ebay aquarium temp controller build

just recieved mine this week, and am having problems. I followed the wiring diagram correctly and do have minimal experience wiring as I have done some car wiring, stereo and alarm wiring, and worked general construction years ago. i wired it correctly and it would not send any power to either outlet whether on hot or cold. i used a lamp to test the outlets. i eventually even wired it straight to a female end of an extension cord straight from the cool 7 and 8 tabs.

here is the final test wiring setup.

white from outlet to 2
black from outlet to 1

whte from 7 to white extention cord
black from 8 to black extension cord

plugged lamp in and nothing even when the controller had a solid cool light showing

i had the temp on the controller set to 15 with a reading of 21

the delay was set to 3

the variance was set to .3

nothing

i believe that i now have a reasonably priced digital thermometer that only reads celcius

You have it wired wrong. Unplug it immediately or you will potentially fry the thing!

I will explain in a moment, but unplug it now.

benbradford said:

here is the final test wiring setup.

white from outlet to 2
black from outlet to 1

whte from 7 to white extention cord
black from 8 to black extension cord

Click to expand...

Your power comes in, white and black. Those connect to pins 1 and 2 of the controller to power up the controller.

In addition to powering up the controller, the black line coming in from your power source connects to 7 and it connects to 5. This is the power that the controller will forward on to the receptacles when necessary.

The white wire coming in from your power source connects to both the heating and colling receptacles directly.

Then, a little black wire connects 8 to the cooling receptacle.

Another little black wire connects 6 to the heating receptacle.

janitorjerm said:

I had some trouble with the wiring diagram so would this be correct?

Click to expand...

this is the initial wiring diagram that i used...

i recognize that what i just explaing won't work...i was trying to troubleshoot and oversimplified.

the humorous part is that i just looked at my controller and it is marked 220v next to where is says power supply on the top of the controller...

i assume that this is the issue. I was under the impression that the 110 would be sent to me due to the US address...

i guess that I need to reorder

It light up so it is the correct voltage. Period. Mine had a 110V sticker over the 220V sticker.

that confused me too...why would it light up and give a temp reading if it was the wrong voltage?

still didn't power on a lamp when wired correctly...bad outlet was an idea as of the problem...

will try again with another outlet and meticulous care for the wiring, although it isn't that confusing, and I can't see that i wired wrong, and then double checked it and didn't see anything...

Well, I recommend anyone doing this type of work buy a cheap electrical meter to test voltage and continuity. Once you learn to use on, not hard at all, it comes in handy for lots of other things, including checking batteries and light bulbs. The last 4 terminals leads to two switches. Two second check with a meter. There are other ways to check, but that would be my first recommendation.

Something like this is all you need: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_1928476_-1

You can do something as simple as taking a flashlight bulb, a battery and two pieces of wire and check the switch too. Just connect the wires to one of the switch pairs. 5/6 or 7/8. Touch one wire to one end of the battery. Touch the base of the bulb to the battery. Touch the remaining wire to the outer part of the bulb. If the circuit is complete, the light will light up. Do this without the switch involved to make sure you are getting the bulb to light first. Then introduce the switch.

Just got mine today. I was curious about postage. Maybe some postal worker could explain it to me. The package I received was 9 ounces. It was shipped from Hong Kong to my door for 27.10 HKD which is about 3.48 USD. If I try to ship the same package from here to there my lowest cost would be $9.04. I am off topic I should post in the Rant section.

Hermit said:

It light up so it is the correct voltage. Period. Mine had a 110V sticker over the 220V sticker.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. The controller guts may work on 110 or 220 but the little relays that handle the switched loads may have 220V coils on them, so trying to trigger either relay would do nothing.

benbradford said:

that confused me too...why would it light up and give a temp reading if it was the wrong voltage?

still didn't power on a lamp when wired correctly...bad outlet was an idea as of the problem...

Click to expand...

Question: do you hear the relays "clicking" when you turn it on or change the set-temp?

iaefebs said:

Just got mine today. I was curious about postage. Maybe some postal worker could explain it to me. The package I received was 9 ounces. It was shipped from Hong Kong to my door for 27.10 HKD which is about 3.48 USD. If I try to ship the same package from here to there my lowest cost would be $9.04. I am off topic I should post in the Rant section.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's , but...

The guy is running a business and probably gets a discount on postage because of the volume of packages he sends out. You are shipping as a 1-off package, so you pay full rates.

benbradford said:

that confused me too...why would it light up and give a temp reading if it was the wrong voltage?

still didn't power on a lamp when wired correctly...bad outlet was an idea as of the problem...

will try again with another outlet and meticulous care for the wiring, although it isn't that confusing, and I can't see that i wired wrong, and then double checked it and didn't see anything...

Click to expand...

Did you wait 3 minutes for the lamp to come on, or did you expect it to come on immediately? The reason I ask is because you said your delay is set to 3 minutes, and when you initially turn it on, it will wait for that delay before it kicks on. Just a thought.

did wait for the light to show solid...nothing

rewired again today, and nothing...

this was my simplest test on the cool side

outlet black to 2
outlet white to 1
jumper wire from 2 to 7
7 to white on female plug
8 to black on female plug

plugged in lamp and nothing

temp in house is 19

set to -3 just for kicks

Um, you are checking the "cooling" circuit... Shouldn't you set it to so 25+ to see if it works?

CorneliusAlphonse said:

Ordering one of these post-haste. Hopefully it arrives before the end of Feb.. but if not, its not the end of the world

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I wouldn't hold your breath.

It's Chinese New Years

A lot of things I have ordered of ebay this week took a few days just to ship.

no i don't think so...i was telling the unit to run that lamp until that lamp was able to get the ambient temperature down to -3

benbradford said:

did wait for the light to show solid...nothing

rewired again today, and nothing...

this was my simplest test on the cool side

outlet black to 2
outlet white to 1
jumper wire from 2 to 7
7 to white on female plug
8 to black on female plug

plugged in lamp and nothing

Click to expand...

This is still not right. You are not yet providing power to the femal plug if you have BOTH wires of that plug connected to pins 8 and 7 of the controller.

do this:

outlet black to 2
outlet white to 1
jumper wire from 2 to 7
outlet white to white on female plug
8 to black on female plug

to state this another way... the controller does not pass around neutral for you. It passes the hot line from pin 7 to pin 8 when the controller says that cooling needs to happen. So, your female plug neets to get it's hot from pin 8 and it's neutral directly from your incoming power source.

did that and nothing

must be 220 with the display working on either 220 or 110

anyone else get a 220v and what were their results?

benbradford said:

did that and nothing

must be 220 with the display working on either 220 or 110

anyone else get a 220v and what were their results?

Click to expand...

Walker asked earlier if you can hear the relays click? I don't remember an answer to that. Mine has very distinct, audible clicks.

Second, if it is 220V you can still use it if you have access to 220V and still run 110V appliances from it. It will just need different wiring.

no clicking

no 220

actually okay with having a digital thermometer for my kegerator...

will get another to control ferm chamber

is there another way to attach a terminal box to the project box? (ie glue, thermal tape, double sided sticky foam tape)


i ran into a small problem with purchasing a 6 group terminal block and to get it to fit in the direction that i want it...i would have to remove the mounting holes on the sides of the terminal.

similar to this item:

http://www.electronicplus.com/images/products/13-1506B.jpg

you should be able to glue or epoxy the terminal strip to the inside of the box.

Walker said:

you should be able to glue or epoxy the terminal strip to the inside of the box.

Click to expand...

will heat from the terminal block be a factor?

SHOOK said:

will heat from the terminal block be a factor?

Click to expand...

There should be no heat from the terminal block if it and the wiring is correctly sized and the connections are tight. The only heat should be from the controller which draws a few watts. It should probably be vented a bit in any case though. With the minimal heat I guess the box could sync that amount anyhow.

Hermit said:

There should be no heat from the terminal block if it and the wiring is correctly sized and the connections are tight. The only heat should be from the controller which draws a few watts. It should probably be vented a bit in any case though. With the minimal heat I guess the box could sync that amount anyhow.

Click to expand...

+1

Nothing should get hot in this thing.

wicked! thanks

ShakerD said:

I wouldn't hold your breath.

It's Chinese New Years

A lot of things I have ordered of ebay this week took a few days just to ship.

Click to expand...

can't hold my breath for a month, without it being held up!

but seriously, I just bottled a brew, i know it will be ready to drink quicker than i'll get this temp reg to control my keezer.

CorneliusAlphonse said:

can't hold my breath for a month, without it being held up!

but seriously, I just bottled a brew, i know it will be ready to drink quicker than i'll get this temp reg to control my keezer.

Click to expand...

I have an single stage controller that would be great for a keezer that only cycles cold on and off. USPS Priority mail it would be on your door in a few days. $25 plus shipping.

just sayin'


-=jason=-

Just redid the kitchen. "Extra" fridge in the garage. Ordered the controller. Pixs to follow...... excellent....

What kind of wiring did you guys use to connect the plug to the controller?

I sacrificed a few inches of the extension cord that I had bought for the project.

My notes on this thing :

It took 4 weeks for mine to arrive, my buddy ordered one recently and it was here in 6 days !

Don't feel tied to the project box, they wanted $25 locally and we used cool looking wood boxes (mine free, his $3) from thrift stores to mount this in

The layout of the box is in post #1, look at it, scratch your head, look at it some more, and figure it out, or ask someone else... if you're stupid - this could hurt you ! - even if you don't know that you are stupid !

This is probably the best brewing $25 I've spent ! Works great, looks great, good quality !!

Flomaster said:

I have an single stage controller that would be great for a keezer that only cycles cold on and off. USPS Priority mail it would be on your door in a few days. $25 plus shipping.

just sayin'


-=jason=-

Click to expand...

thanks for the offer! wish i had known about it before i ordered the other one :cross:

this one may get repurposed in a year or two anyway (if its still working)

joeybeer said:

Don't feel tied to the project box, they wanted $25 locally

Click to expand...

Holy cow! $25 for the box?!

The little one I used from Radio Shack was about $6.

I went to ebay and bought the controller before I read the rest of the thread and realized there was a also 220 volt one. I attempted to contact the vendor and cancel the order, but was informed it shipped today.
What would be required to use the 220 volt controller? The fermenter will be in the basement close to my electrical panel, so I could run a dedicated outlet/circuit.
I have done plenty of wiring in my home theater/bar room, but that was all just basic outlet/lighting wiring. I have also moved a clothes dryer (220v 30 amp) outlet over.
My background is food science and not electrical so I can't think of a way to make this work.

do you have a link to the specific seller you bought from? Some ship 110v if you are in the US. Others ship only 220v, no matter where you are.

If you do actually end up with a 220v one, it most likely will be cheaper and easier for you to order another one (proper 110v model) rather than try to run a new 220v outlet in your house to make use of the 220v controller.

After I purchased and read more of the thread, I contacted the seller to request the 110v version. They responded that they only carry 220v. Is there a way to test it once I get it to confirm it is 220V, since the stickers that indicate voltage on these units seems to be a little sketchy. I looked through the rest of the sellers inventory and I didn't see any mention to 110v. Here is a link to the actual model.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...32865&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_4153wt_1139

If the seller says it's 220v, then it's 220v. That seller is the cheapest price out of all the vendors and I think he only sells 220v models. The other sellers ship the proper controller based on where you live.

If you read just a handful of posts back, someone else got a 220v one. It powers up and displays the temp when connected to only 110v, but the relays that control the heating and cooling don't work on 110v.

it's just a thermometer at that point.

Thanks for the advice. It looks like I have an expensive thermometer then.
If I wanted to confirm that it was a 220v version and wired up a light to one of the outlets, would it just not work or fry the light?

Based on what the previous person experienced, it just won't work. There is not enough voltage to activate the relays.

As far as I know there has not been a single case of somebody getting one marked 110v that turned out to be a 220v, or somebody getting one marked 220v that turned out to be 110v.