ethics_gradient
Member
After a year or so of use, my (secondhand) Mk1 Keg King temperature controller has bitten the dust; it will no longer switch on the "hot" side. The "heat" light comes on and I can hear the internal relay click, but heating element won't turn on. When it's supposed to be heating, it will dimly illuminate the LED on my extension cord if it's plugged into the outlet, but not power any devices. The previous owner modified it to use in an eBIAB setup, (bypassing the "cold" outlet control so it was always on, so the pump could be connected to the unit), however it has worked fine until recently. I was using an improvised brew space and it took the occasional tumble onto the concrete, so I'm guessing that's what did it in.
I opened it up to try checking the wiring to the "hot" outlet, but that wasn't the problem. It appears to be something internal, but the KK unit is sealed up (and I'm very much an amateur at electrical stuff), so I am assuming it's a write-off at this point.
I thought about replacing it with a cheap Rex C100 from eBay, and reusing the outlets and probe from the KK unit. I'm especially keen to reuse the probe as it fits into a custom inlet on the kettle (FWIW, my tape measure says it's 5mm, crappy calipers say more like 6). However, the KK probe appears to be a 50k ohm thermister, and the C100 uses a K-type thermocouple, I assume these wouldn't be compatible.
I could buy another KK unit for $79 from my LHBS (seems to use same probe, not certain though), are there any PID's that would support my old probe? Does it make sense to order a PID + SSR, or should I just buy another KK unit and be done with it? I know Keg King's not exactly renowned for their build quality, but I've made some improvements to my brewing space, so the next one should have a much easier life.
I opened it up to try checking the wiring to the "hot" outlet, but that wasn't the problem. It appears to be something internal, but the KK unit is sealed up (and I'm very much an amateur at electrical stuff), so I am assuming it's a write-off at this point.
I thought about replacing it with a cheap Rex C100 from eBay, and reusing the outlets and probe from the KK unit. I'm especially keen to reuse the probe as it fits into a custom inlet on the kettle (FWIW, my tape measure says it's 5mm, crappy calipers say more like 6). However, the KK probe appears to be a 50k ohm thermister, and the C100 uses a K-type thermocouple, I assume these wouldn't be compatible.
I could buy another KK unit for $79 from my LHBS (seems to use same probe, not certain though), are there any PID's that would support my old probe? Does it make sense to order a PID + SSR, or should I just buy another KK unit and be done with it? I know Keg King's not exactly renowned for their build quality, but I've made some improvements to my brewing space, so the next one should have a much easier life.
