Freezer getting too cold

[brandonbrummett]

Just got an Inkbird ITC-310 temperature cobtroller and hooked it up to my chest freezer. I have the probe in a pitcher of water inside the freezer, and have the temperature set to 50 F, and the variance set at 2 degrees F. After a couple of hours the temperasure is reading 38.5 degrees.

Am I doing something wrong (compressor delay setting, freezer temp control or something) or does it sound like I got a bad unit?

 

[Jwin]

Once your water has cooled down 2 degrees, the air around it has dropped 20*, then the water catches up(down).
Try something with much less mass (carpi sun?), or let it just dangle.
I have my probe taped to one of those tiny soda cans. Does well.
I would crank the compressor delay to the max unless you intend on opening it a lot.

 

[laredo7mm]

Just got an Inkbird ITC-310 temperature cobtroller and hooked it up to my chest freezer. I have the probe in a pitcher of water inside the freezer, and have the temperature set to 50 F, and the variance set at 2 degrees F. After a couple of hours the temperasure is reading 38.5 degrees...

Which temperature is reading 38.5 °F? The air temp in the freezer or the water temp in the pitcher?

If it is air temp, you are fine, if it is the water temp, then the controller should have turned off the call for cooling a long time ago.

 

[brandonbrummett]

It was the air temp. Water pitcher temp actually got down to 41; I think it was still being influenced by the ambient air temp in the freezer though. When I put the probe onto a can of coke and wrapped two coozies around it, it seems to be working fine, so I assume once I tape it to a fermenter and insulate it, I should be good to go.

 

[Jwin]

I have found that it is better to regulate the air temp or a small mass than to regulate a large mass (fermenter).
I got huge temp swings in my freezer doing that. It's not as big of a deal in a fridge because it doesn't get as cold
Example, temp set to 65
Fermenter at 67, frezzer kicks on, and by the time the fermenter gets to 65, it's 20* in the freezer. The frezzer kicks off, and fermenter temp would drop to 60ish, while the heater (lasko my heat) would kick on and raise the chamber temp into the 90s. Then the whole process would repeat itself.
This caused huge fluctuations and stressed the yeast resulting in a stalled fermentation. The 002 flocced out.

I now use a thermowell in my fermenter and a small digital probe thermometer and just regulate the temperature of the chamber to alter t he fermentation as needed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R42K82C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[laredo7mm]

...once I tape it to a fermenter and insulate it, I should be good to go.

I have found that it is better to regulate the air temp or a small mass than to regulate a large mass (fermenter).
I got huge temp swings in my freezer doing that...

That is what I am worried about in my set up. I have my fermentation chamber above my refrigerated chamber with vents on the sides so when cooling is called for it pulls cold air from below into the ferm chamber and pushes the warm air from the ferm chamber down into the refrigeration chamber. For heat in the ferm chamber, I am also using a Lasko. I didn't want to be pushing 90° + air back down into the refrigerator when cooling is called.

My first fermentation was last week and I just controlled the fermentation chamber air temp and kept an eye on the fermometer that is stuck to the side of the carboy.

Now I am in the process of building a BrewPi. It allows the user to set a max chamber temp deviation from the beer set point. If I set the ferm chamber temp to be 68° and my beer is at 65°, attach the temp probe to the side of the carboy, and set the max deviation to 5°, it will limit the fermentation chamber to 73° F. This will take care of the wild temp swings...hopefully.

 

[Morrey]

I just ordered the Inkbird 308 and will likely run into the same situation, so I'll ask this upfront. If I am lager fermenting at 50F, will it work if I take a neoprene beer coozie, put in a full beer can and run the probe inside the coozie between the neoprene and the unopened beer? This should block any air movement from the probe, then the probe basically reads the temp of the beer can. Or should I simply tape the probe to the FV?