Johnson Controls Refrigerator Thermostat question

just got mine in the mail friday, unplugged my freezer, plugged it into the controler and plugged that into the wall. oh i've also leveled it and everything before.

so the freezer started right up, i have the freezer set to the coldest position per Johnson's thermostat manual. went down stairs a while ago and the freezer isn't on anymore. the light on the freezer is always on if its running or not. so i unplug it from the contoler and just plug the freezer in and its working that way, but wont work with the controler in it.

am i just doing something really wrong here that i'm just not seeing haha. for reference this is the one i got http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/johnson-controller.jpg

Be sure to turn down the standard freezer control to the lowest it will go.. then set your Johnson control to what temp you want. Also - I know this sounds obvious - put the sensor in the freezer.

The freezer will then cycle on an off as necessary.

JVD_X said:

Be sure to turn down the standard freezer control to the lowest it will go.. then set your Johnson control to what temp you want. Also - I know this sounds obvious - put the sensor in the freezer.

The freezer will then cycle on an off as necessary.

Click to expand...

i did turn the freezer down, and put the sensor in the freezer haha. no, the freezer itself will not work when using it. there is an orange indicator light, it stays on ALL the time, if the freezer compressor is working or not.

JVD_X said:

Be sure to turn down the standard freezer control to the lowest it will go..

Click to expand...

Make sure by lowest you are going to lowest temperature which on my freezer would be the highest number (7). Never made this mistake with cooling but did slip up with a duh moment on the BBQ because they feel that international symbols are easier to read then numbers.

i have a whirlpool and i have it set on the lowest setting (also 7).

i dont think anyone is getting it when i say the freezer isn't working when plugged into the controler, the light on the freezer stays on ALL the time, if the compressor is working or not. its not staying on anymore when plugged into the controler.l

Are you hitting the desired temp? Are you saying the light used to be on all the time and now it isn't? The light will not be on anymore unless the controller is turning the whole unit on to drop the temp.

Evan said:

i have a whirlpool and i have it set on the lowest setting (also 7).

i dont think anyone is getting it when i say the freezer isn't working when plugged into the controler, the light on the freezer stays on ALL the time, if the compressor is working or not. its not staying on anymore when plugged into the controler.l

Click to expand...

It's not supposed to stay on. The controller puts power to the plug based on whether or not the temperature of the probe is above or below the set temp (power on when it's above the set temp and power off when it's below the set temp). If the temperature is below your thermostat setting, ALL lights on your freezer will be turned off. You no longer have constant power going to your freezer.

I tested my Ranco with a lamp and my kitchen sink. Stick the probe in hot water and watch the light bulb come on. Stick it in cold water and it will go off.

Coy-Boy said:

Are you hitting the desired temp? Are you saying the light used to be on all the time and now it isn't? The light will not be on anymore unless the controller is turning the whole unit on to drop the temp.

Click to expand...

OH MY GOD I'M DUMB. yeah your right, i'm not with it i guess, sorry everyone. i bet your right...****...i just sent an email to northernbrewer asking if they knew what would be up...so not only do i look stupid here, i look stupid there as well. sweet. haha. ok i'm sure it was hitting the temp, it was cold in there.

so i drank way to much last night i guess.

No problem, sometimes it takes an extra set of "eyes" to figure things out!

JVD_X said:

Be sure to turn down the standard freezer control to the lowest it will go.. then set your Johnson control to what temp you want. .

Click to expand...

I've seen this posted a lot to set the freezer on the coldest setting, but I was just curious as to what the logic is behind this? It seems like it might run less, but it will be working harder on the compressor, won't it?

zythe84 said:

I've seen this posted a lot to set the freezer on the coldest setting, but I was just curious as to what the logic is behind this? It seems like it might run less, but it will be working harder on the compressor, won't it?

Click to expand...

You want to make sure that the freezer thermostat doesn't turn the freezer off, by setting it to the coldest temp you asure that the temp controler is the one regulating the temprature.

Arkador said:

You want to make sure that the freezer thermostat doesn't turn the freezer off, by setting it to the coldest temp you asure that the temp controler is the one regulating the temprature.

Click to expand...

Right. But won't that not let the compressor...decompress? Full cycle?

DrawTap88 said:

Right. But won't that not let the compressor...decompress? Full cycle?

Click to expand...

huh?

a compressor is just a pump. its either on or off.

motobrewer said:

huh?

a compressor is just a pump. its either on or off.

Click to expand...

Are you sure? (I'm sure you have more experience in this area than I do, but have to ask.) I thought I read somewhere on these boards that if it didn't run a full cycle it screws up the compressor.