Temp Controller Advice

I'm going to be converting a freezer into a ferm chamber this week and need some advice as to which temp controller I should purchase. Where I live I know that I'll need to cool in the warmer months and warm in the colder months. Should I get a dual stage controller? I'm pretty handy, but I've never done much electrical work, but I'm also not against doing some wiring. Of course I'd like to keep costs minimal, but I realize that I'll be using this for a while and don't want to buy junk. I'm sure there are some seasoned brewers out here who can point me in the right direction.

 

I purchased the Ranco dual-stage one, which you can buy pre-wired or wire it yourself. I think it was Amazon that I found one for really cheap if you don't mind wiring it yourself. It's definitely nice, given that it has a high and low temp range and the floating range. Just my 2 cents.

 

I have a Ranco single stage for my keezer and a Ranco dual stage for my fermentation chamber. Both are available in pre-wired or not-pre-wired configurations. The pre-wired will cost you a bit more but will save you some time since you won't have to wire it yourself.

Both of these temp. controllers have worked well for me so far.

 

The Ranco ETC-211000 would be a good choice if you need to control both a chiller and a heater for a ferm chamber. I see it listed for as little as $100 on-line...

Cheers!

 

Take a peek over at the ebay aquarium temperature controller thread - if you're truly not averse to doing a little wiring, an ebay purchase and a couple other purchases at Radio Shack or Home Depot can net you a solid 2 stage controller (granted, it works on Celsius, not Farenheit) for under $60. Maybe under $50 if you shop smart.

 

Do I really need a dual stage controller for my ferm chamber? I'm going to be using a freezer. Also, what have people had the best success with as a heat source?

 

Depends on what temp swings are like in fall and spring, I guess. The exact same setup can be used for single stage, and that thread has lots of references to alternate controllers that are a few bucks cheaper and also ideal for single stage applications.

But either way you go, it's cheaper than buying one, plus you get to tinker a little bit (if that's your thing).

 

No, or at least probably not. I have four fridges/freezers that I use for fermentation and lagering. Two have analog Johnson controllers and two have the Johnson A419's. None are dual stage, but all are dual mode, meaning that any of them can be used for heating or cooling. The difference is that to change modes you have to open the cases and change the jumpers (digital) or move one wire to an alternate terminal (analog) to change from heating to cooling or vice versa.

IMO & IME, you will either be heating or cooling only and there will be times when neither is required. Much depends on where the chamber is located and how severe the ambient temperature swings are. I have two chambers in my unheated garage and in the cold months some heat is needed, but the other two located in the heated part of the house need only the cooling mode. Switching the jumpers/lead takes about two minutes and it really is no trouble at all.

You can get the unwired JC A419 for $55 + shipping from Pex Supply:

http://www.pexsupply.com/Johnson-Co...age-Digital-Temperature-Control-120-240v-SPDT

Wiring these controllers is very easy.

 

Depends on what you want to do. If you are trying to brew ale in your basement in winter, or want to try some Belgians varieties at higher ferm temps, a heat source would be useful. I've read about people using a Brew Belt, heat lamp, or even just a 100W incandescent light bulb (while they last).

I've got an eye on CL for a chest freezer. When I find something, I'll go for the eBay aquarium controller build for a fermentation chamber. Not only is it the cheapest option, it has dual control and it's also the most work.

 

I'm just up the road from you in Mt. Airy, I have a chest freezer with a Johnson Controller.

If I had to do it all over again I would have bought a dual stage.. In the spring and fall I had to keep opening up the controller and changing the settings between heat and cool. At times I had to do it quite often because of the temp swings (especially if you're not in a temp controlled environment.)

My basement stays pretty cool but there was still enough temp swings for it to be aggravating.. I'll probably end up buying a dual stage at some point!

 

The Ranco controllers can be changed from cooling to heating from the control panel on the front and it's easy to wire yourself. Unless you're in the mountains with big temp swings and away from the ferm chamber (or really like to set it & forget it) the single stage will be fine.

Beach

 

I have both a single and dual stage ranco controller. One I wired myself the other I bought prewired to save time. I live in the northeast and the temp swings necessitated the dual stage on my fermentation chamber. I use a small spare space heater as my heating source. Just started using it the past few days and works like a charm to control fermentation temps. I investigated all the temp controllers out there and loved the love controller and the cool mounting options but wiring it completely scared me aware (not confident in wiring) the ranco were the easier route for me.

 

I recently built a controller using the dual stage love. I would recommend a dual just for versatility's sake. I have mine set up so I can use two probes and two outputs to control to items independently, or one probe and control both heating and cooling in the same fermenter.

Unless you are just totally against it, wiring isn't difficult and you don't need anything beyond basic tools to build it.

One outlet on mine is split and has the two switched outs, and the other is just utility power, un switched, to plug in whatever.

 

Frankly, if you're buying an off the shelf unit, the extra $20-30 for the dual stage is worth it even if you're not sure you'll need concurrent heating/cooling. Did you know you can also use a dual stage Love controller to control TWO heating OR cooling circuits? I like the flexibility.

 

Bobby, which model are you speaking about? I may upgrade sooner than later..

 

I was actually mixing two models in my head in that post. The Ranco dual stage is a ready to go unit but I think it only uses one temp probe. The Love controller TSS2-2100 I used in my project in the youtube vid is the one that can be used as two practical controllers or a dual stage.

 

The Ranco ETC-211000 dual stage controller does indeed use a single probe...

Cheers!

 

I've just started using an old freezer this summer with a Johnson Controller. For times of the year when it might actually get cold, I was thinking of just putting a big bucket of water in there with an aquarium heater set to 65. I could set the Johnson to about the same and make ales. If I taped the Johnson probe to my carboy and set it to 63, there shouldn't be much fighting going on between the heater and compressor. When it's cold enough, the compressor probably wouldn't come on if I don't set the Johnson much lower than 65. Does anyone do this?

 

By the way, the reason I'm focused on 65 is because that's the minimum setting on the aquarium heater.

 

I did it for $32. Used an old computer power cable for wiring and picked up a cheap project box at radio shack along with an outlet from the hardware store. I had no knowledge at all about wiring up electrical equipment but scanning the ebay thread and asking a question or two made it super easy.

 

I've used a submersible aquarium thermometer in a container of water placed in a fridge similar to what you are planning, but I don't heat and cool at the same time. One or the other works for me and often neither are needed for several weeks in the spring and fall.

 

Why not, at those times of year, just unplug the freezer (just use it for insulating properties) and hook up some heat source inside the freezer to the Johnson? I'm not sure how well a bucket of heated water would do for heating, but you could use a small ceramic heater, one of those brew pads or belts, or even a lamp with a ceramic heating bulb instead of a light bulb, and it'd probably be more efficient.

 

I was thinking of the aquarium heater since it has it's own thermostat and could give me a two stage system with the Johnson wired for cooling. I'll just have to see how temperatures fluctuate in my garage during fall/winter/spring. I'm in Alabama, so it's always too hot to properly make beer in the summer without cooling. In January, the high might be 30 or it might be 70, so that month is pretty much for the heating mode, at least for ales. I guess fall and spring are the only times I might really need a two stage control. Sometimes, it can be just a few days between rather hot and quite cold.

I guess if I wanted better control with the aquarium heater, I could sit the carboy in one of those plastic storage containers with about a foot of water. Someday, I'll probably just spring for another temperature controller.

 

Speaking of temperature control, I was wondering if someone has found a good way to keep two substantially different temperatures in the same frig. The only place I really have to make beer away from my cats and toddlers is in my (currently very hot) garage. I've got a large stand-up freezer, currently with a lager going into cold storage at 40 for at least a month. If I used a fermwrap on another carboy (with an extra controller) with a big winter coat around it, could I keep an ale over 60 in there? If so, does this result in both the compressor and the heater running almost constantly?

 

I use an eBay fridge($39) eBay new STC100 dual controller ($16) wired using bits from RShack ($10) and LHBS heat pad.($50) I'm running in oC as in Australia. wow this has been fantastic! Unbelievably exact!! Heat pad is sitting one shelf down to minimize any hot spots.

No more ice and water or moving around the house chasing the heat.

Presently doing a wheat and brewing at 21.5oC with a .5 variable setting.

Now every time I check it's sitting at 21.3 - 21.4 just incredible.

Set and forget!

 

I've ended up getting a second controller (Ranco, had to wire it) and using one of these for heating:

Walmart.com: Lasko Products My Heat Personal Heater: Heating, Cooling, & Air Quality

It was only $12 in the store. It's pretty good for this purpose since it has a manual switch, low wattage (200), and is very small.

 

By the way, I did try the aquarium heater in a water bucket for a while. It did fairly decent for moderately cool temps, but the water had to be changed pretty often or it would start to smell like a pond and, even worse, it caused condensation to run rampant in the freezer. I can't recommend it.