ebay aquarium temp controller build

[Monster Mash]

My Ranco got the E2 kiss of death and won't cycle anymore. A friend of mine bought 6 of these controllers and they shipped the 240V ones even though he ordered 110. They just gave him credit so they were free and he gave me 3.

I pulled it apart and converted it to 9VAC so I mounted a power supply in the box. I had all of the parts except the power supply and that cost me $3.50

 

[revansCAAD8]

Nice! Could you share your conversion chart?

 

[Monster Mash]

Nice! Could you share your conversion chart?

I have to thank juvinious for the chart. This is his chart here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Alo77laOOYgAdHo2YjJHWG9uM3VzWHIwUExOa0Q5akE#gid=0

 

[mrklueber]

Just passing this along. This PDF really helped me in my build. The parts #s are all good as well.

http://nordeastbrewersalliance.file...age_temp_controller_creation_instructions.pdf

This document is great. It is clear, concise, has pictures; hard to go wrong building a single dual-stage controller if you follow these directions.

 

[pfgonzo]

Agreed, great doc!

 

[revansCAAD8]

I have to thank juvinious for the chart. This is his chart here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Alo77laOOYgAdHo2YjJHWG9uM3VzWHIwUExOa0Q5akE#gid=0

Thank You and also to 'juvinious'!

 

[peter78]

What is the project box size you guys are using. For a single controller

 

[pabloj13]

What is the project box size you guys are using. For a single controller

I used a 6x4x2 for mine.

 

[msujack]

Just need to test it now! Super easy to build and looks great! Thanks to everyone who posted wiring and materials to use. Made the build quick, cheap, and painless.

 

[smarquis86]

Just got mine and I have a question what should I set the delay time for the compressor at for a fridge.

 

[Loodachris]

Just got mine and I have a question what should I set the delay time for the compressor at for a fridge.

Got mine set at 10 minutes. Don't want the cold and heat going off and on too much and fighting against each other.

 

[smarquis86]

Just got mine all set up and was wondering what a good setting would be for the commpressor delay

 

[smarquis86]

Ok I will try that

 

[smarquis86]

This is my setup top is heat bottom is cool

 

[Loodachris]

Even though mine says STC-1000 on the front i'm thinking it's a knock off. I see pictures of others that has the degree symbol and "C" for Celsius but mine doesn't show that. Not a big deal and it's working fine but makes me wonder now.

 

[smarquis86]

Even though mine says STC-1000 on the front i'm thinking it's a knock off. I see pictures of others that has the degree symbol and "C" for Celsius but mine doesn't show that. Not a big deal and it's working fine but makes me wonder now.

As long as it works it should be fine I noticed earlier in the thread there is another post with a controller without the c so who knows

 

[blaster_54738]

Even though mine says STC-1000 on the front i'm thinking it's a knock off. I see pictures of others that has the degree symbol and "C" for Celsius but mine doesn't show that. Not a big deal and it's working fine but makes me wonder now.

Mine doesn't have it either but yeah it works fine so who cares

 

[Polboy]

i never paid attention but now i think mine doesn't have "C" neither, got it a year ago and its working great so dont worry (i checked temp multiple times with 2 thermometers and its very close)

 

[Loodachris]

I took a flash light to the screen and I can see the degree symbol and the "C" but it's not lit up. Maybe I got a version 1 or something. No worries it's doing what It's supposed to do.

 

[orion7144]

This is my setup top is heat bottom is cool

Just curious why you did not use one outlet for both heat and cool and the other for accessories (I use my extra plug for scale, vacuum sealer, etc).

 

[smarquis86]

Just curious why you did not use one outlet for both heat and cool and the other for accessories (I use my extra plug for scale, vacuum sealer, etc).

Not sure just found this setup when searching and liked the idea of using the 3 gang box with decora plate.

 

[pfgonzo]

Just finished mine this weekend. Took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but projects always do. Told SWMBO I'd be working on this for about an hour or so, but shopping + wiring took me about 5.5 hours hehe. Here it is!

To be fair, the last hour or so was me fretting the cooling power supply wasn't working (thus, disassembling and testing), but it turns out I'm a moron and I forgot that the cycle delay stopped the cooling outlet from being powered until the set-time passed. Doh! Works fine and I need to retract my email to mixtea :/

8x6x3 box from RadioShack, with the outlet in the back. Very basic build, no indicator lamps or anything. I don't really see the point when the STC1000 already displays when it's heating or cooling. I'm most pleased about the rubber grommets around the cables as they exit the box... make everything look professional and fancy! Power cable goes out the back (which you can't see), and that's the temperature probe in the lower left of the photo.

Making one of these is like a rite of passage for a brewer. Happy to join y'all!

 

[snaps10]

Just finished mine this weekend. Took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but projects always do. Told SWMBO I'd be working on this for about an hour or so, but shopping + wiring took me about 5.5 hours hehe. Here it is!

To be fair, the last hour or so was me fretting the cooling power supply wasn't working (thus, disassembling and testing), but it turns out I'm a moron and I forgot that the cycle delay stopped the cooling outlet from being powered until the set-time passed. Doh! Works fine and I need to retract my email to mixtea :/

8x6x3 box from RadioShack, with the outlet in the back. Very basic build, no indicator lamps or anything. I don't really see the point when the STC1000 already displays when it's heating or cooling. I'm most pleased about the rubber grommets around the cables as they exit the box... make everything look professional and fancy! Power cable goes out the back (which you can't see), and that's the temperature probe in the lower left of the photo.

Making one of these is like a rite of passage for a brewer. Happy to join y'all!

I was freaking out that my compressor went out because the controller was showing work, and the temp was up. Spent a ton of time with thermometers and tinkering before looking up and noticing the fridge was on its defrost schedule. Whoops.

 

[PorterPete]

I got my setup finished today. Currently have two gallons fermenting inside. Everything seems to be working however it overshooting the cooling by alot. F1 is set to 17.8 and F2 is .5. The probe is taped to the side of the youngest carboy, insulated with some cloth.

The cooler turns on at 18.3 and then off again at 17.3. The issue is ambient temp in the cooler reaches to 12.2 before the carboys temp reaches the cutoff. This causes the carboys temp to continue to drop causing a large variant in fermenting temps.

Any suggestions?

 

[Doomsday]

What are you using as a heat source?

If its a brewbelt type deal I could see it taking a while to overcome the cold, try using a small personal heater or something that would warm the air more quickly.

 

[marshallwms]

I got my setup finished today. Currently have two gallons fermenting inside. Everything seems to be working however it overshooting the cooling by alot. F1 is set to 17.8 and F2 is .5. The probe is taped to the side of the youngest carboy, insulated with some cloth.

The cooler turns on at 18.3 and then off again at 17.3. The issue is ambient temp in the cooler reaches to 12.2 before the carboys temp reaches the cutoff. This causes the carboys temp to continue to drop causing a large variant in fermenting temps.

Any suggestions?

I would tighten the cutoff temp band to no more than 0.3 degrees.

I would also make sure the probe is well insulated from the ambient temps. I use a combination or insulating tape (used to keep outdoor pipes from freezing) and reflectix and that seems to work quite well.

Place your probe halfway up the level of liquid for the best approximation of the average temp in the fermenter.

Make sure you have a fan circulating the air.

Also remember a new fermentation pumps a lot of heat into the beer and is harder to cool down.

And last, relax, don't worry.....

 

[PorterPete]

Thanks for the suggestions. I found that I had freezer temp control was set to the coldest setting. Turned that down and it smoothed the transitions out a lot more. Also set the cutoff temp to .3 degrees. I am currently not using any heater inside. I will put a fan in though to circulate the air some.

Too bad you cant have the cutoff temp being measured by a second probe because by the time the fermenter reaches the cutoff the ambient temp is cold enough to keep driving the fermenter temps down.

 

[cwi]

Thanks for the suggestions. I found that I had freezer temp control was set to the coldest setting. Turned that down and it smoothed the transitions out a lot more. Also set the cutoff temp to .3 degrees. I am currently not using any heater inside. I will put a fan in though to circulate the air some.

Too bad you cant have the cutoff temp being measured by a second probe because by the time the fermenter reaches the cutoff the ambient temp is cold enough to keep driving the fermenter temps down.

I think if you stood there and watched the temp for another few minutes, you would see it climb back up once the ambient diff was absorbed. You are not seeing ferm temps, but a combination of ambient and ferm. The cloth you are using for insulation doing almost nothing to insulate the sensor from ambient, so you are seeing mostly ambient during the cooling cycle. Even closed cell foam has a hard time not being influenced by ambient.

This influence is actually helpful in shutting of the cooling a bit early. Although, shutting off early isn't really that important because the amount of thermal mass of the ambient air, freon, walls, etc. is fairly small compared to ~50lbs of beer, especially if it is active and generating heat, unless your chamber is oversized for the small batch sizes you are doing. A small computer fan going full time will help with temps.

You can also put some additional thermal mass in there, which you already have with your second carboy. You do have to watch out using a late stage beer as a thermal mass because its temp will be colder than the setpoint for the active beer. This could stall the cleanup of the inactive beer.

 

[PorterPete]

These are 1 gallon batch sizes so, it is a 5cu freezer and only 2 gallons of liquid. Maybe I will add another couple of gallons of water off to the side.

The first beer is 2 weeks and waiting on the third week before bottling. The newest is 1 week old, waiting another 2ish weeks. I plan on keeping the carboys in use for most of the time. So there will (should) be an active fermenting one and one that is cleaning up. My understanding is that temp should remain consistent through the fermenting and cleanup process.

So maybe the best option for me would add a bucket of water and drop the temp controller probe in it. Then it would be keeping that thermal mass temp steady while the other two do their thing. Then I just need to watch the actively fermenting one. Should I place the actively fermenting on in a bucket of water to swamp cool it? Or would the fan circulating the air be enough.

 

[cwi]

These are 1 gallon batch sizes so, it is a 5cu freezer and only 2 gallons of liquid. Maybe I will add another couple of gallons of water off to the side.

The first beer is 2 weeks and waiting on the third week before bottling. The newest is 1 week old, waiting another 2ish weeks. I plan on keeping the carboys in use for most of the time. So there will (should) be an active fermenting one and one that is cleaning up. My understanding is that temp should remain consistent through the fermenting and cleanup process.

You can't control 2 things with one controller and one control input. You might look into second controller and a DIY ferm wrap for the inactive one, or even for both, and another controller to keep the freezer ~10F colder than ferm when active. The heat wraps should provide more consistent temps, since there will be virtually no overshoot.

So maybe the best option for me would add a bucket of water and drop the temp controller probe in it. Then it would be keeping that thermal mass temp steady while the other two do their thing. Then I just need to watch the actively fermenting one. Should I place the actively fermenting on in a bucket of water to swamp cool it? Or would the fan circulating the air be enough.

Since you are doing such small batches, using a swamp cooler setup in the freezer might give better results, but you still need another controller for the inactive batch if you care about its temp. Give each their own bath, and maybe use an aquarium heater on a controller for the inactive one. Control becomes more complex with the bath, but maybe not enough to matter. Shouldn't cost you anything to try it, as long as you have a tub sitting around. Personally, I would just brew larger batches. Going from 5 to 15 gallons adds some issues, but going from 1 to 5 gallons shouldn't add that much more work, with more beer to share. Your temp control issues will largely disappear, except for the 1 controller per vessel issue.