Temp Control Solution Needed

I am going to be purchasing the Johnson Controls A419 temp controller for my spare refrigerator in my garage. In the summer it will be easy to control the temp because I just have to plug the fridge into it. But in the winter, I want to switch to the heat mode and heat the inside of the fridge. I assume that a heating pad of some kind would work well for this, but most of what I have been seeing are heating wraps/belts for the outsides of pails/carboys. Is there a better way? Should I be staying away from something that is in direct contact with my fermentor and just worry about controlling the temperature withing the space the fermentor is in? Any equipment suggestions?

I use a terrarium heating pad from PetSmart. It works fine for me.

And this isn;t a huge factor but, you might consider getting the Ranco Single stage instead. At the least you won;t have to open the controller to switch over to heating mode as you would with the Johnson. If you don't mind wiring it you can get the ETC-11000000000000000000 for cheap off the bay.

I have used a 100 watt light bulb to keep fridge at temp.
If you are fermenting in clear glass, put light in coffee can.
r

I use the same controller and just use some cheap heating pads from a discount store and use bunngy cords to hold it on. I place the probe under one of the bunggy cords on the opposite side of the carboy than the heating pad is. Works great for me.

Mike

I just tried to switch my Johnson Controls over to heat. Hooked it up to a heating pad. Once I managed to get the top off, I found a switch that I moved from "minimum" to "maximum". Unfortunately, it isn't working. I've moved the temp all over the board just to see if I could get it to click on... nothing.
Anything I am missing here?

Switching to heating is easy. Just moving a jumper or two. I explained it in Bouza's thread. I'd recommend going to a drugstore and buying a $20 heating pad. Cheap, replaceable and very gentle and gradual heat for your freezer. I'd recommend against any real efficient heaters. The temperature spikes when they cycle on make me nervous.

Gordie

I ended up using a reptile teraruim cermaic heating bulb, 150W and a 120V cooling fan. It's pretty cool. I have it set up so that they turn on an off simultaneously. It works great. Here are some pics.