Just bought this unit. Running it through its paces before a wort is involved. Any tips and tricks? My first with this equipment will be a maibock. According to the yeast 50 degrees during fermentation. A rest is in order. Unplug the cool and plug in the heat right away? I noticed Spike made the plug where you can't plug both of them in at the same time. I'm assuming this was done on purpose?
Spike TC-100+
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If you use the controller and have the heat and cool side both plugged in, the unit will control which side is activated based on temp. The Spike control unit engages when the temp varies by 1 degree. So if you set at 50 degrees and you have a glycol chiller or cooler with ice water hooked up, it will turn on at 51 degrees and cool. So keep both sides plugged in. The set temp will let the unit do what its supposed to and adjust accordingly.
I dont know why they made them with the plug ins so close. You have to plug one in first then the other as best you can. Ive thought about shaving off the plastic head part on 1 side of the plug to give more room but its been working.
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I've never had a problem plugging in the pump brick and a 2 pin plug for the heat pad. They are very close, but never seem to be an issue.
Spike recommends not plugging in both the heating and cooling at the same time because you will have them working against each other and running more often. If your room is warmer than your target temp, just plug in the cooling, and vice versa.
Mine only ever overshoots cooling by maybe 1.5 degrees F, and I just let it naturally and slowly warm back up until it triggers the glycol pump again.
One tip I would have is don’t ever unhook your glycol lines from the fermenter lid and leave them unattached (even if the pump is unplugged). I unhooked my lines and unplugged the pump when it was time to clean after I completed my first fermentation in my Spike CF5. I made sure to leave the open ends of the tubes laying above the level of the chiller so that nothing would flow out due to gravity.
Well later I decided to drop the temp on my chiller a couple of degrees, and I guess the temp drop caused a pressure change that resulted in about half of my glycol flowing out of the tubes all over my floor. That was fun. So if you unhook those lines from the coil lid, make sure you don’t leave them unhooked for long.
Mine only ever overshoots cooling by maybe 1.5 degrees F, and I just let it naturally and slowly warm back up until it triggers the glycol pump again.
One tip I would have is don’t ever unhook your glycol lines from the fermenter lid and leave them unattached (even if the pump is unplugged). I unhooked my lines and unplugged the pump when it was time to clean after I completed my first fermentation in my Spike CF5. I made sure to leave the open ends of the tubes laying above the level of the chiller so that nothing would flow out due to gravity.
Well later I decided to drop the temp on my chiller a couple of degrees, and I guess the temp drop caused a pressure change that resulted in about half of my glycol flowing out of the tubes all over my floor. That was fun. So if you unhook those lines from the coil lid, make sure you don’t leave them unhooked for long.
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