EBay fish tank controller build using Wal-mart parts

What is the name of the one that reads in Fahrenheit ? I can't find it anywhere on eBay. The one shown goes for $15-20 on eBay. For 25-30 u can get a PID.

 

Not sure if it has a name or model number. Just go to e-bay and search "aquarium temperature controller f". There are a whole bunch of different sellers, but they're pretty much all ~$17 shipped.

Here's one-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Aquarium-F-/220957637173?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337219fa35#ht_4801wt_1396

 

Thanks! And cheers to you for the clever DIY.

 

Effen brilliant! can't believe this never occurred to anyone before.

So if I wanted to do this with the single stage, I would just wire a dedicated line to power the temperature controller and then plug the thermostat wires into the "loading" terminals and that would be it, correct? I can probably trace the switch wires to the back of the unit where they could be wired into the controller without the need to drill into the chamber.

 

Yep, that would work.

 

Need a little help programming mine. I figured out how to adjust the degrees. For f1-f4. Controller works properly I think. I don't know what f1 - f4 are though. I'm assuming from another post that f 1 is to be set at the temp you want the fridge at? F 2 is the swing??? And f 3 is the compressor delay? F4 no idea? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

 

Yours didn't come with directions? Assuming you're using the STC-1000 and not the single stage unit, you've guessed F1-F3 correctly, and F4 is for calibrating the sensor.

 

No directions. It is a stc-1000 though. Thanks for your help. How do I calibrate the sensor?

 

The sensor is calibrated by using a bowl/glass of water in which you put the sensor, and a regular glass/lab/electronic thermometer. If they read the same, you're golden. If one is higher than the other, adjust by the number of degrees in the proper direction.

MC

 

Yep, or a glass of crushed ice with a little water, and a small pot of boiling water. The ice water should settle out at 0C. You'll need to figure out what temp water boils at for your altitude.

Although probably not necessary, here's a set of instructions for that unit-

http://mashmaster.com.au/UserFiles/2321-Files/file/brewmate.pdf

 

Thanks guys!

 

ordered 3 today for keezer & ferm chamber

 

not to hijack, but i built a temp controller w/ an STC off of ebay, and wonder if i can put a magnet (from a computer hard drive) inside the plastic project box to hold it on the side of the fridge?

will there be any adverse effects to the controller with a magnet that close?

 

Thanks misplaced, got the parts for 2 and the controllers in the mail, one for the keezer and one for the ferm box

 

Subscribed!

 

lol well eff. i got a little too excited reading this thread and pulled the trigger a bit to quickly. then as i read i noticed i should have looked at the voltage. so i am the proud owner of two temp controllers, a 12V and a 110 hahaha

 

I'm guessing you meant to get 2 110v units? What do you have in the 12v unit? I might be interested in it.

 

No I just meant to buy one 110 but bought the 12v without reading closley. It was $15.88 shipped. Figured ide throw it in a yardsale for same price. But let me know if you have a use for it.

 

Yeah. Planning a recirculating water bath for fermentation temp control. I have a 12vdc power supply and access to a 12vdc pump.

 

Ill let you know when it gets here from china or wherever its coming from lol

 

I'm sure this is redundant but are there any 2 stage controllers in F or just C?
Saw this that someone posted http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Tem...s=63&clkid=7333329851931799350#ht_4408wt_1139
but looks its single stage.

 

I haven't seen any, and the one you linked is definitely single stage.

 

Built one today works great tested with a small heater and a fan, thanks again love this site! My wife always like are you on your BeerBook again lol

 

Ok thanks. Looks like I'm gonna go with Celsius then.

 

has anybody mounted one of these in the collar yet? just wondering because i have only been seeing them mounted in project boxes and junction boxes.

 

Yep, mine is installed in the collar of my keezer, and I've seen a few other on here that have done the same.

 

My love controller gets 100 degrees, which depending on use, may or may not make a difference.

 

thanks. think thats what im gonna do also. do i just use longer wires and mount the junction box with the outlet on the back of the collar?

 

I flush mounted the controller in the collar on the back of the keezer, and then ran extension cord wires down to an exterior single gang junction box with the outlet in it that I placed in the compressor area. I thought about mounting a standard single gang box in the collar and running the wires through the hollow part of my collar, but I wanted to be able to push it as close to the wall as possible, and didn't want the plugs keeping it away from the wall.

 

Not sure if anyone has commented on this yet (didn't see a reply) but you definitely want to prevent short cycles on the compressor. Using a container of water would be one way, but you may want to consider changing the hysteresis (or "differential") to something more than a single degree to help with this even more.

 

And max out the compressor delay setting (10 min?).

 

You can set the compressor on a time delay with the STC-1000. And set a larger swing.

MC

 

Btw can anyone post a link to a dual stage that reads in F?

 

No but this link might help...

http://www.metric-conversions.org/temperature/celsius-to-fahrenheit.htm

 

To get a dual stage controller that displays in Fahrenheit you'll need to spend more money. The cheap e-bay controllers don't exist in that configuration. If you really don't want to do the simple temperature conversion, here's one that meets your criteria-

http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/T...witches/DigitalPanelMount/SeriesTSS2/Ordering

 

I just built this guy yesterday, and tested it out on a lamp. Worked well...lamp was on until I stuck the sensor in a cup of ice water and it turned off. Today I went and plugged my chest freezer into it and nothing. The lamp doesn't work either.

The temp controller has power and is reading the temperature properly. The lamp and freezer both work independently of the controller. Is my most like problem simply that a wire wiggled itself loose? Chest freezer is 1.3A normal operation 9A startup. The STC-1000 is a 10A/220V. Someone in a different thread posted that he took his apart and the relays are 10A/220V or 15A/110V.

Thanks!

 

Well scratch that. It's working now. I originally had the compressor delay set to 10 minutes, but I thought that would have reset itself when I unplugged the controller to move it. Looks like it just had to be plugged in for >10 minutes for that lock to go away.

Sweet! Kegs here we come.

 

Hi

The STC-1000 works perfectly fine with the sensor taped to the wall of a freezer. You simply need to set a wide enough control window (F2) so it does not go nuts. The beer in the freezer never sees the wall temperature, so it just sits there in the middle of the control window.

I know this sounds a bit odd, but here's a check you can do. Take your "sensor in a water bottle" setup and let it run. Put another sensor on the wall of the fridge. It's already moving all over the place as the compressor cycles. There's no difference in how things actually run with the two approaches.

The advantage of tape to the wall is you have one less thing to clutter up the freezer...

Bob

 

My neighbor for whom I had built a walmart type controller was reporting that when the sensor was "loose", the heat would turn on. The problem with having it in mid-air is that the sensor sees a massive amount of fluctuation. I tape my sensor sandwiched between the carboy, and a sheet of paper towel folded over down to 4x4".

MC

 

Hi

Exactly correct. Variability is a *bad* thing inside a control loop. You want your sensor nailed in place and not going anyplace. You also don't want it blocked from air flow as you move stuff around inside the keezer. Tape it to the wall up over the hump.

Bob