ebay aquarium temp controller build

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This has probably been covered, but I figured I'd ask; are there any thermostats/temp. controllers that are readily available locally? I'm wondering if something like Petco would carry something similar to the ebay controller.
 
Ulixes said:
This has probably been covered, but I figured I'd ask; are there any thermostats/temp. controllers that are readily available locally? I'm wondering if something like Petco would carry something similar to the ebay controller.
Click to expand...

Not really. If you find one it will be at your LHBS store for about $100.
 
Ulixes said:
This has probably been covered, but I figured I'd ask; are there any thermostats/temp. controllers that are readily available locally? I'm wondering if something like Petco would carry something similar to the ebay controller.
Click to expand...
Nothing near the price we are talking about here.
 
brewmaster89 said:
Ordered one from ebay yesterday and it shipped today. Now I just have to get something to mount it to. lol
Click to expand...
I did the same thing 2 months ago. Ordered it from ebay without anything to use it with! I finally wired it up last week and now I'm in the process of building a fermentation chamber. :mug:
 
Please forgive me if this has been covered here, but 65pages is too much to thumb through.

2 questions:
1. What's been the longevity of these? Going on the premise you get what you pay for, it can be a little unnerving to pull the trigger. So is it worth it or will I be ordering a new one once every few months?
2. Can this temp controller be used on a Brutus build? My mind says yes, but I was looking at Lonnie build plans and the Love controller he uses says specifically, it's an on/off switch. Since there isn't a lot of documentation of the ebay controllers, I wanted to be sure.

Thanks for any help and Cheers!
 
mmurray said:
1. What's been the longevity of these? Going on the premise you get what you pay for, it can be a little unnerving to pull the trigger. So is it worth it or will I be ordering a new one once every few months?
Click to expand...

Just an update. A few pages ago I reported problems with mine. I took it apart and just made sure all the connections were tight, turned back on and has been working fine since. So it might have been a loose wire or something. So mine has been running for 18 months now with only that minor hitch. Maybe some else can comment. Don't remember seeing many people on here have theirs break
 
mmurray said:
Please forgive me if this has been covered here, but 65pages is too much to thumb through.

2 questions:
1. What's been the longevity of these? Going on the premise you get what you pay for, it can be a little unnerving to pull the trigger. So is it worth it or will I be ordering a new one once every few months?
2. Can this temp controller be used on a Brutus build? My mind says yes, but I was looking at Lonnie build plans and the Love controller he uses says specifically, it's an on/off switch. Since there isn't a lot of documentation of the ebay controllers, I wanted to be sure.

Thanks for any help and Cheers!
Click to expand...

I have a few of them, and they've all held up fine so far. First one I got was at the start of this thread, so over 2 years ago. I haven't heard many complaints here of them going bad, but YMMV.

Yes these can be used in a BRUTUS build. I have two of the single stage units controlling my gas fired HERMS.
 
I just bought this controller after reading all about it... but after purchase I looked a bit more carefully and it reads 220v? I'm in the USA and we run 110/120v out here... I assume this is not going to work for me? Big Bummer!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Tem...396?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab646b644

Interestingly on another auction, the description shows this..
Power Supply: 220 ~ 240V AC ± 10% or 100 ~ 120 V AC, 50 / 60 Hz

Near as I can tell, it is the same item... Is it possible this unit will work with either 110 or 220?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Te...461?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f02ce0f7d
 
Stuntman1 said:
I just bought this controller after reading all about it... but after purchase I looked a bit more carefully and it reads 220v? I'm in the USA and we run 110/120v out here... I assume this is not going to work for me? Big Bummer!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Tem...396?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab646b644

Interestingly on another auction, the description shows this..
Power Supply: 220 ~ 240V AC ± 10% or 100 ~ 120 V AC, 50 / 60 Hz

Near as I can tell, it is the same item... Is it possible this unit will work with either 110 or 220?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Te...461?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f02ce0f7d
Click to expand...

There are 2 models - many sellers will ship the one for your region. I'd contact the seller and just verify you want the 120V one.
 
mjohnson said:
There are 2 models - many sellers will ship the one for your region. I'd contact the seller and just verify you want the 120V one.
Click to expand...

I immediately sent him an email about the mistake.. hopefully he got it, or he will send the 120v version since it is going to a U.S. address.. I Hope!
 
There are a couple threads on here that explain how to replace the transformer in these temp controllers. It may or may not be worth it to you. I cannot seem to find any of these threads. I know one guy had purchased a few extra transformers and was selling them. Not sure if any are left.
 
Kingfish said:
SINGLE stage FAHRENHEIT controller.... $16.40 free shipping
http://www.buyandfun.com/en/digital-temperature-controller-thermostat-110-120v-ac-p9241.html
No afiliation with them. Someone on here ordered one a while back but they had changed their minimum quantity to 20 something. It is back down to ONE and a great price. This is the unit I bought from somewhere else.
Click to expand...

That one seems like a good deal, but it will only do cooling or heating. The one that the OP purchased does both and you can get them for about $25 shipped. The only trade off is the dual stage ones are in celsius.
 
We need to clearly define controller terminology here.
Single stage - cooling or heating only
Duel stage - heating and cooling (I.e. stc 1000)
Two stage - one controller two temp probes.
 
Today, my single stage arrived.

-$16.78
-Display in Fahrenheit

Just using it for refrigeration, no need for a dual...... yet!
Start building it out tomorrow.
 
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but has anyone come across a temp controller with only 7 connections in the back? The wiring diagram has the second connection for the temperature probe and the first connection for Function Control on the same port - 4.

IMG_20120422_154050.jpg
 
marshallbertram said:
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but has anyone come across a temp controller with only 7 connections in the back? The wiring diagram has the second connection for the temperature probe and the first connection for Function Control on the same port - 4.
Click to expand...

Nope, but it looks like a lot like the single stage units I have. The "function control" is a fairly useless feature that enables you to "lock" the programmed settings in place so that they can't be changed. It looks like you'd run a jumper between 4&5 to do this.

Power to 1&2, temp sensor to 3&4, and 6&7 will be the two sides of your switch. Don't connect anything to terminal 5.
 
Hia, I've been using my STC 1000 dual controller for almost a year now. I just noticed a temp difference in readings from the STC 1000 to another digital t-meter I have attached to the carboy @ the same spot. The difference is like 3-4*. Quite a bit O difference, I'd say . Do you have to calibrate the STC 1000? If so, how do I do that?
 
Kingfish said:
SINGLE stage FAHRENHEIT controller.... $16.40 free shipping
http://www.buyandfun.com/en/digital-temperature-controller-thermostat-110-120v-ac-p9241.html
No afiliation with them. Someone on here ordered one a while back but they had changed their minimum quantity to 20 something. It is back down to ONE and a great price. This is the unit I bought from somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Response in my browser = "Unable to connect to database server!"

Doesn't inspire much confidence in this site.
 
Esmitee said:
Hia, I've been using my STC 1000 dual controller for almost a year now. I just noticed a temp difference in readings from the STC 1000 to another digital t-meter I have attached to the carboy @ the same spot. The difference is like 3-4*. Quite a bit O difference, I'd say . Do you have to calibrate the STC 1000? If so, how do I do that?
Click to expand...

It's a good idea to at least check to see if the probe reading is accurate. Calibration is the F4 setting in the programming menu.

An ice water slurry is probably the best reference point for a keezer or ferm chamber. Crush up some ice, put it in a glass, and add just enough distilled water to create an ice slurry. Mix it up and wait a minute for the temperature of the slurry to stabilize. Put the probe in the slurry and let the temp reading stabilize. However far it is from 0°C is how much you need to adjust the F4 setting. If the probe is reading 0.3°C high, then you'll want to set F4 to -0.3.

Press and hold the "S" button for 3 seconds.
Press the "Down Arrow" until F4 displays.
Press and hold the "S" key and at the same time use the up and down arrows to adjust the setting.
Press the "Power" key to save the setting. If you do not press the power key, the setting will not be recorded.
 
Hey Juan, Well thank you for some good info. I've done many batches with it to date. It was just bugging me to know If 0, was really 0 LOL I will do the calibration as you say.

OHHHH That POWER key can get you everytime, "IF YA DON'T PRESS IT" heheheheh Thanks :drunk:


:mug:
 
To all U.S. buyers, avoid ordering wrong voltage units by ordering from this Ebay store LEDLive.Here is a quote from the reply email that was sent just 5 hours after I emailed them to ask which one I had purchased.

Hi Andrew,Thanks for your purchase. We always send 110V version to the USA, so don't worry about that.Regards,Sara -elin.ou:mug:

Keep in mind its coming from overseas so expect up to 2 weeks to deliver but still a great seller!
 
I want to avoid using wire nuts so i bought a terminal strip. I'm only going to switch the cool receptacle, the other one will always be on. Is it ok for all the circuits to share a common neutral (Blue) wire?

Schematic.jpg
 
jmf143 said:
I want to avoid using wire nuts so i bought a terminal strip. I'm only going to switch the cool receptacle, the other one will always be on. Is it ok for all the circuits to share a common neutral (Blue) wire?
Click to expand...

Provided that you KEEP the tab on the blue side, and BREAK it on the black side, you'll be all set.

MC
 
Sorry if this has been covered already:

I see that the STC-1000 cooling/heating relays are rated at 10A/250V, is the rating also 10A at 110VAC? Aren't most chest freezers rated at 15A? It doesn't look like anyone's had a problem running a chest freezer off this for any extended period of time, but I'm just wondering if I'll need an external relay. Thanks!

EDIT: it looks like some people say the current rating is 15A. Hmm. I think I'll grab a relay just to be sure...
 
Kingfish said:
YesNo. Check the info label on your freezer. The 15amp you are seeing is the breaker size that is recommended.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I don't have the freezer yet and was going off the owners manual and the "q+a" section of the HD web site. 15 amps seemed way too high but I couldn't find anything else. Just found a post here on HBT saying it's less than 2 amps. Im gonna order this now... :mug:
 
JuanMoore said:
Nope, but it looks like a lot like the single stage units I have. The "function control" is a fairly useless feature that enables you to "lock" the programmed settings in place so that they can't be changed. It looks like you'd run a jumper between 4&5 to do this.

Power to 1&2, temp sensor to 3&4, and 6&7 will be the two sides of your switch. Don't connect anything to terminal 5.
Click to expand...

Getting back to the single stage controller with 7 inputs. Does the hot from the pigtail go into 6 or 7?
 

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