Johnson Controls Refrigerator Thermostat

[Arkador]

Anyone know a chain store that sells these? Are they available at Home Depot, or Lowes? Or is it an online order thing mainly?

I just sold my fridge, and am planning to buy a chest freezer this weekend.

 

[springer]

most HVAC companies will carry them I can pick them up at N&S Supply in Fishkill but they are priced higher so even with shipping the online is lower priced dont you have a LHBS?

 

[Arkador]

both LHBS's are out of stock. I was hoping to get this thing turned on tomorrow.

Well, a LHBS 60 miles away has one. It is near my mother-in-law's (who is coming over on Sunday) so i may be able to have her pick it up for me, and have it on Sunday. Aslo asked my brewclub if anyone has one. All the HVAC and resteraunt supply companies think i am an idiot when i asked them.


homebrew club member came through with a loaner i can use while waiting for one to ship!

 

[Shaun_ATX]

I just bought the Johnson Digital Temp Control form Northern Brewer online, ordered on Tuesday and received it in my doorstep Friday afternoon. Cost me $88 with shipping, set it up on my chest freezer and works like a charm.

 

[Ferrousity]

Grainger Supply sells a bunch of different kinds of controllers (ranco, johnson) including the one you are talking about I think. They have outlets all over the place but you may have to have a business account to buy from them and they aren't necessarily cheaper.

 

[chucke]

I just bought a Ranco*ETC-111000 and it was $58 delivered. It works fine.

Only thing, you have to wire it yourself. I did it and I'm not an electrician. I searched this site and others and figured it all out.

 

[Arkador]

should my tem probe be measuring the air temp, or should i put it in a glass of water, so it is recording that temprature?

 

[McKBrew]

should my tem probe be measuring the air temp, or should i put it in a glass of water, so it is recording that temprature?

There has been some varying discussion on this. I feel that having it in a medium that allows for slower temperature changes would be more accurate. Some of us use a vial of some sort filled with ice pack gel.

 

[Roman Brewer]

I would not recommend using water with your probe. Just regulate the air temp. Water has a much higher specific heat capacity, meaning it takes a lot to heat it up and cool it off. You'll end up running your fridge for an hour and a half just to cool it a degree or two, then you'll have a really cold ambient temperature in the fridge that will keep on cooling your beer after the fridge shuts off. It only takes a few minutes at a time to change the temp inside a fridge, and if you set your differential to 2 degrees, it won't turn on but for 6-8 minutes at a time. The air temp will fluctuate 2 degrees up and down throughout the day, but your beer will stay right around the midrange temp.

I do this in my fridge, it works great.

Roman

 

[Oscbert]

Can I use one of these if I have a refrigerator and freezer combo?
I only want to regulate the refrigerator part and keep the freezer at normal freezer temps for meats and such.

 

[chemman14]

Can I use one of these if I have a refrigerator and freezer combo?
I only want to regulate the refrigerator part and keep the freezer at normal freezer temps for meats and such.

depends on what temps you are running. For fermentation, no, but if you are running it at keg temps you might not have an issue

 

[metro0308]

depends on what temps you are running. For fermentation, no, but if you are running it at keg temps you might not have an issue

I know this is an old thread, but why would I not be able to use this with a top/bottom combo for fermentation?

 

[day_trippr]

I know this is an old thread, but why would I not be able to use this with a top/bottom combo for fermentation?

That's not what was asked and answered - which was the side effect of using a combo unit for fermentation versus dispensing (aka kegerator) and whether the freezer compartment would still maintain "normal freezer temps".

The answer to that doesn't preclude using such a fridge, just whether the freezer would be useful.

Fwiw, I have two such fridges (both 17cf top-freezer models), and use one for cold conditioning/carbing/holding kegs, and the other for fermentation. The freezer is totally functional in the former (and is packed full of vacuum sealed hops), and is totally useless in the latter...

Cheers!

 

[Setesh]

Can I use one of these if I have a refrigerator and freezer combo?
I only want to regulate the refrigerator part and keep the freezer at normal freezer temps for meats and such.

It might work, depends on the unit and the interior volume. The freezer and the refrigerator section are fed by the same compressor, there is valve that diverts a certain portion of cold air to your fridge section. I assume that if you aren't opening the freezer section often you will be fine and could keep stuff in there as long as you were keeping the fridge section to a reasonably cool temp, but I think only testing will tell you for certain. If you set your diverter valve to the highest temp for the fridge section it would make the freezer section as cold as possible and therefore give you the best chance.

 

[metro0308]

Got it, I must have misunderstood. So essentially if I want to ferment at a temp in the 60's I'll find that freezer isn't very freezy b/c it's the same compressor for the fridge, and the controller will keep cutting power when the fridge it at the warmer temp. But if I am setting it to a colder temp, say 40's and crank down the fridge temp the freezer will be nice and frozen b/c again same concept.