Help with an STC-1000

I have my Keezer wired with an stc-1000 off of ebay and when I power it on it all works fine the temp display reads a temp and the compressor cycles on. It was all going good till the temp started dropping rapidly all the way down to zero like a countdown clock. I opened the lid and touched the temp probe and it read the temp off of my hand and went up. I then put the temp probe in a bucket of water in the freezer and it read that correctly but when I opened the lid just now it started dropping again way past where the temp actually was. Has anyone else had this problem with their temp controller??? I am worried I have a bad lead

Thanks

What temp is your stc 1000 set at and what is the ambient temp of the room

room is at 72 stc-1000 set to 5 degrees Celsius. This morning it is holding right at 5 degrees, I am wondering if it wasn't calibrating or something because my fridge was too hot.

72Chevelle said:

I then put the temp probe in a bucket of water in the freezer and it read that correctly but when I opened the lid just now it started dropping again way past where the temp actually was. Has anyone else had this problem with their temp controller??? I am worried I have a bad lead

Thanks

Click to expand...

I hate to see people put the probes in water. There is nothing that states it is waterproof and if water gets inside it's ruined.

This is why they make thermowells....

Yeah I did it just for testing purposes, I have since taken it and wrapped it in a freezer gel-pack and taped it to the wall.

Yeah I had the same issue. The reason for this is that it turns off at setpoint but since the freezers output is really cold it drops quickly and overshoots. So longer it has to cool down the more is going to overshoot. It should level out after time.

A couple things I learned:

- Make sure you have enough thermal mass (2 gallons of liquid is my 5cu wasn't enough)
- Set your freezers auto temp to the warmest setting
- Lower your threshold amount (f2)

It is an aquarium temp control so it should be waterproof. Plenty of people place it in water. Food safe is another thing. It is made in china, so I wouldn't put it in anything your going to consume.

PorterPete said:

It is an aquarium temp control so it should be waterproof. Plenty of people place it in water. Food safe is another thing. It is made in china, so I wouldn't put it in anything your going to consume.

Click to expand...

It is sold on ebay as an aquarium controller but the manufacturer says it is an all purpose controller. The instructions say "do not use in wet conditions" but I'm sure that means the controller itself.

Is there such a thing as plug and play type STC-1000? I see everyone on here talking about a project box, reprogramming, adding wires and such. I want to spend my time on brewing not electronic projects no matter how simple. An ebay or Amazon link would be appreciated

WVHomeBrewer said:

Is there such a thing as plug and play type STC-1000? I see everyone on here talking about a project box, reprogramming, adding wires and such. I want to spend my time on brewing not electronic projects no matter how simple. An ebay or Amazon link would be appreciated

Click to expand...

Seller right here on HBT has ready to run units, BrewsBySmith.

Monster Mash said:

I hate to see people put the probes in water. There is nothing that states it is waterproof and if water gets inside it's ruined.

This is why they make thermowells....

Click to expand...

Lots of people here on HBT have their probes in liquid without any issues that I recall hearing about. I've had the same probe in glycol for 2 years without any issues. I wouldn't put it in my beer though.

jleiii said:

Seller right here on HBT has ready to run units, BrewsBySmith.

Click to expand...

I ordered a complete fermentation kit

72Chevelle said:

I have my Keezer wired with an stc-1000 off of ebay and when I power it on it all works fine the temp display reads a temp and the compressor cycles on. It was all going good till the temp started dropping rapidly all the way down to zero like a countdown clock. I opened the lid and touched the temp probe and it read the temp off of my hand and went up. I then put the temp probe in a bucket of water in the freezer and it read that correctly but when I opened the lid just now it started dropping again way past where the temp actually was. Has anyone else had this problem with their temp controller??? I am worried I have a bad lead



Thanks

Click to expand...

I had similar issues when I built my keezer/ fermentation side by side. What fixed it for me was:
Placed the temp lead in a water filled test tube installed at top front of chamber. Set the minimum " pause" time to a much higher value. That keeps the system from cycling on an off every few minutes. Set a higher value for threshold temp to turn on and off. I had some big cycle swings until I made those changes and now it's been solid for about a year with no issues.

72Chevelle said:

I have my Keezer wired with an stc-1000 off of ebay and when I power it on it all works fine the temp display reads a temp and the compressor cycles on. It was all going good till the temp started dropping rapidly all the way down to zero like a countdown clock. I opened the lid and touched the temp probe and it read the temp off of my hand and went up. I then put the temp probe in a bucket of water in the freezer and it read that correctly but when I opened the lid just now it started dropping again way past where the temp actually was. Has anyone else had this problem with their temp controller??? I am worried I have a bad lead



Thanks

Click to expand...

I had similar issues when I built my keezer/ fermentation side by side. What fixed it for me was:
Placed the temp lead in a water filled test tube installed at top front of chamber. Set the minimum " pause" time to a much higher value. That keeps the system from cycling on an off every few minutes. Set a higher value for threshold temp to turn on and off. I had some big cycle swings until I made those changes and now it's been solid for about a year with no issues.