Refrigerator project
- Thread starter jmart84
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joe_four_strings
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search the forums for the STC-1000 temp controller. It's a very easy mod.
RussPDX
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Best & most economical are at odds with each other. I use an STC 1000 setup for mine and it is fine, but you could step it up to either a basic PID setup or one of the aurduino set ups.
Stc - simple cheap and easy. Set a temp and the power to your fridge and/or heater turns off when you hit the temp, and turns on when you get x deg from your temp. You can set x. No learning, so you can overshoot your temps. I just monitor ambient in the chamber and set a degree or two below target at the beginning of fermentation.
PID - a little more expensive and complicated but not bad. I built a control panel for my BIAB setup without too much trouble. The advantage is that it can "learn" how the liquid changes temp so you can put a thermowell in your fermentor and you should be able to hold very accurate temps after you set up and tune the system.
Aurduino setups - costs add up when you start adding wifi and screens, lots of complication and totally over my head, but let you do really freakin cool stuff for display, remote control and data logging.
Stc - simple cheap and easy. Set a temp and the power to your fridge and/or heater turns off when you hit the temp, and turns on when you get x deg from your temp. You can set x. No learning, so you can overshoot your temps. I just monitor ambient in the chamber and set a degree or two below target at the beginning of fermentation.
PID - a little more expensive and complicated but not bad. I built a control panel for my BIAB setup without too much trouble. The advantage is that it can "learn" how the liquid changes temp so you can put a thermowell in your fermentor and you should be able to hold very accurate temps after you set up and tune the system.
Aurduino setups - costs add up when you start adding wifi and screens, lots of complication and totally over my head, but let you do really freakin cool stuff for display, remote control and data logging.
Since best and most economical are typically mutually exclusive, I would say that the STC-1000 is probably the most economical. The BrewPi the best. And either the Cheap Brewpi or the STC-1000+ somewhere in the middle.
With the DIY Cheap Brewpi you get all the functionality of the full blown BrewPi, But it takes a little work. It is however, the best fermentation controller for my money. As an added bonus the BrewPi uses PID algorithms to control the temperature. Mine rarely moves more than .1dF during fermentation.
With the DIY Cheap Brewpi you get all the functionality of the full blown BrewPi, But it takes a little work. It is however, the best fermentation controller for my money. As an added bonus the BrewPi uses PID algorithms to control the temperature. Mine rarely moves more than .1dF during fermentation.
