Son of Fermentation Chiller Question

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mew

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I've decided to build a son of fermentation chiller, but I have very little knowledge of the electronics involved. The directions say to use an analog thermostat because they're 12 VDC whereas the digital ones are 24 VAC.

Is the need for the 12 VDC just because the fan needs 12 VDC to work properly? I don't really understand whether the thermostat provides power for the fan or if it just tells the fan to turn on. It would seem to me that a digital thermostat would be more convenient because it shows what it is set to.

My reference:

http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.PDF
 
I built chiller a few year back and the analog thermostat was only $10. You could set it up anyway you like but the digital thermostat is more expensive. It was easy to find a 12V DC fan out of an old computer too.
 
Are the analog thermostats easy to find? and if I got a digital thermostat, would it be difficult to find a 24 VAC fan? Thanks!
 
Yep, I found the cheapo analog at a hardware store. I can send you a closeup of the wiring if you want; just PM me if you would like to see the wiring.

I don't know about finding a 24V DC fan; I was able to find a fan out of an old computer so I used it. I was more concerned about the mAmps and the transformer I scanvenged off of an old rechargeable vacuum cleaner was within range for the fan so I went with it instead of something that I would've needed resisitors for. I sure you can find what you need for what you're wanting to do but I wasn't wanting to spend any $ so I just used what I had except the bi-metal thermostat.
 
I'm with you when it comes to keeping costs down. I found several digital thermostats for <$10, but I just don't know how to reconcile the 24 volt ac requirement of the thermostat and the 12 volt dc requirement for a normal cooling fan. The tried and true analog method may be the way to go.

Thanks for the help, runhard. Any more input from anyone is appreciated.
 
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