With the limited description provided, this issue sounds much more like a wiring issue. Are you using a single outlet? If so, did you break the tab on the switched side?
ebay aquarium temp controller build
- Thread starter android
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
raouliii
Well-Known Member
A very important question for troubleshooting. Has this always been the case, or did your unit initially function correctly, as wired?
Have you checked for loose or mis-inserted wiring?
Charlieatthedisco
Well-Known Member
anyone mount the controller into their collar? if so what did u use to mount it with and how did you run the wires?, couldnt you just run wires from the controller straight to the power chord of the keezer?
Mine worked just fine the first time i tested it with a light plugged into it. I then took it into the garage to plug my keezer into it and it wouldnt kick on even though the cool light is on. So i plugged the light back in an now it only tuns the light on but not off unless i tap it.
Checked all my wires, nothing is loose. Rewired... Same problem. I must have a bad one.
Thanks
Checked all my wires, nothing is loose. Rewired... Same problem. I must have a bad one.
Thanks
I may be wrong. but I believe the STC 1000 cannot be used to supply the power to the unit. It is only a switch to power a relay that then powers the unit. You would need to wire it in in place of the factory thermostat. That way it tells the relay when to switch the power on and off.
I'm no sparky, but you may have fried something. If indeed it is not designed to be used as a power supply. My 2 cents.
Hmmm... can anybody verify what chessking above me is saying?
I got the impression this COULD be used to supply the power, thus the amperage discussion somewhere on the first 10 pages of this thread.
Did I miss something?
I got the impression this COULD be used to supply the power, thus the amperage discussion somewhere on the first 10 pages of this thread.
Did I miss something?
just found it; post 547 (i think)
Bjornbrewer states:
"You can just plug the fridge in and away you go...instead of the internal t-stat controlling the temp, you're essentially plugging and unplugging the fridge via the controller."
I'm buying another one today. Now that I'm ready to hook it up, hopefully I'll get a good one this time, otherwise I'll know right away and I'll return it.
Better yet, I'll try and find a seller who ships from the states.
Thanks for your help guys! I'd rather have faulty equipment than faulty beer! So far so good!
Bjornbrewer states:
"You can just plug the fridge in and away you go...instead of the internal t-stat controlling the temp, you're essentially plugging and unplugging the fridge via the controller."
I'm buying another one today. Now that I'm ready to hook it up, hopefully I'll get a good one this time, otherwise I'll know right away and I'll return it.
Better yet, I'll try and find a seller who ships from the states.
Thanks for your help guys! I'd rather have faulty equipment than faulty beer! So far so good!
He may be talking about just powering the controller (terminals 1&2) and using the heat and cool terminals (5&6, 7&8) as if they were powered wall outlets getting their power internally from 1&2. This is a common mistake that shows up here regularly. The heat and cool terminals are just switches, so you choose to switch either the hot or neutral, and wire the other one straight to the outlet.
This doesn't sound like your situation. Your issues still sound strange, and may not be a defective unit. I would suggest doing as simple a wire up as you can do- no box, only heat or cold, separate power for the unit and the outlet, etc. If your relay is locking closed, and it stays locked when you depower the controller, then the relay is definitely bad.
For your issue of the relays not closing without a tap, you might want to open the case and check the power supply to see if it is a 220V part. That could cause this effect.
Make sure the seller specifically states, several times, that the unit is made for 110V. NovaPCS, I think, is a seller out of NY or NJ. Shipping time is only a few days, and their price is usually within a buck or two (~$24) of the lowest guy shipping from HK. I waited over a month for my first one to get here from HK, and now use one of the US based shippers.
raouliii
Well-Known Member
That's incorrect.
The STC1000 has a built-in relay capable of switching a 15amp load, actually two. Maybe your confusion stems from the fact that the electronics of the unit are supplied with ac power separately from the relays.
It can be wired into a keezer or fermentation chamber many different ways. Most users choose to create a standalone unit that the keezer/chamber simply plugs into. The STC1000 can also be wired into the existing keezer/chamber wiring to replace or bypass its thermostat.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
I guess I didn't say it correctly. And again I claim no expertise, but what I meant is what raouliii stated, that you can not expect the controller to supply pass through power. I just wired mine in place of the thermostat which essentially switches on and off one of the power supply wires. When a previous post claimed you could just "plug it in" to the controller I knew it was not that simple. Relays I guess are separate switches controlled by another switch and in that aspect I am in error.
DeadGuyNick
Well-Known Member
I'm still looking through the thread, but I'm seeing a bunch of different heating methods. I think I'm going to go for a light bulb. Did we determine that an infrared bulb for reptiles is the way to go? I don't want to ruin my beer. Or If there's a cheaper alternative.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
DeadGuyNick said:
That's what I use, and it works great, but there are a lot of cheaper alternatives. You can mount an incandescent bulb inside of a 1 gal paint can to contain the light. There's a couple threads on how to do that here and elsewhere online.
DeadGuyNick
Well-Known Member
JuanMoore said:
I'll just go infrared. How'd you mount the ceramic socket? I extended my mini fridge with 2x6, but I don't want the bulb to be too close to the door's insulation and burn/melt anything.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
DeadGuyNick said:
Mounted it to a scrap of plywood and set it under the support shelf in my ferm fridge. I'd had a few bottle bombs in my ferm fridge once, so to prevent a short if something similar ever happened I siliconed the hole for the extension cord, and siliconed where it joined the plywood. Then I put some long screws in the underside to act as feet to lift it off the bottom of the fridge a little.
Built my second temp controller last night - just in time to hookup to my fridge to ferment my irish red. I hadn't placed it in the housing yet and was saying to myself, "Why bother with the housing, this will work fine" as I goto hook it up. Zzzzzt. Shocked myself.
Needless to say, I put it in a 2 gang box and it works great.
Btw, Mixtea on ebay shipped these even faster this time. I'd def recommend using him for buying these.
Needless to say, I put it in a 2 gang box and it works great.
Btw, Mixtea on ebay shipped these even faster this time. I'd def recommend using him for buying these.
urbanmyth
Well-Known Member
Can anybody tell me why my temp swings so much on this setup? I have it set for 3.5C and it swings from that to about 9.3C before the cooling kicks back on. I have the probe in a glass of water inside the freezer.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
I assume you're using the STC-1000 model? What are your F1 and F2 settings? When you say it swings up to 9.3C, how is that being measured? With the controller or by a different thermometer?
urbanmyth
Well-Known Member
Being measured by the controller. Both the F1 and F2 are set to 3.5. I have the model that is available on eBay.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
urbanmyth said:
That's a pretty wide differential, and even though it's supposed to shut off at 7.0C, the lag between the ambient temp and the water bottle could cause it to go slightly over. I wouldn't expect it to go that much over though. Have you tried a smaller setting for F2?
Back fo the relay issue real quick... It does indeed look like i have a 220 volt model. I want to say i was aware of there being two different voltages when i bought it, but who knows. Can't tell by my emails which one i ordered!
Oh well. Glad it's not faulty at least!
David
Oh well. Glad it's not faulty at least!
David
urbanmyth
Well-Known Member
I will adjust that now. Results to follow
The relays operate off 12V. The 220 coming in is dropped down to 12 to activate the relays. If you are using 110 then you are only getting 6v-9v at the relays. You can wire in a 12v power supply or change out the transformer from 220v-12v to 110v-12v Both techniques are explained somewhere in this thread.
Or you can send it to me...
Ok so im savvy-ish on how to wire this controller up. my question is how do i have both outlets go hot when the controller turns on the power. I want to have my keezer run as well as the blower turn on while the keezer is running to help move air around and then have both shut off together. how do i wire this up?
Or, you could use it 'as is' as a fairly accurate and responsive $25 digital thermometer. Although, you probably only paid ~$15, since being cheap is the trap most unsuspecting 220V purchasers fell into. I remember one who came into the thread seemingly for the sole purpose of rubbing it in about how we were overpaying suckers, and what great deal he scored.The relays operate off 12V. The 220 coming in is dropped down to 12 to activate the relays. If you are using 110 then you are only getting 6v-9v at the relays. You can wire in a 12v power supply or change out the transformer from 220v-12v to 110v-12v Both techniques are explained somewhere in this thread.
Or you can send it to me...
You could even use the relay power feeds as high/low alarms to power 5-12V buzzers. There are usually a few on motherboards that can be scavenged, and also in various other gadgets.
I like your idea of using it as a themometer! Hadnt realy thought of that. May just use it in the chicken coop during the winter to see how cold its getting!
Just dont break the tab on the side of the outlet! If anything, your setup is easier than most. Tab on mine was a ***** to break off! The tab is what bridges the power to both outlets.
Better yet, just run the fan all the time. It really helps with keeping shanks cold and reducing stratification, or scrubbing heat from an active ferm. The freezer shouldn't turn on that often, so you won't get much benefit from the fan only being on when the freezer is on. Also, the evap lines in the keezer are still dropping in temp for a few minutes after the freezer shuts off. An always on fan helps spread that around.
A small 12V fan from a computer will run on most ~5V cell phone chargers, and will provide more than enough circulation. Total power would be ~1W, or less.
You could always steal it back for brew days. An extra thermometer is always a handy item to have around. With the sensor in a DIY SS probe with some thermal paste, it could be used for checking temps for most anything.
I posted in my home brewing blog how I bulletproof the controller. the post is in hebrew but have many pictures and is self explanatory.
the idea is to take the relay out and bring the realy voltage to activate 40A SSR.
http://www.hamivshelan.com/?p=1581
My 2 cents.
the idea is to take the relay out and bring the realy voltage to activate 40A SSR.
http://www.hamivshelan.com/?p=1581
My 2 cents.
When you said "hebrew" and "bulletproof" i was thinking kevlar and hardened steel for a second!
I will have to review that if a decide to fix mine to run on 110 volts. Thanks
deerelk4x4
Member
Would be possible to repost the information for your webpage here in English. I like what I saw but am interested in the description provided.
LarryC
Well-Known Member
OK, I admit I didn't read every post in this thread so maybe someone already asked this question. I am wiring up my STC 1000 temp controller and I don't really need two outlets. I have modified the wiring diagram to show how I believe the hook up would go using one outlet with one receptacle for heating and one for cooling. Can someone give me a sanity check by looking at my revised schematic? By the way, I wanted to clean up the drawing with some white out but realized - we don't have that kind of stuff any more (nor typewrite ribbons!)
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
Looks good to me.
That schematic is correct. You even have the hot and neutral wires going to the correct posts on the outlet.
I have to commend you on putting your brand on the schematic. Quite a difference from the last guy (lawyer, I think) who put up a schematic; asked to have it checked by someone; then ripped it down so it couldn't be referenced anymore regarding his specific questions.
LarryC
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the quick response! I just finished cutting out the openings in the box so now I can do the wiring and have this thing working tonight!
I will certainly leave this schematic up for anyone else that is looking for the same thing. I really only need the cooling side because this is going to be running my Keezer. I figured I'd just do the heat side "in case I need it someday". I have a separate control (Ranco) for controlling the FermWrap.
If all goes well, there will be brew a fermenting this weekend!
I will certainly leave this schematic up for anyone else that is looking for the same thing. I really only need the cooling side because this is going to be running my Keezer. I figured I'd just do the heat side "in case I need it someday". I have a separate control (Ranco) for controlling the FermWrap.
If all goes well, there will be brew a fermenting this weekend!
So I thought I would just post that I got mine in 5 days. I bought it on August 25th and got it on August 30th. I got mine from Amazon from Brainytrade, and I'm pretty sure that if I had bought it on Monday, I still would have gotten it by today, because after reading their store front bio, they say they only ship on a business days.
