Is this a thermostat?

[gtopper]

I was gifted a bev air bm23c and have this unit where the thermostat dial should be. I believe this is a thermostat but no idea how to use it, no dial, only 2 screws on the top. Anyone use one of these?

 

[day_trippr]

So, fwiw, that is a freezer controller - hence the weird, limited temperature range.

The display shows the "Cut-In" temperature setting on the right - that's the temperature that the compressor will turn on ("Cut In") to start to cool the unit down.
You adjust that using the screw to the right. It appears to be set to roughly 40°F now.

The setting on the left is the "Differential" setting, and is adjusted using the screw on the left.
This is how many degrees colder than the "Cut In" temperature the unit will allow before it turns off the compressor (ie: the "Cut-Out" temperature).
It has a minimum setting of 5°F, apparently, and frankly if the thing works at all I'd leave that set as is.

So, from appearances, that controller will keep your beer between 35 and 40°F - if it's working properly...

[edit] If you want your beer held colder, adjust the right screw - remembering whatever you set that to, the beer will range from that setting down to the setting minus 5 degrees. You probably have a few degrees of range before you risk icing up lines or forming beerbergs

Cheers!

 

[S-Met]

I was gifted a bev air bm23c and have this unit where the thermostat dial should be. I believe this is a thermostat but no idea how to use it, no dial, only 2 screws on the top. Anyone use one of these?

A couple user/parts manuals for your model.

 

[gtopper]

Thank you, very helpfull. So would this be an upgrade or downgrade to the stock thermostat? Should I look to replace? You comment “if this thing works at all” scares me, haha

 

[S-Met]

Thank you, very helpfull. So would this be an upgrade or downgrade to the stock thermostat? Should I look to replace? You comment “if this thing works at all” scares me, haha

Its probably an upgrade from stock as the original analog device was probably numbered 1-5. This at least puts you in the known range.

However, this unit is old. Probably at minimum 30 years. Thermostat may or may not still be accurate. Put a bottle of water and leave it overnight before measuring temp to verify its settings.

If it were me, I would probably look into getting an inkbird and bypassing the thermostat. That way I could better control the temps.

 

[gtopper]

Crossing my fingers. Thanks

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, the thermostat shown in the first pic is a fully mechanical bulb-and-capillary thermostat.
There's literally nothing analog or digital in there, just a pressure switch.

I would call it a hack, given that is a freezer controller, not the OEM fridge controller, and as such it has limited adjustability (like a differential that can't be set to less than 5°F, never mind a range from just above freezing to 15 below zero).

A better solution would be to remove that thing entirely and run the same pair of wires through the Cold side relay of a decent digital controller from this era...

Cheers!

 

[gtopper]

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Elitech-All-Purpose-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat/dp/B008KVCPH2

 

[day_trippr]

Yup, that would work. And it would give you a lot more control...

Cheers!