ebay aquarium temp controller build

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So I'm trying to wire my controller up, and ran into a snag. How do you determine the polarity on a 3 prong power cable? In the picture, the wires are oriented the same way as the plug. White = bottom left prong, Green = bottom right prong, Black = top, round prong.

photo1.jpg


Does polarity even matter? :drunk:

Second issue... Did I buy the wrong plug according to this picture? There is a metal plate which is essentially connecting the two screws.

photo-2.jpg
 
I just LOL'd a little, sorry. Green is ground, Hot wire is black, Neutral is white.

That plug is fine, just break that little metal piece in the middle off with a pair of needle nose.
 
wyzazz said:
I just LOL'd a little, sorry. Green is ground, Hot wire is black, Neutral is white.

That plug is fine, just break that little metal piece in the middle off with a pair of needle nose.
Click to expand...

Yah, I'm a complete newb when it comes to electrical stuff.. :cross: Thx for the help!


The display works, and knows when to switch, but when it says cooling, it won't turn on the fridge, and when says heating, it won't heat. Any ideas why? -_-
 
Seriously....be careful! Don't energize anything until you're REALLY sure you've got it right. Have a savvy friend check it out. :mug:
 
How long have you had it plugged in? What's the compressor delay set at? What's your variance set at & what's the current temp?
 
I'd recommend for testing purposes that you just hook up 2 light bulbs to the heating and cooling plugs. This way if you miff something up you don't destroy your ferm chamber.
 
Finished up my recreation of this build last night. Tested on a cell phone charger today. Ready to plug in a refridgerator for my brew this weekend! Thanks for posting this build. It was fun.

P1040715.jpg
 
jmoore said:
Finished up my recreation of this build last night. Tested on a cell phone charger today. Ready to plug in a refridgerator for my brew this weekend! Thanks for posting this build. It was fun.
Click to expand...


I went with the black outlet too... :rockin:
 
I got mine and it died after 1 day with the "EE" code. I contacted the ebay seller and he told me to test the circuits and that it was likely a probe problem. So I tested it and it seems like that is the problem.
I emailed him back three times since with no reply. I'm not sure if they are replacing it of if they are blowing me off. I kinda feel like they are blowing me off since it only takes 30 seconds to write back. Does anyone know where I can buy a cheap compatible replacement?
 
Just saying thanks! Started and finished my build last night. Its not the prettiest build in the world, but works like a charm. I've been testing it on my phone charger for now and still need to program to get everything as I want it. Thanks!
 
Rad-Rabbit said:
I got mine and it died after 1 day with the "EE" code. I contacted the ebay seller and he told me to test the circuits and that it was likely a probe problem. So I tested it and it seems like that is the problem.
I emailed him back three times since with no reply. I'm not sure if they are replacing it of if they are blowing me off. I kinda feel like they are blowing me off since it only takes 30 seconds to write back. Does anyone know where I can buy a cheap compatible replacement?
Click to expand...


maybe someone else can back this up, but i THINK it's a simple thermistor. you could pull one off a spare thermostat or buy one super cheap from radioshack or online somewhere. just solder it up and see if it works on your unit. and i think people have had good luck with the seller, maybe he's away for a few days or something, I bet he'll get back with you.
 
carl_g said:
Are there any advantages with this unit compared to a Johnson A419 for a fermentation cabinet?
Click to expand...

Price, $30 vs up to $80.

Not to mention the ability to heat as well as cool, will make the transition cheap when my kegerator becomes a fermentation chiller once the keezer comes along.
 
carl_g said:
Are there any advantages with this unit compared to a Johnson A419 for a fermentation cabinet?
Click to expand...

For me it was in this order

Price + Cool Factor + Satisfaction of DIY

I was pretty damned proud of myself for not
1) electrocuting my gf
2) electrocuting myself
3) starting a fire
4) breaking stuff

Disclaimer on item 1 above - I made my gf plug in the unit and test it because I wasn't sure of my ghetto fab wiring...
 
TriangleIL said:
For me it was in this order

Price + Cool Factor + Satisfaction of DIY

I was pretty damned proud of myself for not
1) electrocuting my gf
2) electrocuting myself
3) starting a fire
4) breaking stuff

Disclaimer on item 1 above - I made my gf plug in the unit and test it because I wasn't sure of my ghetto fab wiring...
Click to expand...

It's only 110v... Sissy! :drunk:
 
jmoore said:
Finished up my recreation of this build last night. Tested on a cell phone charger today. Ready to plug in a refridgerator for my brew this weekend! Thanks for posting this build. It was fun.

P1040715.jpg
Click to expand...

That's really nice :mug: What size box did you end up going with?
 
+1 - i went to buy a project box today and i think the one they had was too small. I think i need the biggest one they sell. Here is the one i am trying to get: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062285

Here is the one that i saw when i was there. - http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062284

Can you remove the decorative panel on one that has been made already? Would like to see how tight it is on yours. I have a box for new work (the ones where the tabs flip out when as screw the screws in)
 
well that is interesting... looks like there is no need for a box at all.. just screw the outlet right into the project box.

Damn... should i have just picked up the box i saw (7x5x3)? or should i get the 8x6x3?
 
I used the 7x5x3 box. It was a semi tight fit, but definitely do able. I think it was a tighter fit primarily because I used crappy wire (cut from my extension cord) which was not very flexible. If you use standard wire, I think this build in this size box is no problem.
 
what is everyone doing for settings? Cycles time (is 10 minutes a good choice here?), degree difference (seems like .5 so far), etc.
 
NNatic said:
what is everyone doing for settings? Cycles time (is 10 minutes a good choice here?), degree difference (seems like .5 so far), etc.
Click to expand...

First, I also used the 7x5x3 box, it worked just fine, looks very similar to the picture above.

At first I used a cycle time of 10 min, then changed it back to 5 min. After watching my system, it's efficient enough that it doesnt gain enough heat to cause the cooler to turn back on in 10 min even if it's set at .1 deg c.

The real answer to your question is... it depends. The cold cycle delay really depends on what compressor you are using and its system. The deg of accuracy you can get depends on how much thermal mass you have and how efficient your chamber is.

I've done what others have done and simply put my temp in some foam insulation that I bungied to the carboy. Thus my thermal mass is fairly large.

Second my chamber is a freezer its self, so its very efficient at holding its temp, and thus due to large thermal mass, and high efficiency I can actually run down to .1 deg c and not waver around a whole bunch. If you have a smaller thermal mass, or a less efficient chamber, you will have to reduce the accuracy to a larger deg c range, or else you will either constantly run into your cold cycle delay and not hold the accuracy that you set it to, or you will "ring" in which you will constantly bounce around the temp you want and not old it there at all.
 
I am about to start mine and was thinking..there isnt any reason that i couldnt just use a computer power cord to make the controller out of is there?
 
A computer power cable would be fine for supplying power to the controller itself, but is probably not going to handle the power feed for the fridge compressor.

I have a box full of old computer power cables, and the ones that are actually marked with ratings show only a 3A capacity. The wires are pretty darn thin.
 
Depends on the power ratings/size of the wire, I used a computer cable on both of mine and it works fine. If it's 14AWG it should hold 12A without an issue, the controller is only rated to 10A. FWIW I used Server power cables (think heavy duty computer cables) for my 2000W heatstick, they are 10 AWG, none of my power cables even get warm to the touch.

BTW: Most fridges & freezers are surprisingly under 3A...
 
thanks guys.

My wife is sick and I had to take care of our 6 month old so i did not get much time at all to get my controller done :(

I just need to cut out the outlet and controller from the front plate and then hook everything up to the controller. The holes are drilled for the power cord and the temp probe and the outlet is all wired up, wire cap on the hots going to the controller, and hot connector snapped off the outlet.

Hope I have time tomorrow, then i will finish it up and then test away using an old cell phone and old cell phone charger before hooking it up to the fridge.
 
Looks like the majority of folks are using this to comtrol a fridge or freezer. Could this be used to control a window shaker for a fermentation box?

Great thread, thanks for the info.
 
I built mine 2 months ago and now have finally gotten my freezer.. so the question i have is where do you all set the dial on the freezer? do you set it on MAX or middle or what?
 
i finished mine today woo hoo! So excited to use it. Hopefully ill plug it all in tomorrow.
 
So i've just finished reading the whole thread and was wondering if anyone out there has tried using this controller to control the elements in their HLT, MLT or Kettle? I know its only rated for 10A, however i'm thinking of using it more as a temp display than an actual controller. However i would probably need to get a better/different thermocouple, has anyone had any luck finding one which works with the unit?

Cheers!
 
hammis said:
So i've just finished reading the whole thread and was wondering if anyone out there has tried using this controller to control the elements in their HLT, MLT or Kettle? I know its only rated for 10A, however i'm thinking of using it more as a temp display than an actual controller. However i would probably need to get a better/different thermocouple, has anyone had any luck finding one which works with the unit?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

If you just want a temp display, the same seller has temp displays that mount the same way for cheaper.
 

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