with a digital type. I am looking at the ranco (ETC-111000-000) and love (ts-13010) controllers. There is about $20 difference in price for me and I would have to wire up both. The love looks smaller and seems like something I could flush mount in my collar for a real sleek look. Whatever I use and like will get purchased again in the near future for fermentation control.

Of course I have thought about going with a FermTroller setup and running serving and fermentation off the same controller.

Because the Ranco controllers do not provide any kind of "anti-short-cycle" function, I would not use one with a freezer.

An alternative to the Ranco and Love is the STC-1000 (often referred to as the eBay aquarium controller). It requires some user assembly (ie: wiring) but it provides all the bells and whistles to control a freezer and it is way cheaper than either of the models you listed.

Added Bonus: there's a long running thread on how folks have set their STC-1K controllers up - including collar mounting...

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

Cheers!

Those look interesting. Can they display in Fahrenheit as well or just Celsius?

day_trippr said:

Because the Ranco controllers do not provide any kind of "anti-short-cycle" function, I would not use one with a freezer.

An alternative to the Ranco and Love is the STC-1000 (often referred to as the eBay aquarium controller). It requires some user assembly (ie: wiring) but it provides all the bells and whistles to control a freezer and it is way cheaper than either of the models you listed.

Added Bonus: there's a long running thread on how folks have set their STC-1K controllers up - including collar mounting...

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

Cheers!

Click to expand...

If it's set correctly a Ranco controller will work on a freezer.

Whatever. With the availability of superior controllers for a third of the cost I for one could not recommend the Ranco series (even though I own a single stage model which manages a cold season ferm chamber)...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

Whatever. With the availability of superior controllers for a third of the cost I for one could not recommend the Ranco series (even though I own a single stage model which manages a cold season ferm chamber)...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

I like the Ranco because it's dual stage and you can find them pre-wired.

sandyeggoxj said:

Those look interesting. Can they display in Fahrenheit as well or just Celsius?

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Just Celsius. I keep a *C/*F cheat sheet taped to the side of the outlet box, but over time, I've come to use it less and less.

sandyeggoxj said:

Those look interesting. Can they display in Fahrenheit as well or just Celsius?

Click to expand...

As mentioned, the STC-1000 is celcius only. There's a slightly different model that looks the same as the STC-1000, but is single stage and reads in °F. I have one for my keezer, and two in the control panel for my HERMS. Only reason I bought them is that at the time they were cheaper than the STC-1000, and for those purposes I don't need dual stage control. These days the STC-1000 is generally cheaper.

For my ferm chamber where I need dual stage control and use an STC-1000, I just printed out a °C to °F conversion chart and taped it to the fridge. Like BigFloyd said, after a while you won't even need it.

I just bought the same ranco your looking at.10 minute wire up,simple as pie.Set to 32 deg.Works like a champ $45 cant beat it.

Can't be beat? Must be new math. I'd have sworn something that works better, is at least as easy to wire, yet costs less than half that $45 would be the "can't be beat" winner...

Cheers!

I looked into the stc 1000.I youtubed wiring and it seemed a bit more work.(could be wrong).It also seemed as if most were building them into some sort of box with just the display showing,making it more of a project.The ranco is basicly plug and play.To each there own,works for me.

The stc looks nice, but I think I'll stick with the love. It is $68 to my door and it displays in Fahrenheit. Having the display in Celsius would drive me nuts.

There are models of the stc-1k that display in F (all mine do). What sucks are the low amp relays in them. The ranco and Johnson A419 are available as PLug n play and don't need an enclosure built. The best on the market is the control concepts one. Was $50 on amazon - up to $100 now... I have 3 stc-1k's, 3 rancos, 2 control concepts and 4 MyPin PIDs.

FredTheNuke said:

There are models of the stc-1k that display in F (all mine do). What sucks are the low amp relays in them. The ranco and Johnson A419 are available as PLug n play and don't need an enclosure built. The best on the market is the control concepts one. Was $50 on amazon - up to $100 now... I have 3 stc-1k's, 3 rancos, 2 control concepts and 4 MyPin PIDs.

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I've not seen any STC-1000 that read in Fahrenheit. There are some nearly identical looking models that read in Fahrenheit, but they're single stage units, not dual stage like the STC-1000. Do you have a link to the STC-1000 that reads in Fahrenheit?

JuanMoore said:

I've not seen any STC-1000 that read in Fahrenheit. There are some nearly identical looking models that read in Fahrenheit, but they're single stage units, not dual stage like the STC-1000. Do you have a link to the STC-1000 that reads in Fahrenheit?

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nm. F ones are single relay. Hmmm. Thought mine was double. MyPins are double and are around $30. You can turn off the PID function and use absolute control.

FredTheNuke said:

nm. F ones are single relay. Hmmm. Thought mine was double. MyPins are double and are around $30. You can turn off the PID function and use absolute control.

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Hah! Your pre-edit post sent me to flea-bay, where I searched through the first 100 results without any luck. :cross: All I was finding is the single stage ones like I have in my keezer and HERMS control panel. There are a lot of great options out there at reasonable prices, including PID's, STC-1000's, and the new dual stage Wilhi's. And for many situations, like my keezer, dual stage isn't really necessary.