Problems with my Black Box Fermentation Temp Controller

[cernst151]

I bought a fermentation temp controller from www.blackboxbrew.com a few months ago. I'd heard a lot of good things so I went with it. I didn't have a chance to brew again until yesterday and was very happy to see how easy it was to program. I programmed it, plugged a freezer into the cold plug and a heater into the heat plug and... nothing.

I tested both the freezer and the heater and both work fine when plugged directly into the power strip but when plugged into the Black Box I get nothing. When I let the temp sensor sit in cold air the Black Box lights the light that says it's heating but the heater doesn't turn on. When I stick the temp sensor in my armpit to heat it up the Black Box says it's cooling but doesn't turn on the freezer.

I've set the temp variation to 1 degree and I've set the cool and heat delays to 2 min. I emailed the guy on his website last night but I understand it's just one guy and he can't necessarily respond to all emails immediately so I was hoping someone on here might have some suggestions.

Can anybody help? I've now got 10 gallons of beer with yeast in them chilling in my basement.

 

[cernst151]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I tested this with 2 different freezers and 3 different heaters to make sure those weren't the issue.

 

[maierhof]

Sounds like a defective unit if you tested it with other units - shipping or something else could have harmed it. Get back to BlackBox and address it with him.

He is also up here on these boards:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/members/wilconrad

Edit - sorry about that beer you are about to lose

 

[cernst151]

Sounds like a defective unit if you tested it with other units - shipping or something else could have harmed it. Get back to BlackBox and address it with him.

He is also up here on these boards:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/members/wilconrad

Edit - sorry about that beer you are about to lose

He got back to me this morning and also suggested it might be a bad or mis-wired unit. I'll be opening it up and contacting him about it tonight.

I'm certainly not expecting to "lose" this beer. I've been brewing for years without temperature control. I'm just going to have to move it to a warmer spot in the house and have my normal temp swings. I'm just going to have to put off my first trial of a well controlled fermentation.

 

[azazel1024]

Odds are miswired. If it is indicating heating/cooling cycle, especially if you can hear the relay flip, it means most likely a miswired unit or one of the wires popped loose.

I managed to do the former when I wired up my own ITC-1000 temp controller a few days ago. I had already wired up an STC-1000 a month ago, but wanted to convert another mini fridge. Accidently swapped the hot and neutrals on everything, so the controller itself works, but it doesn't properly supply power to the outlet. Opened it back up and scratched my head a few times, looked at a wiring diagram again and then realized what I had messed up and swapped it all around.

Works like a charm now.

 

[maierhof]

He got back to me this morning and also suggested it might be a bad or mis-wired unit. I'll be opening it up and contacting him about it tonight.

I'm certainly not expecting to "lose" this beer. I've been brewing for years without temperature control. I'm just going to have to move it to a warmer spot in the house and have my normal temp swings. I'm just going to have to put off my first trial of a well controlled fermentation.

Excellent news! That is great to hear...

 

[cernst151]

I sent him some pictures via email and he was able to walk me through a couple small things. Now it's working perfectly! Hooray for excellent customer service!

 

[day_trippr]

Traditionally, when someone asks for help with a problem and that problem is eventually solved, the solution is posted for posterity.

Even if that solution was something stupidly simple

Cheers!

 

[wilconrad]

Traditionally, when someone asks for help with a problem and that problem is eventually solved, the solution is posted for posterity.



Even if that solution was something stupidly simple



Cheers!

I made a bonehead mistake and forgot to plug in the heat & cool leads to the outlets when I assembled the box. Embarrassing. I test these things before I ship to ensure that the controller powers on and the sensor is reading properly, but I don't test the outlets. May be time for me to add that step to my test procedure.

 

[day_trippr]

Gee, ya think?



Thanks for the follow-up.

And, yes, that would be a responsible thing to do in the future...

Cheers!

 

[wilconrad]

Thanks for the advice and the sarcasm, both are appreciated.

 

[ShepFL]

Ok folks

I bought a fermentation temp controller from www.blackboxbrew.com a few months ago. I'd heard a lot of good things so I went with it and got 2. I didn't have a chance to use them until Saturday 4/23. Very easy to program them. I programmed them for 62F and 65F. Plugged in drink cooler in the cold plug and hit run...

All was well until Wednesday night when someone hit power pole and knocked out power at the house. Now I have nothing. Broke out the spare and tested the outlet directly to cooler. Off and running again but last night I came home to black box not running. Unplugged it, then tried again. Both now appear to be dead but cooler works fine when plugged directly into the wall outlet.

I've set the temp variation to 1 degree and I've set the cool delays to 2 min. I emailed Wil on on his website last night but as a 1 man show I understand he has a life to live and not responding to all emails immediately. Looking for someone here might have some suggestions.

Can anybody help? I've now got 20 gallons of Belgian dubble wort with yeast chilling in my cooler at 38F.
Thanks