# Help Wiring Up A New Tempmate From Craftbrewer?



## Barley Belly (14/10/08)

Just wondering on some sparky help to wire up my new TempMate fridge controller

Seems easy but when you are playing with 240V you wanna be triply sure

If a sparky could whip up a quick wiring diagram I would be forever in their debt  












*"Notice：
1. The earth terminal of the controller should be connected with the earth terminal of the electric
cabinet reliably，be sure to connect the earth well.*"


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## MartinS (14/10/08)

finners said:


> Just wondering on some sparky help to wire up my new TempMate fridge controller



Seriously, get someone in the know to do it for you. It's too easy to get it wrong, even if you follow a circuit diagram to the letter. Where abouts in NSW are you?

You're going to get a bunch of replies here telling you how people think it should be done, while all the sparkies keep quiet knowing you're going to get it wrong anyway. It's too easy to balls it up in a way that it looks like it's working until some poor sap walks into your bar area when something out of your control goes wrong.


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## Supra-Jim (14/10/08)

Finners, the diagram provided on the box is pretty self explanitary, *IF* you know what your doing electrically.

If you're asking these questions, then it would probably be best/safest to get a sparky to do it


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## trevc (14/10/08)

meh... grounding is for wimps, and highly over-rated.


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## wakkatoo (14/10/08)

I'll do plumbing, carpentry, mechanics, but ALWAYS leave electrical to those who do it for a living. Just too risky IMO. Have a look around the house and identify other little jobs requiring a sparky and get them out for 1/2 a day. Get a bit more value out of them and everything stays safe and come with a nice compliance certificate...
I envy those who have a sparky mate, as the currency of beer also works really well!


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## Adamt (14/10/08)

One mistake and its likely lights out, not just for your house.


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## Back Yard Brewer (14/10/08)

finners said:


> Just wondering on some sparky help to wire up my new TempMate fridge controller
> 
> Seems easy but when you are playing with 240V you wanna be triply sure
> 
> ...



Maybe the supplier could supply a wiring diagram similar to the one that mashmate sells, mashmates looks fool proof. It really does not matter how much people say "don't wire it yourself" thay are still going to try. I for one am guilty of it. (With a little help from a sparky freind)

BYB


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## 3G (14/10/08)

Yep, if you cant 100% follow what is shown on the box dont do it.


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## brettprevans (14/10/08)

its a fairly simple job and the wiring diagram gives you all the info you need. but as said if you cant figure out what your meant to be doing from whats there then you shouldnt be doing it yourself. make a friend with a sparky then pay them in beer.

I wire up lights, TV arial cables and but thats about it. Then again I paid a sparky to put in a spanking new switchboard with bells and whistles so I couldnt kill myself. As said just find a few jobs that need doing and get them to do it in one hit.


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## Ross (14/10/08)

Back Yard Brewer said:


> Maybe the supplier could supply a wiring diagram similar to the one that mashmate sells, mashmates looks fool proof. It really does not matter how much people say "don't wire it yourself" thay are still going to try. I for one am guilty of it. (With a little help from a sparky freind)
> 
> BYB



Hi BYB,

We do supply a wiring diagram with the unit, but it's basically the same as the one on the unit & couldn't be any simpler (much easier to wire than the fridgemate). As others have pointed out, if you don't fully understand the diagram, get someone who knows what they are doing to do it. 

cheers Ross


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## Paul H (14/10/08)

If you feel a sudden jolt or the lights go out I think you have made a mistake & keep trying  

Cheers

Paul


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## schooey (14/10/08)

1. Installation of 240V equipment should only be carried out by qualified people.
2. Just because it's on the net, doesn't mean it's right

*3. **USE AT OWN RISK!!!*


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## Greg Lawrence (14/10/08)

schooey said:


> 1. Installation of 240V equipment should only be carried out by qualified people.
> 2. Just because it's on the net, doesn't mean it's right
> 
> *3. **USE AT OWN RISK!!!*
> ...




I wouldnt use that circuit diagram if you want the thing to work. Its not gunna kill ya, just wont work.
Those heat and cool terminals are switches, not outlets, therefore should be switching active only. They dont supply a neutral to the load.
All Neutrals (blues) should be commoned , just like the earth, but with a neutral connection to the power terminal.

Havent got time to draw you a diagram as I am trying to get away from work so I can go home and brew.
Im sure someone else wil back me up and draw a nice little picture for you.
I probably shouldnt have even got involved, but I couldnt help myself.


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## cdbrown (14/10/08)

Disclaimer - I'm not a sparky

If this thing operates like a fridgemate then Gregor is spot on and the wiring won't work like that. You would need to run the active (brown) from the supply to the power, heat and cool screw terminals, then brown out of the heat and cool to the relevant equipment. Blue would also split with 1 going to the power and then 2 going to the heat and cool equipment. Earth is similar but to the ground terminal on the tempmate.


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## Fermented (14/10/08)

+1 on don't do it if you don't know what you're doing. 

The diagram is very straight-forward _if_ you know what you're doing. If you don't, then you may either break the box or worse, yourself.

Where in NSW are you? Maybe there is someone who lives nearby in the forums in the know who can assist?

Cheers - Fermented.


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## Jye (14/10/08)

- Insert suitable risk statement -

AND YES GETTING ZAPPED IS NO FUN!


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## schooey (14/10/08)

Yep, Gregor was spot on..... <INSERT HUGE EMBARRASSMENT MOMENT>

Two lessons learned.. only qualified people should do this, mugs like me really shouldn't post things like this no matter how much we think we're helping.

I saved you the trouble of editing it, Gregor. I have no idea what I was thinking... *slaps own forehead and dons flamesuit*

Edit: Jye already did it.... but at least the original is correct also to save confusion in the future


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## cdbrown (14/10/08)

Good work Jye.

Finners get a terminal block and chop it up into 3 lots of 3 terminals as this makes things a lot easier. You'll need to cut up 2 extension cords, or cut 1 ext into 3 equal pieces and wire up the middle piece to a female plug. From each of the lengths just chop off an extra piece around 5cm or so, remove the outer sheath and these can be used between the terminal blocks and tempmate. 

Simple way connect each of the wires of the male ext cord to a terminal block, do the same for the others using a separate terminal block each time so you'll end up with 3 cables each with a terminal block. Now use the extra lengths you've already chopped to make the connection between the male and tempmate, male and female, tempmate and female.


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## Greg Lawrence (14/10/08)

Good on ya Jye.
Just got home, and couldnt help but checking if someone had corrected the circuit diagram.
Now I can go and keg a couple of brews without having to worry about drawing up a new diagram.

I must have missed this device when I recently bought my fridgemate (for my chest freezer kegerator). It looks like a very handy device with both heating and cooling (assuming it has an adjustable tolerance). I might have to get me one for my redundant kegerator and turn it into a fermenter fridge.


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## InCider (14/10/08)

I think we should all wait for Lethalcorpse! :lol:


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## schooey (14/10/08)

:lol: I nearly typed *dons flamesuit in wait for LC*....

But in all seriousness, it's no laughing matter, I posted something in the heat of the moment when I should have known it wasn't right. Maybe nobody would have been hurt, but maybe they could have, maybe they could have ruined the unit...

I think I've learned my lesson..


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## reVoxAHB (14/10/08)

LethalCorpse _will no doubt _supply the adequate smack down






reVox


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## Greg Lawrence (14/10/08)

reVox said:


> LethalCorpse _will no doubt _supply the adequate smack down
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The evidence is gone now that Schooey has edited his original circuit diagram. Nothing to smack him down about now.


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## schooey (14/10/08)

yeah well, like I said, I read your post and slapped my own forehead. I edited it straight away, I thought it would be better for people searching in the future. As soon as I had posted it, I noticed Jye had been doing the same thing...

Anyway, I'm happy to take the wrap, it's right now, and it will only help people in the future...


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## Barley Belly (16/10/08)

A big thanks guys for all your concern and especially for the help.  

Here's a pic of a wiring diagram I was sent, obviously I need to wire the heater up as well the same as the fridge.

Will let you know how it all goes


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## Crunched (22/10/08)

My TempMate arrived today, so I got stuck in wiring it up. I actually searched for a thread like this but could only find the announcement of CraftBrewer releasing this thing. Anyway, attached is a pic of my wiring job, which is pretty much the same as the diagrams posted here. Was easy to wire up and is now running my chest freezer cooling my new kegs. :icon_cheers:


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## jonocarroll (6/12/08)

Saturday project: Complete.

Thanks to all who have posted diagrams and pics - it sure helped for wiring mine up. I've used a Dick Smith jiffy box like someone else on here has, a terminal block and 2 extension cords.

Attached is my wiring diagram (the photo is just too complicated to follow). Please let me know if you think it's a downgrade on the current diagrams (diagram can be removed if it's considerably worse). The structure is the same, slight differences on the junction box, and mine has the heat wired in. Just a note for those wiring theirs up - the face panel needs to go on *before* you connect all the wires up.

Also attached... happy snaps of final product. It works fine (tested with an appliance in either heat or cool plugs and adjusted temps) so I'm pretty satisfied.


Cheers! :icon_cheers:


Edit: Adding things I said I would.


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## AntCoop (7/12/08)

Thanks for posting these pics and wiring diagrams.

Ive just purchased a TempMate from Craftbrewer and was wondering about using terminal blocks in the wiring, as this is very helpful.

cheers Coops :beerbang:


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## denimglen (8/12/08)

I'd like to add a fan to fermentation freezer to circulate the cold/warm air. I want it to turn on when the heat or cool cycle starts.

I assume I'd need diodes in 'A' and 'B', is this correct? If so what sort of diode do I use and where do I find one? 





Thanks guys.

Hope you don't mind me borrowin your photo QuantumBrewer.


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## jonocarroll (8/12/08)

Picture is there to be used. DWHAHB.

The wiring of this was about the upper limit of my electronics knowledge, so - sorry. Can't help with diodes. I can only say that I hope 240V going through the fan you have chosen won't be a problem.

My only question is - why do you only want the fan going when the heat/cool cycle is on? Surely it would be better to have the fan running all (or most) of the time to keep the temperature homogeneous. I could imagine that if the fan is off, your temperature reading _could_ in theory be off due to a cool/warm patch of air, and turning the fan on would just mix that up and give you the correct temperature reading when the fermenter was actually at the right temp the entire time... does that make sense?

I would propose either having the fan running constantly, or on some sort of intermittent switch (run every 10 mins for 2 mins). You would need a separate power supply, but these can be harvested from old electronics (printer/computer/etc... ) and a timing switch. How does everyone else do this? I probably want one too <_<


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## denimglen (8/12/08)

Fan will be sweet as, gonna use a 150mm desk fan from Bunning's that plugs into the wall.

I kinda see what you're saying about the timing.

My theory was that air isn't the best conductor of heat/cold and that having the air circulating around the inside of the fridge would help the temps change a little faster and more efficiently.

I think if the probe is only reading the temp of the fermenter, ie insulated from the open air, it should be ok and that hot/cold spots in the fridge shouldn't be a problem?


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## jonocarroll (8/12/08)

I guess the other main problem if you're using a normal fan in the freezer is that there *will* be moisture in there, and you're putting an electrical device in *with* that condensation. From what I've seen in other people's pics on this site (possbily wrong on this), they have used a fan to keep the cold in a chest freezer when the lid gets opened, hence the need for a trip switch.

I'm not saying it won't work, I'm just cautious about a 240V open device sitting inside a wet box. This may be why people use computer fans - the power supply unit drops the power down to 12V (AFAIK), which should be pretty safe in those conditions.

Maybe it's just safer to not open the door too often and to accept a slight loss in cooling efficiency from not circulating the air?


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## rclemmett (8/12/08)

QuantumBrewer said:


> I'm not saying it won't work, I'm just cautious about a 240V open device sitting inside a wet box. This may be why people use computer fans - the power supply unit drops the power down to 12V (AFAIK), which should be pretty safe in those conditions.



+1

Where is Lethal Corpse h34r: 

If moisture gets into the windings of the motor who knows what the results might be.

Diodes will cut out one of the half cycles, either positive or negative, so if you put them in at A and B with opposite polarity it should work, but I don't know how a fan would behave operating on only one half cycle..........

IMHO it sounds like a bad idea. If you do it, make sure the circuit you plug it into has an RCD.


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## Batz (8/12/08)

Computer fan cobber

And have it running 24/7,I hooked mine to one of those power usage checker thingy's,two weeks running it cost zip.
Oh it's 12 volt much better than a damp 240 volt zapper.

Batz


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## jonocarroll (8/12/08)

We're slightly OT here, but I think anyone interested in wiring their Tempmate will be curious...

Batz - Did you use a computer PSU for your computer fan? Small fan or large fan? And most importantly - have you noticed any improvements by using it?


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## Batz (8/12/08)

Just a computer fan I scored for nothing from the repair shop,they will give you one.
Used a transformer like a mobile phone type, that I scored from a Vinnie store,they have a couple of boxes full,I just go through till I find a 12v on..$1.00 each

As for a difference,I have had one in my fermenting freezer and keg freezer for ages.I used to get ice forming on the wall of the freezer in one section,now I don't.

Batz


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## jonocarroll (8/12/08)

Batz - just for clarification, could you post a pic of your fan and accompanying wiring? Or link in if you have done so elsewhere?

Sounds like a reasonable bargain. I may even have all the parts lying around anyway.


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## denimglen (9/12/08)

Thanks guys, probably will just skip the fan wiring then and run it 24/7 from a separate power supply.



QuantumBrewer said:


> Batz - just for clarification, could you post a pic of your fan and accompanying wiring? Or link in if you have done so elsewhere?



I'd like to see it too, mainly for how it's mounted.


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## Barley Belly (9/12/08)

I know I'm not Batz but this is how I mounted mine.
It's just 2 bits of aluminium bent to suit and stuck on using a good double sided tape. (Originally thought of sticking directly to the roof but the fan needs a gap to pull air through)
It runs 24/7, hard wired in to 240v/12v adapter.
Does the job for me, hope this helps.


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## pdilley (30/6/09)

More pictures top down of the wiring to help anyone who needs an idea of how to wire it to work.

Picked up after work at Post, drove to Bunnings for crimps, done in a few hours work. Would have read instruction sheet, but diagram self explanatory. One note for Ross, would have been nice for a cutout template the average Joe could cut out and paste onto their chosen box. Room on the instruction sheet for one. I have digital calipers so in seconds I had an exact measurement down to the tenth of a mm and I drew my pattern out in seconds and drilled and jigsawed out in 5 minutes but I could see how others might find a template handy without the tools I have at their disposal.

Paint scheme to come will be "Painted for Dummies", the hot side gets painted red, the cold side gets painted blue and the rest of the box gray.

"SCORPION" layout of cables earned this TempMate its new nickname.


Lid eventually semi-permanently tacked on after painted and dry.



Wiring from Top-Down look. With crimps, I doubled up the common wires on the hot and cold (neutral [blue], and ground [yellow/green] wires) so it would fit together nicely on the lugs. Large photo for those that want a good look. The two brown bridging wires to get power over to the relays were put on first so unfortunately they don't stand out as well. In hindsight it would make a better training photo if they were put on last. On the doubled up lug attachments the bottom connection is from the mains power male plug, while the two wires to single crimp connector on the top of the lug comes from the two female power connectors on each side of the box. The doubled up brown wires to single lug is the two bridging wires which are only doubled up on one side shared with each end a single crimp connector, a typical 'Y' cable configuration. A simple 3m extension cable from Bunnings. I ended up getting 3 of them to cut in half and use for this and the A/C stirplates. 


Knots on all cables into the box is important to prevent the cable from being pulled out and then pulling directly on the lugs. This is standard strain relief for any such scenarios.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete


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## haish (1/7/09)

Hey denimglen

How about running a pc fan and 12V power supply from a double adaptor on the cool side of your fermentation freezer. This way it will run at the same time as the freezer is active.


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## Phoney (2/7/09)

Looking good BrewerPete; I bought a Jiffybox from Jaycar similar to Quantumbrewer's above. Jiffybox + the grommets & 2x electrical outlet thingys came to about $40.

Now I just need to find someone with a dremel. :huh: I cant really justify forking out >$100 for a tool ill probably only use once just yet...


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## jonocarroll (2/7/09)

phoneyhuh said:


> Now I just need to find someone with a dremel. :huh: I cant really justify forking out >$100 for a tool ill probably only use once just yet...


I have an Ozito Rotary Tool, $40 from one of the sheds F.O.S. You can also get a DSE one (not as nice IMO) for $30. I've used mine plenty of times (never actually used it for building the TM case, wish I had it then) - sander, grinder, buffer, heaps of uses.

Just putting the price in for you. If you can get someone else to do it (with their tools) for a couple of beers, even better.


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## Phoney (2/7/09)

Sold. Cheers mate, you've just saved me either a heap of cash, or a PITA.


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## pdilley (4/7/09)

I took my Ozito back last year when I was building model airplanes after using it not even one day. Got it to do some work, chucked the first bit in, did some cutting, then some grinding and the lock button on the Ozito lost grip when I changed out the bit in the Ozito for the fourth time since opening the brand new box. Opened the Ozito tool up for a quick inspection and found out the shaft uses such soft metal that the push-button lock mushed the metal on the shaft from the bottom of the kerf up through nearly 1/4 turn of the shaft like peanut butter and the tool was done for in 1/2 day of use and all that from finger pressures!. Cheap Chinese metal in that gear 

Long story short, on returning it to Bunnings and pricing out the full Dremel kit and plastic plunger, I got the Ryobi Bench Drill Press and an $18 flexible shaft drill press extender with its own built in chuck and have been doing all sorts of work since, tiny hobby gear up to full furniture and construction.

YMMV,
Brewer Pete


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## brettprevans (24/9/09)

so we all agree thats its best to use a sparky.....except ive just gone to use my tempmate that a registered and costly sparky wired.....nothing. ive spend ages looing at stuff ive done then decided i'll have a look to see if a wire has come out.....nope. i f*cker has wired it wrong. stupid mother f*cker!!!!! ive fixed now using the wiring diagram supplied with the unit and from this thread. i even gave the prick the wiring diagram and he still screwed it up. stupid f*cking sparky.

he fucked up my fridgemate also. really pissed off

thanks guys for putting up wiring diagrams for comparison.


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## brettprevans (24/9/09)

i should have clarified...the tempmate was hooked up to my new 3600W heating elemrnt for my hlt. oh well have now cracked grain and measured hops...will mash in at 6pm tomorrow.


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## WSC (22/11/09)

Big thanks to everyone that posted diagrams and pics in this thread.

I wired my Tempmate up and checked it 1000 times to make sure I wasn't going to die when I plugged it.

Very easy to do and it worked first time.

The unit was very easy to use 2.

Bring on brewing in summer!!!


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## husky (10/2/10)

Guys,
I have picked up one of these from ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Digital-Temper...=item3efc23681f

The only difference that I can see is the earth is not required to connect to the unit.
Will all the other wiring remain correct? I will have my sparky brother check it before I plug it in, just want thoughts as I will make up a daigram for him to check.

My understanding is that the active is to be switched and it does not matter which one of the supply terminals is active and which is neutral.


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## QldKev (10/2/10)

husky said:


> Guys,
> I have picked up one of these from ebay:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Digital-Temper...=item3efc23681f
> ...




There is a diagram on the unit that he can reference, being an electrician he will understand the wiring for the switched circuit. Too easy.

QldKev


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## Gooroo (15/2/10)

husky said:


> Guys,
> I have picked up one of these from ebay:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Mini-Digital-Temper...=item3efc23681f
> ...



I know its only 5 days but have you received the unit yet and used it? I'm looking at a TempMate but this looks like it does the job also!
And, anyone else used one of these babies? How was/is it?

Jason


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## pokolbinguy (16/2/10)

Gooroo said:


> I know its only 5 days but have you received the unit yet and used it? I'm looking at a TempMate but this looks like it does the job also!
> And, anyone else used one of these babies? How was/is it?
> 
> Jason




Have a look at this thread. I have one and works perfectly. Fast shipping, great unit. very happy.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...showtopic=41253

When I bought mine there was multiple listings of the same item, make sure you buy the cheapest one...save you a few $

Pok


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## Gooroo (18/2/10)

pokolbinguy said:


> Have a look at this thread. I have one and works perfectly. Fast shipping, great unit. very happy.
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...showtopic=41253
> 
> ...



Hey thanks, have ordered 1 and should receive mine next week. Also bought a heat belt and eagerly anticipating getting this going 

Jason


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## Count Vorlauf (19/11/10)

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving. Just wired mine up following your diagram and pics. Thanks again for postig them.



QuantumBrewer said:


> Saturday project: Complete.
> 
> Thanks to all who have posted diagrams and pics - it sure helped for wiring mine up. I've used a Dick Smith jiffy box like someone else on here has, a terminal block and 2 extension cords.
> 
> ...


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## jonocarroll (19/11/10)

Count Vorlauf said:


> This thread is the gift that keeps on giving. Just wired mine up following your diagram and pics. Thanks again for postig them.


Don't mention it (okay, do). :beer: 
Enjoy your temp-control fermented beers - makes a world of difference if you ask me.


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## pdfarrell (22/7/11)

A big thankyou to all the trail blazers and ideas put forward in this thread.
I just upgraded from my old fridgemate to a tempmate. 

Happy with the result.


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## dylan.temple (23/8/11)

G'day got my tempmate today and looking at wiring up tomorrow, my mates a sparky and is coming over to do it but hes asking what materials he should try and grab from work. So just wondering that I should be asking for to make sure hes got everything. Any advice would be great


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## dylan.temple (24/8/11)

mr. magoo said:


> G'day got my tempmate today and looking at wiring up tomorrow, my mates a sparky and is coming over to do it but hes asking what materials he should try and grab from work. So just wondering that I should be asking for to make sure hes got everything. Any advice would be great



Just giving this a bump as my mate is a bout to clock off


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## hsb (24/8/11)

Not much really. A box to contain it (some use Jiffy Box. Tupperware etc..) Grommet to sit round the probe cable through wall of box. Cable ties to tidy/make wires impossible to rip out. Wire! 
1m Extension cord (to cut in 2 to make wall plug/plug for fridge) or - see post #56 for a more elegant solution.


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