Cheap and Easy freezer temp contol

[wilserbrewer]

Well I got my chest freezer running on a Ranco temp control and its working great. I aslo have a small chest freezer that I salvaged for nada. A week or so ago the keezer was full and I was looking to crashcool a fermenter prior to kegging, so I stuck it in the small spare freezer and plugged it in for 6-8 hours and unplugged it, and then plugged it in the next day for a few hours and so on.

Long story short, I now have it hooked up to a Wood's outdoor electric timer to cycle the freezer on for about 30 minutes every 4-5 hours and my keg "in waiting" is cold conditioning just fine.

Point is, I think you could run a chest freezer turned kegerator on a simple timer like this very succesfully for ten bucks off the shelf at Walmart. No, it doesn't give you a digital readout like the Ranco, but I'm pretty sure it would be easy enough to adjust to real cold, cold, cool, or cellar temp. Oh, I also don't think there is a real risk of freezing beer unless you play aggressive.

I certainly realize that a responsive temp. controller clearly has advantages, but for ten bucks who couldn't use another holiday light timer. Also you need the outdoor model w/ the three prong grounded plug. This thing could probably do double duty heating up the mash water via heatsick while I'm sleepin in!

YMMV, sorry so long winded
Regards, Mike

 

[the_bird]

Depends on how precise you need it to be. I use my temp control for lagering, so I want to be within a few degrees of my target so neither my yeast go dormant nor do I end up with a lot of ester production.

 

[Alemental]

For serving beers or for cold conditioning, it would probably be fine. For fermentation I would want tighter control. In any case, I would dangle a thermometer probe in there.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Good point Bird, No I wouldn't recommend this dirty trick for precision lagering, but I think it would keep the ales quite quaffable.

I think I share opinions w/ the Biermuncher regarding the time commitment w/ lagering!

 

[Bobby_M]

You'd run into a problem if your ambient temp changes. You could easily start freezing the beer after a couple cycles. I'd take that $10 and add another $15 for a johnson or similar analog controller on Ebay. I've never paid more than $30 for my controllers.

 

[david_42]

Those timers can be very useful. Sometimes, I'll plug my air pump into one and aerate my wort for 15 minutes every two hours. Great way to get a high gravity batch going.

 

[adx]

Are you sure that the cheap timer is rated to handle the amperage a compressor can pull on startup? I thought most of them were only rated for turning on and off lamps.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Not really sure adx, but w/ my limited knowledge I think so. Here is the data that came w/ the timer, maybe you can help??

Timer is a Woods 59204
125VAC, 60 Hz
Resistive (general purpose) 15A / 1875W
Tungsten(incandescent lighting) 1250W
Horsepower: 1/2 HP


Mike

 

[david_42]

Unless you freezer is over 15 years old (or huge) it is probably in the 150-200 watt range. With the application of foamed insulation to freezers, compressor size has been reduced dramatically. My new 5 cu ft is only 130 watts. (AKA 1/6 hp)

 

[twocylndr]

I thought of using a thermostat, the ones used to control your furnace/AC. Hooking a relay (to handle the current) to the thermostat. Then mounting the thermstat inside the fridge or freezer.
I never finished the project as the fridge I was gonna use crapped out on me.

 

[RadicalEd]

A regular thermostat will work splendidly as long as it is a "line voltage" thermostat; ie it acts as the relay for the heating element and passes the 120VAC through to it. Sadly, most thermostats these days are 24VDC, and merely send a weak signal to your furnace/AC that tells it to turn on or off; it doesn't supply power to them.

 

[Scimmia]

A regular thermostat will work splendidly as long as it is a "line voltage" thermostat; ie it acts as the relay for the heating element and passes the 120VAC through to it. Sadly, most thermostats these days are 24VDC, and merely send a weak signal to your furnace/AC that tells it to turn on or off; it doesn't supply power to them.

Which won't be a problem if he uses a relay as he mentioned.

 

[Bobby_M]

Which won't be a problem if he uses a relay as he mentioned.

I don't think you quite understood what he was getting at. IOW, most thermostats not only operate on 24vdc, but they're only setup to switch 24VDC so yes a relay would work but it would have to operate on 24VDC coil voltage and you'd need a 120VAC to 24VDC power supply to run the coil/thermo circuit.

IMHO, way more trouble than it's worth given dedicated line voltage controllers are pretty cheap on Ebay.

 

[Scimmia]

I don't think you quite understood what he was getting at. IOW, most thermostats not only operate on 24vdc, but they're only setup to switch 24VDC so yes a relay would work but it would have to operate on 24VDC coil voltage and you'd need a 120VAC to 24VDC power supply to run the coil/thermo circuit.

No, I understood. Relays with a 24 VDC coil are not hard to find at all, so I didn't consider that anything different than was originally mentioned. The only real issue here is the power supply, and that could be remedied fairly easily; I think I have a couple of them in my parts bin, or even 2 isolated 12VDC supplies in series and you're set. Regulation may be an issue, though, but that could be easily remidied with an LM317 and a few passive parts.

IMHO, way more trouble than it's worth given dedicated line voltage controllers are pretty cheap on Ebay.

I can't argue with that (I got a Johnson on Ebay for $25 shipped), but sometimes it isn't about saving money, it's just about doing it yourself. Do you brew beer just to save money?

 

[Bobby_M]

I can't argue with that (I got a Johnson on Ebay for $25 shipped), but sometimes it isn't about saving money, it's just about doing it yourself. Do you brew beer just to save money?

Well no, I brew beer because I enjoy the brewing process and limited equipment engineering, but taking an hour or two out of my life to put $20 worth of parts together to replace a buyable $25 one stop solution is silly to me.

 

[Scimmia]

Well no, I brew beer because I enjoy the brewing process and limited equipment engineering, but taking an hour or two out of my life to put $20 worth of parts together to replace a buyable $25 one stop solution is silly to me.

But if it's something you enjoy doing...