Problems with A419 Johnson fridge controller.

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agroff383

agroff383

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Hey all, just wondering what I am doing wrong here. I set the fridge temp I want, go into SP set point, and put it at 40 for starters. Then it sits all night and this AM it is 54? WTF? I have the stat in the fridge in the middle, at 5 on a scale of 1-9 9 being the coldest. i followed the directions that came with the stat. just wondering what the cut in and cut out means and if i have to change anything with that? it basically is doing the opposite of what i want it to do. i then set it to 60 to get ready for my pacman stout im brewing right now, and the freakin fridge cycles on! and it was at 54? why did it run when i turned the temp up?
 
agroff383 said:
Hey all, just wondering what I am doing wrong here. I set the fridge temp I want, go into SP set point, and put it at 40 for starters. Then it sits all night and this AM it is 54? WTF? I have the stat in the fridge in the middle, at 5 on a scale of 1-9 9 being the coldest. i followed the directions that came with the stat. just wondering what the cut in and cut out means and if i have to change anything with that? it basically is doing the opposite of what i want it to do. i then set it to 60 to get ready for my pacman stout im brewing right now, and the freakin fridge cycles on! and it was at 54? why did it run when i turned the temp up?
Click to expand...

Anybody have any clue whats up with this? I took it apart to check that the jumper pins were in the right spot and they are.
 
Just to clarify this is an upright refirgerator freezer combo i have the sensor in the fridge. i guess it needs to be in the freezer? according to some reading that is the case. man i am confused with this i thought it would be plug n play.
 
agroff383 said:
Just to clarify this is an upright refirgerator freezer combo i have the sensor in the fridge. i guess it needs to be in the freezer? according to some reading that is the case. man i am confused with this i thought it would be plug n play. which that doesnt make any sense since my beer is in the refrigerator part, not the freezer.
Click to expand...
a
 
Set your fridge as cold as it can go. To me it sounds like your fridge is controlling the temperature, not your Johnson control. What your Johnson does is allow power through to the fridge, but the fridge cannot go colder than its own thermostat will let it.

Turn your fridge down all the way then your Johnson is controlling the temp. I bet you'll be fine if you do this.
 
osagedr said:
Set your fridge as cold as it can go. To me it sounds like your fridge is controlling the temperature, not your Johnson control. What your Johnson does is allow power through to the fridge, but the fridge cannot go colder than its own thermostat will let it.

Turn your fridge down all the way then your Johnson is controlling the temp. I bet you'll be fine if you do this.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I did that yesterday and let it alone. Right now the fridge is at 36 with the freezer and fridge all the way down. I think my thermostat is no good, should have bought local but it was cheaper on eBay...:(
 
yeah, your fridge stat is getting in the way.

the lowest your fridge stat will let the fridge get to is mid 30's, like you're seeing. So while the JCI unit is letting the fridge have power, the fridge stat isn't letting the compressor turn on.

that's why many people use freezers, the on-board stat doesn't get in the way because freezers are meant to get to sub-zero temps.

you have an upright fridge/freezer? like, a regular kitchen fridgerator? you should put the sensor in the area you want to control
 
motobrewer said:
yeah, your fridge stat is getting in the way.

the lowest your fridge stat will let the fridge get to is mid 30's, like you're seeing. So while the JCI unit is letting the fridge have power, the fridge stat isn't letting the compressor turn on.

that's why many people use freezers, the on-board stat doesn't get in the way because freezers are meant to get to sub-zero temps.

you have an upright fridge/freezer? like, a regular kitchen fridgerator? you should put the sensor in the area you want to control
Click to expand...

I have the sensor bulb in the fridge part, it is an upright fridge/freezer combo.

I saw a few people removing the stat and just tying the wires together and let the controller do the work...is that advised?
 
motobrewer said:
the unit is in cooling mode, correct?
Click to expand...

Yes i did pull the cover and check if it was in cooling mode, it was. the other option i dont understand is cut in or cut out, i can change it from one to the other. the directions dont tell me what that means, i am not familiar with the term. also i am trying to keep the fridge warmer than it could ever get, like 55-60. for lagers and pacman yeast mostly.
 
agroff383 said:
Yes i did pull the cover and check if it was in cooling mode, it was. the other option i dont understand is cut in or cut out, i can change it from one to the other. the directions dont tell me what that means, i am not familiar with the term. also i am trying to keep the fridge warmer than it could ever get, like 55-60. for lagers and pacman yeast mostly.
Click to expand...

With jumper #2 "off" the relay energizes at the setpoint and deenergizes at at a temp below the set-point, determined by the Differential.

Eg. Setpoint 50, Diff. 5

Relay energizes at 50 and turns off at 45.

With jumper #2 "on" the relay energizes at a temp above the setpoint and deenergizes at setpoint.

Eg. Setpoint 50, diff 5.

Relay energizes at 55 and turns off at 50.


You can run it in either Cut in or cut out mode. I would set the Diff. to 1, 2 or 3 degrees. If you have a large diff. you will have a large temp swing.
 
yeah, short diff is best. with a modern fridge it won't cycle much to worry about. cut in/cut out is as bumbler explained, both are still cooling.

if you had your setpoint at 60 and the temp was at 54 and it energized, that would be heating mode.

"you're also trying to keep the fridge warmer than it'll ever get?"

that doesn't make much sense. the A419 will keep power off the fridge until the setpoint is satisfied. so, set the setpoint to 200F and the fridge will never receive power.

take some pics of your setup.
 
Thanks for everyone's help on this thread, thought I would get on here and let whoever cares know that the controller was no good. I returned it to the seller and they sent me a new one, and it works great. Set my set point to 45 just to try it out, and had the swing at 2 degrees, turns on at 47 and off at 45....cant wait to make my first lager!
 

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