Wire an over/under Fridge Freezer with Auber

[psbrewing]

I recently scored a fridge and kegarator conversion kit including regulator and tap for just over 100 bucks on CL. My wife said that I can do whatever I want with the fridge, but she still wants to use the freezer for extra storage. I am hoping that the usual experts on here can help me.

I want to add temperature automation to the fridge and leave the freezer alone.

Can I use a Universal 1/32 DIN PID Temperature Controller (Auber) in order to control the fridge only?

I have the wiring diagrams, they were under the fridge near the coils, and would really appreciate any help. I have read a number of threads on this, but would like specific advice!

Thank you in advance!!

 

[slakwhere]

your fridge is fed cold air from your freezer. what you will need to do is connect some sort of temp controlled relay to the "damper" that opens and closes to force cold air into the fridge from the freezer (usually open a damper and turn on a fan).

the auber should do that for you, but you might want to set the cycle pretty high to not burn out the damper/fan... it's not as resilliant as an SSR is to frequent switching.

 

[psbrewing]

I am willing to use any type of automated system. I just knew that Auber was a common type found here. Is there a better type of control that would be applicable to this setup?

 

[slakwhere]

just about any temp controller that can connect to a relay will do the job. the benefit of a PID over other temp controllers is that they can control SSR's at VERY high frequency. like you could turn the thing on/off a couple times a second. that would be very rough on the damper motor (the fan won't care so much).

if you have an auber i'd use it and set the frequency pretty high (and with a relay not an SSR as it will be less expensive). the temp won't fluctuate nearly as much as like a heatstick brew kettle. if you don't have one, just about any temp controller will work =)

i'm doing the same thing now, just trying to figure out if i actually want the freezer at a steady rate for mugs, or if just wiring the damper open and the fan on is easier, and then just turn the whole compressor on/off. leaning towards freezer on at all times...

 

[psbrewing]

If I have the Auber and the thermocoupler what else will I need to wire it properly? Which type of relay would be needed? I may just say screw the fridge idea and go to a keezer, but I would like to control the temp of the fridge so that it could possibly be a fermentation area and not a kegarator...

 

[slakwhere]

you'd need a relay capable of handling the AC load of the damper+fan. my guess is a couple of amps should do it. the relay inside the Auber might even be able to handle it directly.

pid -> relay -> damper+fan wired to always on

the pid will kick the relay on when it's too warm, and kick it off when it gets cold enough. you can then set it for kegging or lagering temps.