ebay aquarium temp controller build

Williams 728
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Stupid question of the day. I see that you had to put your controller together. As I am in no way shaw or form in any way capable of wiring anything, dies the eBay unit come fully assembled? Assuming it does, is this a better choice for a plug and play temp control device than say a Johnson controls model?
 
the ebay unit is just the temperature controller, there's no plug or any box that comes with it, you definitely have to do some wiring with it to have it work like the ones in this thread do. if you want one that comes ready to plug and use, the johnson is definitely a good option.
 
Big shout out to Android for posting the build details. Finished mine and works great.

As far as I can tell saved about 100bones on the retail.

:ban:

Brian
 
I just built one of these almost identical to the original by Android. I used a smaller project box though. Everything fit just fine. Thanks to Android for this awesome idea. Total project cost for me was around $50. Not bad for a two stage digital controller.


Thanks again.
 
i guess i was wondering is 1 degree celius in air temp inside a fridge really going to even affect the fermentation taking place? but if you guys say so, i'll do..
 
perkins98 said:
i guess i was wondering is 1 degree celius in air temp inside a fridge really going to even affect the fermentation taking place? but if you guys say so, i'll do..
Click to expand...

it depends on how you're using the probe within your chamber. if you have it insulated against the side of the carboy/keg, 1 degree could make a difference, so it's best to keep it as consistent as possible. if you're using the air temp within the unit as your control, 1 degree probably won't make that much difference.
 
I believe most ranco controllers are set at ~4 degrees F. I set mine to 2 degrees C. It's close enough.
 
Nice work! Any chance we can get a completed wiring diagram and photo of the guts now that you have the fan wiring all figured out. Very nice indeed!:mug:
 
AlchemyBrewing said:
Nice work! Any chance we can get a completed wiring diagram and photo of the guts now that you have the fan wiring all figured out. Very nice indeed!:mug:
Click to expand...
Yup.

wiring_fermenter_full.gif
 
thekingofspain said:
Group buy?

http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/products/6281404/temperature_controllers_STC-1000.html

$13 each (200 minimum) plus shipping.
Click to expand...

200 minimum buy is a bit much for this group. more importantly though, that model is 220v only. to use it in the USA, you'll need a 220v circuit available.
i doubt you could get more than 20 people in on a group buy like that. they might have the 110v version and sell fewer units. more likely, you can talk the guy on ebay into a volume discount. personally, i've found that trying to get a group of distant people to cooperate on something like this is not worth the hassle.
 
Hey guys, I just received shipment on the 110V version and I'm planning on incorporating it into a build like this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/water-fermentation-chiller-81501/

I already have the two coolers ready to go so I think it'll be a pretty cheap build. Since this plan requires that I take the temperature of the water around the carboy I wanted to see if there was a consensus about how to deal with that. Can I just drop the existing (rubbery looking) probe right in the water? Or do I need to put it in a thermowell of some sort?
 
Walker said:
14 gauge would me more than sufficient. That can handle 15A.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I haven't really done much (any) work wiring electronics since a 7th or 8th grade shop class about 20 years ago - hopefully I'll be able to do this without electrocuting myself.

Can anyone else chime in about my first question?

Since this plan requires that I take the temperature of the water around the carboy I wanted to see if there was a consensus about how to deal with that. Can I just drop the existing (rubbery looking) probe right in the water? Or do I need to put it in a thermowell of some sort?
 
chrispykid said:
Can anyone else chime in about my first question?

Since this plan requires that I take the temperature of the water around the carboy I wanted to see if there was a consensus about how to deal with that. Can I just drop the existing (rubbery looking) probe right in the water? Or do I need to put it in a thermowell of some sort?
Click to expand...

The thing is sold as an aquarium temp controller, so one would think.....

But, then again, as folks in this thread have noted, the seller is going to put terms in the title that draw the attention of people likely to buy a temp controller, so it's hard to say of it's waterproof for sure or not.

If you are concerned, you could always insert it into a long skinny balloon (like the ones clowns twist and tie into shapes) and keep the mouth of the balloon above the surface.
 
ubermick said:
Yup.

wiring_fermenter_full.gif
Click to expand...

I just orderd this temperature controller and am waiting for it to come in. In the meantime I plan on buying everything else that I needed and was having a few problems finding a few items.

1.) I can't for the life of me find any terminal blocks to jumper the 120v over to the three sources needed for this build. Do I have to use a terminal block or would a wire nut work to jumper the 120v to three sources?
2.) Where did you purchase those lamps and do they have to be soldered in?

Thanks for your help.
 
StrmStlkr said:
1.) I can't for the life of me find any terminal blocks to jumper the 120v over to the three sources needed for this build. Do I have to use a terminal block or would a wire nut work to jumper the 120v to three sources?
Click to expand...

Where do you live? Lowe's, Home Depot, and Radio Shack all carry those items. You can also get them on e-bay.

Wire nuts would also work, but if you find a place that sells wire-nuts, the terminal strips are probably only a few feet away in the aisle.
 
I live by all of those places but the lowes sales associate looked at me like I was crazy and I didn't really see any by the wire nuts but didn't look really close. Radio shack had some but he told me that he wouldn't use it for 120v application as it was meant for low voltage use. As you can tell, this is my first attempt at anything like this. I will have to look closer or just use wire nuts since I already have them. I was just trying to make it look cleaner.
 
At lowe's they are in the same aisle where all of the wire nuts and electrical tools are. In the two Lowe's and one Home Depot that I frequent, they were hanging high on the wall and look like this:

eurostrip.jpg
 
ubermick said:
Yup.

wiring_fermenter_full.gif
Click to expand...

I got my two controllers this week, very quick shipment!
I don't understand how this relay is working. I think it is activated by power to either of the two relay connections #1 or #3. This energizes the relay and powers the fan. I take it that this relay will be energized by either input without back feeding to the other, right? What is the part number or radio shack number of this relay so I can find a pinout and specs? Is it SS or mechanical? I can't find one 10 amp mechanical relay there. Nothing bigger, SS or mechanical.
BTW, plain old wirenuts should work fine.
If you want to be extra safe, I would also suggest putting a 15 amp inline fuse if you use #14 gauge wire. You could theoretically overheat the wire if supply is from a 20 amp breaker.
 
I finally got around to building this controller out using the plans Android provided and the help of an electrician friend. It's all wired up and working great as I tested it out with some lamps. Big thanks out to Android for starting the thread and puttting together the wiring diagram and to Walker for stepping up and answering my questions.

Next step is to install the pump/plumbing and an aquarium heater to complete my liquid fermentation bath. With ambient temperatures regularly up in the 80s this will be key in turning out consistent beers.
 
is it just me, or are the instructions that come with these controllers vague and incorrect? i tried following the instructions to set the temp and it didn't seem to respond as it was supposed to. only when i started randomly punching the buttons did i finally get it set. i hope i can remember what i did next time!
has anyone written a better set of instructions?
 
sharpstick said:
is it just me, or are the instructions that come with these controllers vague and incorrect? i tried following the instructions to set the temp and it didn't seem to respond as it was supposed to. only when i started randomly punching the buttons did i finally get it set. i hope i can remember what i did next time!
has anyone written a better set of instructions?
Click to expand...

Seemed to work OK for me.
 
yeah, they worked fine for me too... is there one setpoint you're having difficulties with?
 
Sharpstick, If you haven't used or built one of these things before the instructions suck - mostly because they never define terms. For others who have used similar devices it probably seems very familiar, but as someone who has never used one before I also found it confusing. They're weirdly written, but they're not incorrect.

Once you figure it out it's exceedingly simple to use.

Here's how I make sense of it:

There are four things you can change:

F1 Temperature Set Value - This is your target, the temperature you'd like the controller to retain, it can range from -50C to 99C, it defaults at 10C
F2 Difference set value - This is how much wiggle room you'll allow before you want the controller to start heating or cooling your environment, it can range from .3C to 10C, it defaults at .5C
F3 Compressor delay - This is how much time you'll force the controller to delay in between cooling cycles to protect against it wearing out your refrigerator or freezer's compressor. If you turn a refrigerator off and on every 15 seconds you run the risk of killing it. This setting protects against that. The setting can range from 1-10 minutes, it defaults at 3 minutes
F4 Temperature Calibration Value - If you think the controller is wrong about the current temperature (presumably because you have another thermometer that you trust that's giving you a different reading) you can make corrections to the controller's measurements to calibrate it. Corrections can range from -10C to plus 10C, defaults at 0C

The default display is the current temperature that the probe is reading.
If the heat light is on it's heating the environment
If the cooling light is on it's cooling the environment
If the cooling light is blinking it's waiting out the compressor delay before cooling

You can press the "S" button to cycle through and select the setting you want to change. When you get to the setting you'd like to manipulate you can hold down the "S" button and the up or down key simultaneously to change that setting. When you reach your desired number release the two buttons and press the power button to save your change. If you don't press the power button within ten seconds your change will be lost and you'll have to start over. So make sure you save each setting after you set it, you can't set all four and save once.

Capice?
 
The details of the relay, as well as all the parts I used (and where I got 'em) are in my build thread here.
sharpstick said:
I got my two controllers this week, very quick shipment!
I don't understand how this relay is working. I think it is activated by power to either of the two relay connections #1 or #3. This energizes the relay and powers the fan. I take it that this relay will be energized by either input without back feeding to the other, right? What is the part number or radio shack number of this relay so I can find a pinout and specs?
Click to expand...
This is the relay in question from Radioshack.

Basically, it's a DPDT switch that's activated by a current instead of a toggle.

Pins 7 and 8 are a magnetic coil. When power's supplied to the coil, it flips the switch. It's normally on position is pin 1. So power comes in from either heating or cooling, and flows to pin 2, which is the switched output - the fan. Which means (in my diagram) whenever power is flowing to the cooling side, it's also flowing to the fan. When the control box switches to heating mode, it provides power to the coil and also pin 3. The coil will cause the internal switch to flip from pin 1 to pin 3, thereby still providing power to the fan.
 

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