Temperature Control for Fermenting

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I guess you could but you'd have to place it inside the CF and then run both the CF cord and electric inside. If you're looking to save money I'd suggest you check out this Temp controller build thread. It'll get you where you want to go at about the same price.
 
mlstarbuck said:
Could I plug a chest freezer into this, or do I need a different type (more expensive) of temperature regulator?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E7NYY8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Click to expand...

I got excited when I opened your link!!! That would be perfect, BUT the thermistor would have to be extended so you could run it into the chest freezer (or fridge). You can see the little thermistor nub sticking up in the pics. I think I have read a thread on here where the guy used a regular thermostat and rewired it extending the sensor, so I know it can be done, just not sure how to do it.

If you don't get someone chiming in with that answer in a day or two you might want to post this in the DIY forum. The controls seem perfect for what we use it for and the range is good enough for fermenting lagers or ales, though not low enough for a kegerator or extended lagering just above freezing. If the thermistor can be extended fairly easily this would be a cheap way to set up a temp control system!!! Keep us posted :mug:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you look at the specs the temp range is only 45-90 degrees. It'll work for fermentation but won't do you any good for lagering or cold crashing.

As far as extending the thermistor you'll have to do be prepared to modify the t-stat. You'll start by taking it apart so you can gain access to the circuit board. Pull that out so you can unsolder the thermistor. Then you'll solder the thermistor to a piece of lead and solder the other end back into the circuit board. The housing of the t-stat may have to be modified to accept the lead coming out.

I've modified a few t-stats but this isn't one I would fool with.
 
PT Ray said:
If you look at the specs the temp range is only 45-90 degrees. It'll work for fermentation but won't do you any good for lagering or cold crashing.

As far as extending the thermistor you'll have to do be prepared to modify the t-stat. You'll start by taking it apart so you can gain access to the circuit board. Pull that out so you can unsolder the thermistor. Then you'll solder the thermistor to a piece of lead and solder the other end back into the circuit board. The housing of the t-stat may have to be modified to accept the lead coming out.

I've modified a few t-stats but this isn't one I would fool with.
Click to expand...

45 is fine for lager fermentation temps, when it comes time to lager just roll with the fridges temp control to get colder. I think the thermistor is already on a short lead, so you might not have to screw with the circuit board (I would NOT mess with that, but that's just me!) but just carefully seperate the thermistor from the short lead, add an extension (I think I read that phone cord will work), and reattach the thermistor to the extension lead. Search WIN100 thermostat on here and you will find where people are already using them or something similar. The ebay aquarium temp controller looked fairly straight forward as well.
 
TANSTAAFB said:
...when it comes time to lager just roll with the fridges temp control to get colder.
Click to expand...

Now that would make sense. Guess I didn't give it much thought with all mine being hardwired, one of them being the STC-1000 aquarium thermostat.

I really dig my STC-1000. The only thing I was worried about was my presets being dumped with a power outage. Had several outages and it powers back up with my settings.
 
Thanks all. I just acquired a chest freezer for free, so I think I'll just pay $50-$60 for a t-stat that I don't have to jack with.
 
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TANSTAAFB said:
I got excited when I opened your link!!! That would be perfect, BUT the thermistor would have to be extended so you could run it into the chest freezer (or fridge). You can see the little thermistor nub sticking up in the pics. I think I have read a thread on here where the guy used a regular thermostat and rewired it extending the sensor, so I know it can be done, just not sure how to do it.

If you don't get someone chiming in with that answer in a day or two you might want to post this in the DIY forum. The controls seem perfect for what we use it for and the range is good enough for fermenting lagers or ales, though not low enough for a kegerator or extended lagering just above freezing. If the thermistor can be extended fairly easily this would be a cheap way to set up a temp control system!!! Keep us posted :mug:
Click to expand...

I posted about it once or twice.

LINK

I love it. Very simple to program. Works great for my fermenting setup. To extend the probe, I just cut/soldered/heat-shrunk the two 14AWG probe wires. Piece of cake.

Russ
 
Okay, I just bought a Johnson Control A419 temperature control for my fermentation refrigerator. I've done a lot of reading on cut in vs cut out mode. Just about everything I read said to make sure the control is set for the cut out mode which means if you have a target temperature you set the control for that temperature and then you set a differential temperature. So, lets say I set a temperature of 60 degrees with a differential of 4 degrees. Cut out will turn off the refrigerator at 60 degrees and turn on the refrigerator at 64 degrees to cool it back down. Cut in is essentially the opposite. It will cool down to 56 degrees and turn off and when the refrigerator hits 60 degrees it will turn back on to cool down to 56 degrees again. My question is does it really matter what mode I have it on? In cut out mode if I want a fermentation temp of 60 degrees I cant set the control for 60 degrees if I have a differential of 4 degrees. I would have to set my control for 58 degrees so when it warms up to 62 degrees it would kick on to cool it back to 58 degrees. The average temp over time would be 60. If my control is set for cut in I would have to set my controller to 62 degrees and when the refrigerator turns on it will cool down to 58 degrees and thus the average temp over time would be 60 degrees. Is my thinking on this correct? Is there an advantage of one setting vs the other? Did this question even make any sense? If it didn't, sorry. I think I'm going to RDWHAHB!
 
You are correct. You could also set the differential lower which will cause it to cycle more often.
 
You want to ensure you are using the right mode as cut out is not the same as cut in. Use cut out for cooling and not the cut in.
 
Cimerian said:
You want to ensure you are using the right mode as cut out is not the same as cut in. Use cut out for cooling and not the cut in.
Click to expand...
I think he might mean that cut in is used for a heater pad so you can have an even stricter temperature range when you are in cold weather (winter)
 
I want to save this thread just for the info. I have also been getting more stuff together. Good luck & cheers;)
 

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