Johnson A419 Temperature Control

[Jennings]

I have an old refrigerator (freezer on top/fridge on the bottom) that I turned into a kegerator and I bought a Johnson A419 Temperature Control for it awhile ago, but I cannot seem to get the A419 to work the way I'd like. I have the fridge and freezer settings both turned all the way up to their coldest settings and the A419's probe in a mason jar of water in the fridge. I also have a small thermometer in the mason jar with the probe and both the thermometer and the A419 both say that the water in the mason jar is 47F. Here are my current settings:

SP - 62F
DIF - 3
ASD - 12
OFS -0
SF -1
* note - none of the jumpers have been changed from the default factory settings.

So, I would like to set this up so that I can ferment a few beers in two carboys at 62F for about a month and then transfer the beers into two kegs and reset the Setpoint(SP) on the A419 from 62F (Fermentation Temp) down to 37F (Cold Beer Drinking Temp).

I'm sure it's user error, but I'm not able to save the SP at 37F - it just keeps blinking. It appears to only let me save a SP that is warmer than what the probe is currently reading. So, in this case with a current temp of 47F, it will only allow me to set a SP higher than 37F? Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong here and what I can try to reset the SP to 37F?

 

[hunter_le five]

You have ASD (start delay) set to 12. That means it won't reactivate for at least 12 minutes since the last time it was deactivated.

If the controller has recently cycled the compressor, and you attempt to lower the temperature set point (SP), it will blink for up to 12 minutes before activating. It seems like the controller is not letting you set it, but that is not the case, it is just delaying the setting.

Try changing the ASD to 0, and then set the temperature to 37. Once you have reached 37, bump the ASD back up to 12.

 

[day_trippr]

Isn't there an ASD indicator that would be blinking if it was in the delayed start mode?

Cheers!

 

[Jennings]

Great explanation, much appreciated! That did the trick and now I finally get how this thing works. Thanks guys - Cheers!

 

[Jennings]

Damn... stumped again So, I just finished fermenting a beer in my kegerator at 62F and now I'm trying to bring the temp down in the kegerator to 37F and it refuses to get colder than 42F. The fridge/compressor will stay on for at least a few minutes at 42F and then eventually turns off. I've tried setting the SP to 35F, 36F, and 37F, but still no luck. The kegerator temp refuses to go lower than 42F? Here are my current settings:

SP - 35F
DIF - 2
ASD - 12
OFS -0
SF -1
* note - none of the jumpers have been changed from the default factory settings.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

 

[day_trippr]

Sounds like the internal fridge thermostat is limiting the temperature. You may be able to adjust it colder if you can expose the thermostat...

Cheers!

 

[Jennings]

Thanks for the help, because without this site I would be completely lost with this! So, here's a pic of the wires behind the refrigerator's temp control/thermostat. I read somewhere while Googling this that these wires can be rewired to completely bypass the refrigerator's temp control/thermostat, which might be why I'm unable to get the fridge below 42F. Is that basically what you're suggesting? If so, what should I do next? I'm ready to start cutting wires!

 

[makokiller]

Looks to me like you would bug the pink and black wires together. The green is just a ground.

 

[kh54s10]

I have made a fermentation chamber. The mini fridge is unable to get the temperature in it below 50 degrees even when running constantly. (it iced up) Maybe you are going lower than the fridge can handle.

Added: I just looked in my fridge and it is 37 degrees on its own. For serving temperatures maybe it would just be best to remove the controller from the equation.

 

[day_trippr]

Looks to me like you would bug the pink and black wires together. The green is just a ground.

Agreed. That would allow the Johnson to own the compressor...

Cheers!

 

[Jennings]

Awww...yeahhh... that homebrew's gonna taste damn good at 37F! Thanks again for all the help.