Thermocurious? (stc1000)

[sremed60]

First the disclaimer: I'm not an electrician.

So when it comes to DIY fermentation chambers there's a plethora of information on the STC-1000. But here's my (apparently) unique situation. I just upgraded the two thermostats in my house from non-programmable (Honeywell RTH111B) to programmable. So now I have two of the non-programmable thermostats sitting in a box in the garage.

As I said, I'm not an electrician, so I decided to surf around the internet to see if I could use one of these instead of buying an STC-1000. We're only talking $10 or $12 so it's not necessarily a cost issue. But I figured since I already have the Honeywell thermostats...

I was basically wondering if there is anyone on here knowledgeable in this area who could tell me if a home thermostat would do the same thing as the STC-1000. It's really just a temperature controlled switch after all.

 

[Bellybuster]

it will but....... the temp swings from the standard non digital thermostat are huge. The STC can give you control over that. The thermostat will also only give you the ability to heat , not both heat and cool at the same time.

 

[sremed60]

it will but....... the temp swings from the standard non digital thermostat are huge. The STC can give you control over that. The thermostat will also only give you the ability to heat , not both heat and cool at the same time.

It is digital and it has the ability to heat and cool. I have a fermentation chamber I built, (a fancy wooden box). I then gutted a mini refrigerator I found on craigslist for $20. I probably could have just converted the fridge, but the box I built is a little bigger. I was concerned with whether or not the cooling system from the fridge would be able to handle the extra cu ft in the wooden box, but I decided the box isn't that much bigger and I won't be asking the system to maintain a temperature of 35F-40F degrees, so that should be fine.

My only issue now is to figure out a way to control the temp. If I have to buy the STC it's not a major problem. I just thought I would see if it's possible to use the thermostat I have first.

The temp probe in the Honeywell is built in so that thermostat would have to be installed inside the chamber. That's not a major concern for me. I did see a youtube video on how to run a wire and make an external temp probe on this thermostat. It seems pretty simple, but again, I'm not too concerned with whether the thermostat is inside or outside the chamber.

 

[dyqik]

The biggest question I have is how much current the Honeywell can switch - if it's less than a few amps (not sure exactly how many), then you may need an external relay to handle the in-rush current on starting up the mini-fridge compressor. And once you need to buy an external relay and wire it up, you might as well go for an STC-1000.

And if you will ever need to automatically switch from cool to heat (e.g. if the ambient temperature will vary across your target fermentation temperature), then the thermostat can't do that.

 

[fantomlord]

I think you're better off just picking up an STC...especially if you're going to go through the trouble of wiring an external probe

 

[day_trippr]

dyqik has an excellent point: if that thermostat was for a gas or oil system, it almost certainly runs on 24vac and has a pissant current capability.

Otherwise, because that thermostat would have to reside inside whatever it's going to control, it's going to be exposed to conditions for which it likely wasn't designed to sustain (condensing humidity, primarily)...

Cheers!

 

[LandoLincoln]

If you do go the STC-1000 route, I'd recommend getting an Inkbird ITC-1000 controller instead. Same price, but reads in F instead of C and the programming controls are a little better.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I would go with a STC1000 and flash it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=464348

If you do go the STC-1000 route, I'd recommend getting an Inkbird ITC-1000 controller instead. Same price, but reads in F instead of C and the programming controls are a little better.

 

[sremed60]

I think the STC route makes more sense - mostly because I'm not electronically inclined. I built the fermenter to look like an antique wooden ice box. I installed the thermostat in the bottom chamber wired to a 4.5" 12v pc fan blowing down from the upper chamber. My original idea was to put 4 frozen gallon jugs of water in the top and the fan would kick on and off blowing the cold air down into the bottom chamber to keep it at whatever temp I set the thermostat at.

The electrical aspect worked. But the jugs thawed out WAY faster than I expected and the condensation was unreal. So I would have had to rotate 4 frozen gallon jugs at least twice a day and come up with a way to drain off the insane condensation.

That's when I decided to buy this mini fridge and gut it.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I would go with a STC1000 and flash it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=464348

The Inkbird is basically an STC that has been flashed already. And it's the same price.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Can you upgrade the Inkbird in the future?

The Inkbird is basically an STC that has been flashed already. And it's the same price.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Can you upgrade the Inkbird in the future?

Upgrade it to what?

 

[WrQth]

The Inkbird is basically an STC that has been flashed already. And it's the same price.

An STC-1000 that has been upgraded provides far more functionality beyond just F versus C. You can create temp ramps for fermentation and lagering instead of having to do it manually.

STC-1000+ thread
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=464348

 

[sremed60]

Got the Inkbird in the mail today.