Ranco 2 stage controller settings?

Is my thinking correct. I have a 2 stage controller. Freezer is in hot garage so I don't need heating device. Would I set the first stage to cooling 65 with a 2 diff. Then set second stage to cooling 62 with a 2 diff? If I wanted to ferment at 65. Is that too tight of a range. Thanks for help. I know this is a silly question. I just wanna make it right so I can use it for the first time tomorrow.

Most 2 stage controllers have two outlets. Since your only 'cooling' you only need to use one. 65 with a 2 diff is fine. Don't worry about the other one until winter time when you'll have to DIY an ambient heat source for your freezer. During the spring/fall you might need both. It's cold in the morning but warm during the day......

Thanks. I did that and came out this am and the temp said 62. Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong but should it go down to 62 when set at 65 cooling and a 2 diff. I'll give a call to the more beer guys. Thanks for the insight.

ebaynote said:

Thanks. I did that and came out this am and the temp said 62. Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong but should it go down to 62 when set at 65 cooling and a 2 diff. I'll give a call to the more beer guys. Thanks for the insight.

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No, I have the same controller and use a 2 degree difference, set at 45 degrees. Ninety percent of the time it reads 45, but I've never seen it vary more than the 2 degrees. I would not be too concerned, however, as there could be a slight lag giving you that extra degree.

ebaynote said:

Thanks. I did that and came out this am and the temp said 62. Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong but should it go down to 62 when set at 65 cooling and a 2 diff. I'll give a call to the more beer guys. Thanks for the insight.

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If you set the cooling to 65 with a 2 diff. It will turn the freezer ON when the temp sensor gets above 67. It will turn the freezer OFF when the temp gets below 65. That's all.

So if the temp is reading 62 then the freezer should be OFF. If it's still ON then you have it set on a heat cycle. It's all in the directions from Ranco.

The second output should be used with a heating element when the weather is colder. I use both outputs year round but my fridge is in a cool basement.

Yeah I have it set for cooling 65 with a two degree diff. The freezer was off when it read 62 but I don't understand how it can get to 62. Isn't that the whole pt of the controller to keep it in a tight range?

It is overshooting. Keep in mind that just because the compressor stops it does not immediately evacuate all the cold air in the box. You might want to change the differential. Search around HBT because some posters have discussed this with the Ranco, which I don't own.

Tape the probe to the fermenter & set the diff to 1 degree and see what happens. You may even want to insulate the probe from the air with some Styrofoam.

I'll try the one degree diff. My only concern there is that it will wear the compressor. I've got the probe covered with bubble wrap then tapped to outside of carboy. Thanks for the continued advice.

ebaynote said:

I'll try the one degree diff. My only concern there is that it will wear the compressor. I've got the probe covered with bubble wrap then tapped to outside of carboy. Thanks for the continued advice.

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Make sure to set the Anti Short Cycle Delay to the maximum setting, that prevents the compressor from coming on again too soon.

I've got one of these and it sounds like...could it be missed wired? If you have it set the way you described, it should never hit 62. I'd suggest you re-read the instructions for setting the temps. You could change the second parameter to H for heating to check. Or, maybe set the second temp to 55, if it goes to 55, something is mis-wired.

Because of my tendencies to mess things up I bought the wired one from more beer. So who knows I'll keep monitoring.

It could go to 62. Especially in a chest freezer where the walls get cold and it doesn't blow cold air like a frost free fridge.

If you set it to 65 and the freezer is at 90F. It's gonna run for a while until the sensor reaches 65. Then it shuts off but the freezer elements are not 65. They are below freezing so they continue to cool the air even after the freezer is off. Eventually it will all equalize but a freezer can easily over shoot the temp. This is why a fridge that blows cold air works better.

So it has pretty much stayed in range for the last week. I have it set for 66 with 2 diff. The freezer comes on about ever two hours cools it to 65 then it basically floats it's way back to 68 gradually and then repeats. I'm going to try the one degree differential and see how often the freezer gets turned on. Thanks again for the help.

We did a little video on how to program this unit (http://morebeer.com/view_product/16664//Ranco_Digital_Two-Stage_Temperature_Controller_-_Wired). It sounds like you have it programmed perfectly.

I'll have to check out the video later as it doesn't show up at work. I use a small fridge and heating pad combo with a Ranco two-stage and find it's best to play with the settings.

I used to have the heating and cooling both set to a one degree differential, but found that the fridge might come on and cool the wort down, but it was possible to overshoot by a degree and then the heater would come on and then it could overshoot by a degree kicking on the refrigerator. Rather than have them compete with each other, I now set the cooling side at one degree differential and the heating at two degrees. This seems to keep the heating pad from warming up too often, if at all.