HELP with Understanding and Setting up a fridge to control fermentation TEMPS

[slimshady95sox]

Hi guys,

So i've been looking into investing in a fridge (like a chest freezer) in order to start controlling my fermentation temperatures since it gets real warm in the summer.

I've seen set ups and explanations but I CANNOT seem to understand how these Temperature controllers like Johnson and RENCOR work.
I just want to understand how the hell they cool/heat the fridge.

Does the bulb thing attached to the box through a wire heat up and cool down or are you supposed to sort of hack the fridge's internal cooling system and connect the controller to the fridge itself?

If the bulb does the heating itself, does it mean the fridge doesn't have to be on for it to work?

I'm having trouble understanding how the actual apparatus works, which in turn is preventing me from understanding how to go about building it. Once I understand this, I can go about it.

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED THNKS!

 

[day_trippr]

You are laboring under a fundamental misunderstanding: these add-on/external temperature controllers are just that: controllers. They control "actors" - eg: a refrigerator or freezer for cooling, and some type of heater for heating - that the user provides.

The controllers compare the readings from a temperature probe against the user specified "Set Point" and will activate the cooling actor or the heating actor as required to keep the actual temperature within a user specified "Differential" range of the "Set Point"....

Cheers!

 

[whovous]

Let me describe the physical set-up for controlling cooling only. Plug the controller into the wall, and plug the freezer into the controller. Connect a temp probe to the controller and put it in the freezer. Typically, you want the probe attached to the keg or other vessel you want to cool. Taping it to the side is the easiest.

Once it is set up, you next set a temp on the controller. Say you set it at 10C. If the probe detects a temp of 18C, it will send current to the outlet the freezer is plugged into. It will keep the freezer running until the temp drops to 10C, then turn off the current until the temp once again gets too high. In this set-up, all of the cooling is done by the freezer, the controller just turns it on and off.

Some controllers have a second socket for heating. You need to provide your own heat source. I use a terrarium heater, but you can use a light bulb or lots of other things. I leave my heater unplugged most of the year. Generally, I find I want to plug in one of the other, and I almost never want to plug in both. If both are plugged in, it seems like one or the other is always on, and the temps can spike up and down too much for my tastes. And no, the freezer does not need to be turned on, or even plugged in, for the heat source to work.