ebay aquarium temp controller build

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thanks for the help the hot side need to be cut. Thanks for all the help. The temp controller will come in handy brewing my first lager.
 
grubb said:
what tab needs to be removed
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This one-
Prepare-the-110V-outlet.jpg


With the tab in place, the hot sides of both the top and bottom outlet are connected. The tab may look different depending on the brand of outlet, but should be obvious and can easily be broken off with pliers or a small screwdriver.
 
EricT said:
Thats who I bought mine from, he is shipping from Hong Kong but I still got mine within 2 weeks and it was the correct voltage.
Click to expand...

Got mine from him as well. Took about 2 weeks
 
Yeah, I ordered mine yesterday. Can't wait till it gets here - no more moving carboys up and down the stairs from the basement. Woohoo!
 
I need just a quick bit of help here... I'm going to get one of these aquarium controllers for my keezer project and I have a few questions:

1. My own searching on eBay found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250810937792#ht_3835wt_938 and some comments in this thread gave me this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190490199253#ht_4602wt_941

Now, they both look like the same thing, and one is $2 cheaper BUT the pricier one specifically indicates the model number to be what everyone is using. Can anyone confirm that the cheaper one is still shipping as the STC-1000 as of today?

2) Can I mount this in the collar of my keezer, such that it is basically in the freezer itself? The temperature is within the stated operation range, and it will have some insulation sound it trapping some of the heat it makes, so it will probably be a little warmer than the rest of the keezer.

3) Given that this is designed for an aquarium, I assume the probe is water proof. Can I put the probe through the lid of a 1L bottle filled with water (and sealed up around the wire/hole) to get a fairly accurate read of what the liquid temp inside the kegs would be?

Thanks for your help!
 
1) They are the same.

2) Yes you can, some people have done it. Keep in mind that a 1L vessel has a lower thermal mass than a 19L keg (5gal), and it will the keezer will start more often because of that. But it's not an issue, really. All things being equal, the inside temperature of the keezer will try to equalize.

M_C

mrgreen4242 said:
I need just a quick bit of help here... I'm going to get one of these aquarium controllers for my keezer project and I have a few questions:

1. My own searching on eBay found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250810937792#ht_3835wt_938 and some comments in this thread gave me this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190490199253#ht_4602wt_941

Now, they both look like the same thing, and one is $2 cheaper BUT the pricier one specifically indicates the model number to be what everyone is using. Can anyone confirm that the cheaper one is still shipping as the STC-1000 as of today?

2) Can I mount this in the collar of my keezer, such that it is basically in the freezer itself? The temperature is within the stated operation range, and it will have some insulation sound it trapping some of the heat it makes, so it will probably be a little warmer than the rest of the keezer.

3) Given that this is designed for an aquarium, I assume the probe is water proof. Can I put the probe through the lid of a 1L bottle filled with water (and sealed up around the wire/hole) to get a fairly accurate read of what the liquid temp inside the kegs would be?

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
 
Misplaced_Canuck said:
1) They are the same.

2) Yes you can, some people have done it. Keep in mind that a 1L vessel has a lower thermal mass than a 19L keg (5gal), and it will the keezer will start more often because of that. But it's not an issue, really. All things being equal, the inside temperature of the keezer will try to equalize.

M_C
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
I have read this thing all the way through and didnt see anything about this so Im going to throw it out there. I have built 2 of these and both seem to not want to go below 20c. I know on my love controllers have a setting for temps above this degree and a temps below that degree , but didnt see it on these. Is anybody else have this issue
Thanks for the help
 
attitude said:
I have read this thing all the way through and didnt see anything about this so Im going to throw it out there. I have built 2 of these and both seem to not want to go below 20c. I know on my love controllers have a setting for temps above this degree and a temps below that degree , but didnt see it on these. Is anybody else have this issue
Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

You mean you can't set them for anything below 20c? Or you can't cool your chamber below 20c?

My fermentation chamber is currently at 1.7c, if you got the right controller (stc-1000), they are definitely able to cool well below 20.
 
A dorm fridge With a styrofoam box. its usually my fermenter but for right now its my beer cellar. It works just fine with my old Johnson analog controller so i know my set up will get down to that temp. I even plugged the 2nd controller I built in and it does the same thing.
 
JuanMoore said:
Looks like maybe the 220V version, but it doesn't really specify. Guess you'll find out soon.
Click to expand...

it is the 220v version, it says the relays are rated for a max of 10A at 220V in the item description.

hopefully the seller will recognize that it's being shipped to the US, and send the 110V version instead.
 
o4_srt said:
it is the 220v version, it says the relays are rated for a max of 10A at 220V in the item description.

hopefully the seller will recognize that it's being shipped to the US, and send the 110V version instead.
Click to expand...

wouldn't count on it. I made the mistake of purchasing the same one. Realizing shortly after that it was 220v i emailed the seller. His response was this was the only version they had followed right after by the shipping notification.
 
Ordered mine last week from the uni mart dude, Its supposed to take a couple weeks. Im going to put two outlets in so i can run a fan with the switch.
 
Yeah... I also bought the 220VAC unit from metapark on eBay. I guess that comes under the heading of too good to be true.

Is there anything I can do with this one? I'm a computer geek, not an electronics geek so I have no idea what makes the two different.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
It was designed to run under a 220 current (think your dryer) Its what a majority of the world uses. Other than running it off the dryer circuit Im not sure what else you can do. But that might mean the output is 220 as well. Im not an expert on this.
Others will chime in but I would just get the other one.
 
It means that the internal circuitry of the controller is powered by 220V current. The relays that the controller switches (the things that supply power to the fridge, ac unit, heater, etc.) can supply either 110V or 220V power, depending on what they are wired for. If you could find a transformer to supply 220V power, the controller would work, or if you want to take the controller apart and hook up whatever DC voltage the 220V is being converted to, that would also work.
 
jar1087 said:
It means that the internal circuitry of the controller is powered by 220V current. The relays that the controller switches (the things that supply power to the fridge, ac unit, heater, etc.) can supply either 110V or 220V power, depending on what they are wired for. If you could find a transformer to supply 220V power, the controller would work, or if you want to take the controller apart and hook up whatever DC voltage the 220V is being converted to, that would also work.
Click to expand...

Its the other way around actually. I just wired it up to a 110v circuit it powers up but the relays dont work. It is designed for power over seas. Alot of countries over there use a 220 hot line, neutral, and ground. It looks like it only uses a tiny bit of voltage to power it up but it needs 220v on the one line to operate the relays. In the US the only way to get 220v is through 2 hot wires instead of a hot wire and neutral wire. They do make a converter that you plug into 2 outlets but it cost $100 plus. I ordered another controller that is 110v as it was alot cheaper then getting the converter to work this paperweight i have now.
 
I just meant that the relays, when properly closed, would be able to transmit 110V power, not that the controller would necessarily be able to close them.

Based on what you said, it sounds like the rectifier which powers the digital circuits can work with 110V but the relays need 220V power to properly close.
 
I ordered a couple from that guy too. I have a 110 and it works great so i figured i'd get a couple more cheap, bad idea. Basically i'm SOL unless i can get them sent back?
 
jar1087 said:
I just meant that the relays, when properly closed, would be able to transmit 110V power, not that the controller would necessarily be able to close them.

Based on what you said, it sounds like the rectifier which powers the digital circuits can work with 110V but the relays need 220V power to properly close.
Click to expand...

+1

A lot of appliance transformers are able to rectify 110 or 220 to a set dc voltage. The circuitry of the controller works on the rectified dc voltage, but the relays operate on the 110 or 220 Vac inputs

I wonder if it would be possible to swap the 220 Vac relays with 110 relays from mouser or digikey. Of course, if you're not familiar with electronics, it wouldn't be an easy task.
 
o4_srt said:
I wonder if it would be possible to swap the 220 Vac relays with 110 relays from mouser or digikey. Of course, if you're not familiar with electronics, it wouldn't be an easy task.
Click to expand...

Probably, but at that point it would be about the same cost to just order another controller... ;-)
 
jar1087 said:
Probably, but at that point it would be about the same cost to just order another controller... ;-)
Click to expand...

The relays might be rather cheap, when my next one comes in, I'll open it up and see how much they are.
 
Actually those controllers can switch 1V to 220V without a problem, both AC and DC. It's just a switch, just like when you turn on the lights.

The feed for the controller is more important as it's what runs the "brains" and throws the switch. If rated for 110V, you need to run 110V, etc. What you switch is up to you.

Of course there's an amp/wattage limit on what those things can switch.

M_C
jar1087 said:
It means that the internal circuitry of the controller is powered by 220V current. The relays that the controller switches (the things that supply power to the fridge, ac unit, heater, etc.) can supply either 110V or 220V power, depending on what they are wired for. If you could find a transformer to supply 220V power, the controller would work, or if you want to take the controller apart and hook up whatever DC voltage the 220V is being converted to, that would also work.
Click to expand...
 
Misplaced_Canuck said:
Actually those controllers can switch 1V to 220V without a problem, both AC and DC. It's just a switch, just like when you turn on the lights.
Click to expand...

I think they are talking about the coil voltage. Which I would find hard to believe it's not some low DC voltage controlling them...probably 12 or 5 VDC.
 
OK, so just for grins I wired up the 220VAC unit - I can't use it, so I don't care if it cooks - as long as I don't cook with it or fry the toaster I intend to plug into it.

So far it appears to work. I'm getting good temperature readings, 23C (73F) in my upstairs office, and 5C (41F) in the kitchen fridge. I was able to set the parameters, and it wants to start cooling, but I have yet to plug anything into the cooling outlet. We'll see what happens.
 
eknee said:
OK, so just for grins I wired up the 220VAC unit - I can't use it, so I don't care if it cooks - as long as I don't cook with it or fry the toaster I intend to plug into it.

So far it appears to work. I'm getting good temperature readings, 23C (73F) in my upstairs office, and 5C (41F) in the kitchen fridge. I was able to set the parameters, and it wants to start cooling, but I have yet to plug anything into the cooling outlet. We'll see what happens.
Click to expand...

You just wired 110v to the power to test the probe? I did the same the problem I found is with only 110v running through the relays they dont seem to open. I even tested the voltage with a volt meter right at the post.
 
Chrisl77 said:
You just wired 110v to the power to test the probe? I did the same the problem I found is with only 110v running through the relays they dont seem to open. I even tested the voltage with a volt meter right at the post.
Click to expand...

tested what voltage? The relays are just switches and supply no voltage or current.
and these relays don't need power to open, they only need power to close.
 
The load side will be hot when the switch is closed. So if the unit is in cooling or heating mode, the appfropriate post will have voltage
 

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