ebay aquarium temp controller build

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They are selling out fast here so don't wait. Has anyone posted a tutorial of wiring a computer fan with a cell phone charger?
 
Tinga said:
They are selling out fast here so don't wait. Has anyone posted a tutorial of wiring a computer fan with a cell phone charger?

Why? Go to Walmart and pick up a desk fan for 5 dollars so you don't have to deal with the 12v bull ****. Its fine for the stir plate arbutus the 110v fans move more air and you can directly wire them in with the box for the controller
 
I built one of these last year, and I could have sworn I paid almost 30 bucks for the controller. I just searched ebay, as I want to build a second one for my kegerator and they are only 16 bucks shipped!
 
1. Better accuracy
2. Adjustable differential
3. Larger control range
4. Cheaper

Not being argumentative, just curious is all so please don't take it that way

1) How do you know it's better accuracy over mechanical?
2) No complaint here
3) I'm sure the mechanical can cover anything from lagering to ales in a ferm chamber/freezer/fridge correct?
4) 50 is about what the materials cost for the digital and that's the price on Amazon for the mechanical. I do understand however if digital is what you're after, then by all means it's cheaper than other digitals out there like Love etc....

I'm just wondering if having zero electrical knowledge, if it's worth spending the same money on something already done like the mechanical version if it fulfills the same role
 
I built my second controller for pretty cheap.

$25 controller
box was .50 cents
$6 ext cord
$2 outlet

-=Jason=-
Sent from my HTC Incredible using Home Brew Talk
 
If you're not DIY or electrically inclined, than the "all-in-one" option is deffinetly the way to go.

However:
1) The mechanical dial is not going to be as accurate as setting a finite number...it's not a precision device
3) you're probably right, but if you wanted to use this to also make, say, yogurt you can't...you need 102F...the other can do it. (just saying) :)
4) I picked up the digital for $30 and another $0.50 in parts.
 
Why aren't people getting something like this type of controller that is already wired. You just plug it in and set the temp on the dial and call it done? Is it the digital people like? The dual stage for both Hot and Cold plugins? I don't get it...
People ask the same question about homebrewing. You just go to the 7-11; plop down your $10 for a 12'r of Bud Light Ice Lime Clamato Chelada; open your beer hole; and call it done.

I do admire your bravery for questioning the basis of a thread with 2,000+ posts.

There are digital versions of the one you linked for ~$30 more. The analog ones have wide temp swings, and the probe is not wired to the main body. It has a hollow tube with magic sauce in it that moves a paper clip lever attached with some bubble gum and duct tape to a switch. If you kink the tube, or let the magic sauce escape, it no worky.

Hot and cold, yes, but those are available pre-wired as well. Mainly it is the cheapness, and DIY appeal.
 
Not being argumentative, just curious is all so please don't take it that way

1) How do you know it's better accuracy over mechanical?
2) No complaint here
3) I'm sure the mechanical can cover anything from lagering to ales in a ferm chamber/freezer/fridge correct?
4) 50 is about what the materials cost for the digital and that's the price on Amazon for the mechanical. I do understand however if digital is what you're after, then by all means it's cheaper than other digitals out there like Love etc....

I'm just wondering if having zero electrical knowledge, if it's worth spending the same money on something already done like the mechanical version if it fulfills the same role

#1 - not so much better accuracy, but better precision. Both set at exactly 60F, they will probably both hold 60F. But you can set the digital to 60.5F as well, and be sure it's set at 60.5F, wheras with a little dial it's a lot tougher to hit exactly the temp you want.
#4 - You can easily DIY for ~$35. $15 isn't much, but why spend more?

The biggest thing for me, which hasn't been addressed in response to your question, is that the eBay one is DUAL stage. It can heat AND cool. This is essential in my garage, where my kegerator sees temp swings from -20 to +90 from winter to summer. With the ebay controller, I can control how often the compressor runs in the summer to keep cool, AND how often the light bulb heat source turns on in the winter to stop my kegs from freezing, all automatically.

Of course, with the one you linked to, you could manually convert it to a heating temperature controller by putting an NC relay in the loop to the fridge, so when the controller shuts "off" as the fridge hits temp, the heater turns on....but you have to manually convert back and forth between heating and cooling, (and now you're paying more money), wheras the ebay controller does it all automatically.
 
#1 - not so much better accuracy, but better precision. Both set at exactly 60F, they will probably both hold 60F. But you can set the digital to 60.5F as well, and be sure it's set at 60.5F, wheras with a little dial it's a lot tougher to hit exactly the temp you want.

I think you may have accuracy and precision mixed up, but the gist is the same. You can reliably repeat a temp setting with the digital. The analog ones have a fixed temp swing as well, usually ~3F. No ASD, or thermometer display on most analogs, either.
 
You guys have me convinced...that's the joy of forums! Now...how about step by step pics and a walk thru of exactly how to wire one of these bad boys for the person with zero electrical knowledge? However, that again is the joy of forums and the interwebs! I'm not very handy, but I love to learn and read and read and learn and then try it myself. How else will you learn if you never try?
 
You guys have me convinced...that's the joy of forums! Now...how about step by step pics and a walk thru of exactly how to wire one of these bad boys for the person with zero electrical knowledge? However, that again is the joy of forums and the interwebs! I'm not very handy, but I love to learn and read and read and learn and then try it myself. How else will you learn if you never try?

Hopefully I am the first to give the smart ass answer to go read, and read, and learn about the search and "search this thread" function. The first post/page has most of what you need, and within the thread there are more than a few alternate schematics to choose from.

Beware the cheapest seller on Ebay. Go with a recommended seller that ships the 110V dual stage unit. They all look the same in the pics.
 
Hopefully I am the first to give the smart ass answer to go read, and read, and learn about the search and "search this thread" function. The first post/page has most of what you need, and within the thread there are more than a few alternate schematics to choose from.

Beware the cheapest seller on Ebay. Go with a recommended seller that ships the 110V dual stage unit. They all look the same in the pics.

Well, for someone that doesn't know anything about electrical, the pics don't do much for me. The schematic is the only thing that makes much sense. So, I'll keep looking I guess. I probably won't make it through all 200+ pages however. May just revert to the mechanical version.
 
Brewnoob...

Go to the forum settings, set the amount of posts per page to as many as possible (i.e. 320 i believe) and use the page down button until you find the schematic that appeals the most to you. Makes searching super long threads much easier i think. There are several diagrams to choose from but all have the same premise. I chose to wire 2 outlets to the cool setting, one to hot, and 1 for auxillary. Search for my user name under the "search this thread" button, and with a few mins, you should be able to find it. I read through all 200 pages, and actually learned a lot more than i thought i would.

This was very easy, and required little time. I dont have any electrical experience either, but there is enough information in this thread to make this a cake walk.

Hope this helps!
 
Brewnoob...

Go to the forum settings, set the amount of posts per page to as many as possible (i.e. 320 i believe) and use the page down button until you find the schematic that appeals the most to you. Makes searching super long threads much easier i think. There are several diagrams to choose from but all have the same premise. I chose to wire 2 outlets to the cool setting, one to hot, and 1 for auxillary. Search for my user name under the "search this thread" button, and with a few mins, you should be able to find it. I read through all 200 pages, and actually learned a lot more than i thought i would.

This was very easy, and required little time. I dont have any electrical experience either, but there is enough information in this thread to make this a cake walk.

Hope this helps!

Awesome, thank you!
 
Is this the new model from the usual sellers on Ebay? What is the story with the new model? Did you order the old one, and they informed you they were sending the newer model?

The new one appears to have more functionality- hysteresis compensation with the two diffs and set points; the alarms can be used to power a single fan when either heat or cool is active without having to use an external relay.
One downgrade is the ASD max value has been reduced to 7 minutes.

The biggest issue/concern is the difference in the manual stating 10Amps, and the controller itself stating 5A/AC220V 10A/110V. This makes no sense. Without opening up the controller to look at the solenoids, it will be difficult to know which is correct. Hopefully this doesn't spark another round of power vs. current debates.

I received it and then discovered it was a newer model. It is an eBay seller out of Canada ThermoMart I believe. It works great. The alarm does buzz with the internal alarm. It is working fine. I am just trying to figure out how to set it in my outdoor shed freezer so that it does not flip flop between heating and cooling constantly. I have the range pretty large so that works but it does not keep it exact. Maybe I am asking too much. It stays between 2 and 4 with little work. Fans will be added later.
 
BNBMan said:
I received it and then discovered it was a newer model. It is an eBay seller out of Canada ThermoMart I believe. It works great. The alarm does buzz with the internal alarm. It is working fine. I am just trying to figure out how to set it in my outdoor shed freezer so that it does not flip flop between heating and cooling constantly. I have the range pretty large so that works but it does not keep it exact. Maybe I am asking too much. It stays between 2 and 4 with little work. Fans will be added later.

You need thermal mass. Tape it, and insulate to the side of a fermentor. It sounds like you are measuring air temperature, which is bad for your freezer, and doesn't allow you to control the actual fermentation temp.
 
Doh! I spent 3 hours trying over and over to get this to work before I realized I had been sent a 220v by mistake. What a pain in the a$$! I had done 2 of these from the same seller before so didn't even think about looking on the 3rd one. It was from skiesmall360, who has Bicky working customer service and said after I send photos of 220v they will send me replacement 110v.
 
Doh! I spent 3 hours trying over and over to get this to work before I realized I had been sent a 220v by mistake. What a pain in the a$$! I had done 2 of these from the same seller before so didn't even think about looking on the 3rd one. It was from skiesmall360, who has Bicky working customer service and said after I send photos of 220v they will send me replacement 110v.

ohh that sucks!!! I got mine from him/whatever, and I got the 110 v one.

Now ya will have to wait another 2 week. AHHHHH I myself, HATE WATING LOL
 
I think I may have bought the wrong conrtoller, looks the same as the stc but is doesnt have that decal on the front, it also reads in farenheit. the wiring sticker says loading 1,2 ; power supply 3,4; function control 5,6 ; temp probe 7,8. How do i hook this sucker up? not very good at electronics. Thanks
 
I think I may have bought the wrong conrtoller, looks the same as the stc but is doesnt have that decal on the front, it also reads in farenheit. the wiring sticker says loading 1,2 ; power supply 3,4; function control 5,6 ; temp probe 7,8. How do i hook this sucker up? not very good at electronics. Thanks

Assuming it's a 110vac unit, wiring from line cord in to a socket out:

Black wire from input line cord connects to pin 1 and 3
White wire from input line cord connects to pin 4 and to the socket
Green wire from line cord connects to green wire to the socket
Black wire to the socket connects to Pin 2

Cheers!
 
kosmokramer said:
I think I may have bought the wrong conrtoller, looks the same as the stc but is doesnt have that decal on the front, it also reads in farenheit. the wiring sticker says loading 1,2 ; power supply 3,4; function control 5,6 ; temp probe 7,8. How do i hook this sucker up? not very good at electronics. Thanks

You may want to verify that it's properly rated for your purposes...
 
Thanks day tripper, i meant both neutrals and both hots dont get used on the outlet?

The socket/outlet gets its neutral from the daisy chained connection (ie: from line cord to pin 4 to the socket). It gets its hot from the switched output on pin 2. It gets its safety ground directly from the line cord - no ground connections to the controller.

That's it.

Cheers!
 
okay thanks, i was just wondering cause the pictures on page 1 show all four post being used on the outlet
 
kosmokramer said:
okay thanks, i was just wondering cause the pictures on page 1 show all four post being used on the outlet

Depends on whether or not you break the tab.
 
okay thanks, i was just wondering cause the pictures on page 1 show all four post being used on the outlet

Ah - ok, now I understand why you were having trouble.

Technically, that is a dual outlet, while I was describing the connections to a single outlet. But if you don't remove the jumper straps found on the sides of any modern dual outlet assembly, hooking up to either pair of connections conveys them to the other pair.

fwiw, when I wire temp controllers I just cut a heavy duty extension cord in half to provide the "goes-into" and "comes-out-of" plug and socket...

Cheers!
 
looks like its working, turned on at least,,,lol. i will plug the fridge in now and keep my fingers crossed.:)
 
Thanks flowmaster..that sure worked....past throught tyler once on my way to san angelo...funny seeing people on here from all over
 
I did a thread search but didn't quite come up with good results on settings to use. What do you think about these:

Freezer (kegorator):
F1: 7.2°C (set point)
F2: 1.0°C (temp swing/range)
F3: 10 (minute delay)
F4: 0 (no need to change)

Fermenter
F1: 20°C
F2: 0.5°C
F3: 5 min
F4: 0

What I've found is that depending on which way you're shooting temps will tend to hover a bit off. So, if you need to warm your fermenter, temps are going to be on the cool side, if anything. OTOH if you're cooling, it will hang on the warm side... reason being that once the controller senses the target temp it stays there. I don't know if this is a good idea, but I've been bumping the set point up/down a couple tenths of a degree to make up for the difference. So, my fermenter is chugging away, keeping things nice and warm, but if my target temp in the carboy is 20.0°C, I may need to set it to 20.3°.

What do you guys think?
 
Freezer (kegorator):
F3: 10 (minute delay)

Fermenter
F3: 5 min
There is no rational reason to have the ASD set to anything other than its max value (10 minutes) for a compressor based system. If you are triggering the ASD during normal operations, there are mitigation options available other than killing your compressor.

What I've found is that depending on which way you're shooting temps will tend to hover a bit off. So, if you need to warm your fermenter, temps are going to be on the cool side, if anything. OTOH if you're cooling, it will hang on the warm side... reason being that once the controller senses the target temp it stays there. I don't know if this is a good idea, but I've been bumping the set point up/down a couple tenths of a degree to make up for the difference. So, my fermenter is chugging away, keeping things nice and warm, but if my target temp in the carboy is 20.0°C, I may need to set it to 20.3°.

What do you guys think?
There are all manner of variables that influence what the average, max, and min temp of the liquid will be. The most important thing is to have the probe mounted appropriately to/in an appropriate vessel, and the diff set to your tolerance. Proper probe placement outweighs any of the other uncontrollable variables affecting liquid temps. To get to the level of variance you seem to be shooting for, you will need some extra probes and DAQ gear to see what is really going on, not just what the controller probe is showing. This will all change based on ambient conditions, so you need to add that to the analysis, and control protocols.

I just tape the probe to the side of a vessel, insulate, set the temp and diff to what I want, and call it good. There is nothing wrong with a little variance when fermenting, as long as it doesn't cause the yeast to freak out. Tight temp control (<1F) may not even be what is best for ferming beer.
 
There is no rational reason to have the ASD set to anything other than its max value (10 minutes) for a compressor based system. If you are triggering the ASD during normal operations, there are mitigation options available other than killing your compressor.


There are all manner of variables that influence what the average, max, and min temp of the liquid will be. The most important thing is to have the probe mounted appropriately to/in an appropriate vessel, and the diff set to your tolerance. Proper probe placement outweighs any of the other uncontrollable variables affecting liquid temps. To get to the level of variance you seem to be shooting for, you will need some extra probes and DAQ gear to see what is really going on, not just what the controller probe is showing. This will all change based on ambient conditions, so you need to add that to the analysis, and control protocols.

I just tape the probe to the side of a vessel, insulate, set the temp and diff to what I want, and call it good. There is nothing wrong with a little variance when fermenting, as long as it doesn't cause the yeast to freak out. Tight temp control (<1F) may not even be what is best for ferming beer.

With the side by side fridge, the cooling is controlled by a fan that blows air over the condenser coils and creates enough positive pressure to blow air through a damper in the side - there's no fridge control of the compressor, as far as I can tell. With the freezer side turned off the fridge can activate the fan all it wants and the compressor won't come on until the freezer warms up too much.

My probe is also taped and insulated to the side of the fermenter. Though I'm interested to see what the actual temps are, I agree that there's not much need beyond what we've done.
 
What I've found is that depending on which way you're shooting temps will tend to hover a bit off. So, if you need to warm your fermenter, temps are going to be on the cool side, if anything. OTOH if you're cooling, it will hang on the warm side... reason being that once the controller senses the target temp it stays there. I don't know if this is a good idea, but I've been bumping the set point up/down a couple tenths of a degree to make up for the difference. So, my fermenter is chugging away, keeping things nice and warm, but if my target temp in the carboy is 20.0°C, I may need to set it to 20.3°.

What do you guys think?

I notice that it cools to SP, then shuts off the compressor, which then lets the temp rise to SP+offset, then kicks on the compressor.

So with a 20* SP and 0.5* offset, you average at 20.25* in the chamber.

If you really want to hold at 20*, you need to set your temp to 19.75 with an offset of 0.5. Or to 19.7 with an offset of 0.6, or 19.8 with an offset of 0.4. You get the idea.:mug:
 
there's no fridge control of the compressor, as far as I can tell. With the freezer side turned off the fridge can activate the fan all it wants and the compressor won't come on until the freezer warms up too much.
I forgot you are using a side/side, and have serving/ferming areas. I assumed your were talking about 2 different appliances. Might be worth mentioning that as a reminder since this isn't the s/s build thread you have going.
 
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