What do you set your STC-1000 F2 to?

I'm curious, what do you guys set your STC-1000's F2 function (temperature range) to when controlling fermentation temperature? I'm fermenting a lager right now, and I have the target temperature (F1) set to 10° C (50° F), and the range (F2) to 0.5° C. Is that too wide a range, do you think? Should I take it all the way down to 0.1° C? What is everyone else using?

 

In most things I have read, setting it to 0.5 C is your best option to avoid cycling the compressor on your refrigeration too often. However, I haven't completed my chamber yet, so I'll let others chime in.

 

I use half a degree and the longest delay (ten minutes I think?) to preserve the compressor.

 

I too use 0.5 but accidentally hit 0.2 on the poll, need more coffee!

 

I couldn't tell you what I have set for that. I think I set my delay for 10 minutes to save the compressor. Even .5C is plenty small enough of a differential. The yeast won't be affected by that much of a change in 10 minutes. Even if your chamber temp was considerably off and your 10 minutes allowed the ambient temp to change a LOT, your wort isn't going to react that quickly. It's got thermal mass.

Consider when you place your hand on a frying pan you JUST set on the stove. When you turn the heat on, you don't instantly feel the heat (If you have a pan with a thick bottom (Thermal mass.)) It takes a few seconds for the heat to transfer through the pan bottom.

Same with wort. It tends to hold temps a bit because of the mass. The outside edge may change temp quicker than the inside temp, but the inside wort is helping to temper the temp change at the outside as well.

So in summary, It's All Good, Baby!

 

I left mine at the +/- 0.5 degrees C that it came preset at.

 

I have mine at 1.0 C and then my compressor delay at 10mintues. I want to save the compressor as much as possible. I want to believe this helps it a little.