Adloheat Controllers

[ntboozer]

QUOTE
NTBoozer,
I just checked out the Adloheat website, and the THB 30-110 is listed at $98. How'd you manage to get that price?
Andy
QUOTE
You certainly scored there NT, both those controllers are listed as $103 and $93 respectively on their site.
I was going to offer to build one for you if you were really stuck.
Nice work.
Cheers, JD
Guys,
All I did was e-mail them and ask for the price of the units and postage to Darwin(no haggling or anything). Those prices I posted yesterday are direct from their reply e-mail quote. Money has been t/fered and they are in the post on their way as I type. I'll give an update next week when I confirm the correct units have been sent.
nt

Guys,
These units arrived today, invoiced and paid for as per original quote (mentioned above).

Unsure if they stuffed up with the quote or their web site is incorrect but I'm happy with paying $60 for each of them.
Now all I have to do is modify that fridge to fit the fermenter and all is good.
Cheers
nt
:beer:

 

[bonk]

score !!!

might have to try it out as well, might be an NT pricing plan

 

[Thunderlips]

Unsure if they stuffed up with the quote or their web site is incorrect but I'm happy with paying $60 for each of them.
Now all I have to do is modify that fridge to fit the fermenter and all is good.

You've done well.
I just bought a second one from ESB for $120 plus postage
They are a good unit though and the one I've had for nearly a year has served my fermentation fridge well. The second one will be used with a chest freezer.
The one with the black housing, is it different in any way to the two others?

 

[normell]

QUOTE
NTBoozer,
I just checked out the Adloheat website, and the THB 30-110 is listed at $98. How'd you manage to get that price?
Andy
QUOTE
You certainly scored there NT, both those controllers are listed as $103 and $93 respectively on their site.
I was going to offer to build one for you if you were really stuck.
Nice work.
Cheers, JD
Guys,
All I did was e-mail them and ask for the price of the units and postage to Darwin(no haggling or anything). Those prices I posted yesterday are direct from their reply e-mail quote. Money has been t/fered and they are in the post on their way as I type. I'll give an update next week when I confirm the correct units have been sent.
nt

Guys,
These units arrived today, invoiced and paid for as per original quote (mentioned above).
View attachment 4940
Unsure if they stuffed up with the quote or their web site is incorrect but I'm happy with paying $60 for each of them.
Now all I have to do is modify that fridge to fit the fermenter and all is good.
Cheers
nt
:beer:

[post="93124"][/post]​

NT hope you realise the one on the right (black one), is a heater controller.
If you want it to cool, will have to pull it apart, and switch the wire from one pin to the free pin

 

[nonicman]

I have one of these they work a treat however a word of caution.
Donot rely on the dial being correct. It may entice you into believing that it is set at 20C. You may get complacent and bung your 2 fermenters in a new chest freezer set the dial to 20 then a week later open the freezer to find that the stick on thermometer is reading 24-26C and your ale is tasting like it belongs down the drain. h34r:
Normally I'd use a seperate dial thermometer inside the freezer to adjust the settings (probe in the fermenter) and check it daily, but this time I was bit lazy and was aiming for 20C instead of my normal 16-18C (due to using different yeast) and didn't check the new temp inside the new smaller freezer.

Having said that, I love the little bugger and you will aswell.

 

[warrenlw63]

That's unusual NM.

I've got 3 of them (2 x fridge & 1x heat). One of which I've been using for over 5 years now and it's seen service in 2 fridges. Generally the temps on the dial correspond with the liquid temps inside the fridge. What happens is though at lower lagering temps. the accuracy drops a little but is consistent. :beerbang:

It's just a case of getting to know the thermostat. What I do allow for is a 2-3 degree leeway during the first 2 days of primary fermentation or when the beer is at high krausen.

Eg; liquid temps are reading 18, beer is fermenting at between 20-21c. So just try and keep your temps 3 degrees lower. When the first couple of days subsides the temps become fairly accurate.

FWIW I always keep the probe in a bottle of water with an aquarium thermo. This allows me to keep the thermo on the outside the fridge to better read temps and not have to open the fridge door so often.

This is a pic to better explain what I mean. The DAB bottle is filled with water and the thermo probe and capiliary probe sit in this.

Here's a pic of my third thermostat. This is the heating model in service on the HLT. Once again this is fairly accurate too. Even if these things read slightly out provided you've got some form of thermometer in tandem with them it's pretty easy to compensate for any temp. fluctuations. Basically if they're out. They're consistently out and can be compensated for.

They're pretty basic units and you'll get many years of reliable service from them. Expensive brewery investments are always OK. If they're one offs. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[nonicman]

You're right Warren it is unusal and maybe I'm being a little alarmist as I was really disappointed with the beer. This is a different freezer to my normal fermenting freezer and I hadn't calibated the environment which is where I believe it went wrong. Normally I have the probe sitting in the fermenter, this time it was not (it was wedged between the two fermenters as I was too lazy to stanitise it in my haste.). So many variables, however it is still worth calibrating.
I've not had a problem in the past when calibrated, and should have known better.

ediit: gr

 

[Trough Lolly]

Interesting topic...

I've recently picked up one of the cooling units from my local HBS ($110). Rather than plunging the capilliary probe into the fermenter, could I simply gaff tape it to the side of the fermenter - alongside the stick on thermometer?

I have a digital thermometer with it's own capilliary so I can double check the temp with the probe inside the fridge and the display unit sitting on top of the fridge, meaning I don't have to open the fridge door to check the temp inside...

Cheers,
TL

 

[Jez]

I've got one of these controllers too but its homemade. You're right that the dial doesn't match the actual temp of the fridge - takes a bit of trial & error to get it right.

I don't put the probe in water or even attach the probe to the fermenter, just dangle it from a piece of string so it hangs free in the fridge near the fermenter.

I've also got a digital thermometer with stainless probe in the fermenter to monitor the temp.

The temp of my fridge swings up to 4 or 5 degrees either side of the set temp (usually an ale-friendly 18 degrees) but the fermenter temp is usually steady @ 18 for the 7-day ferment.

Jez

 

[johnno]

For anyone wanting one of these Grain and Grape have a 20% off sale starting tomorrow.

Just picked mine up and they let me have it at the discounted price.

Now that's top service.

cheers

johnno

 

[Thunderlips]

Interesting topic...

I've recently picked up one of the cooling units from my local HBS ($110). Rather than plunging the capilliary probe into the fermenter, could I simply gaff tape it to the side of the fermenter - alongside the stick on thermometer?

[post="93195"][/post]​

I just stick mine in the fridge and leave it sitting next to the fermenters.
I've set it to 18c and according to the thermometers in the fridge that is what the temp is.

 

[Thunderlips]

NT hope you realise the one on the right (black one), is a heater controller.

[post="93148"][/post]​

Oh, that's what it is.
So that would work with a light bulb or a little heater?
Exactly what I need for next winter.

 

[Screwtop]

Interesting topic...

I've recently picked up one of the cooling units from my local HBS ($110). Rather than plunging the capilliary probe into the fermenter, could I simply gaff tape it to the side of the fermenter - alongside the stick on thermometer?

I have a digital thermometer with it's own capilliary so I can double check the temp with the probe inside the fridge and the display unit sitting on top of the fridge, meaning I don't have to open the fridge door to check the temp inside...

Cheers,
TL

[post="93195"][/post]​

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but even stuck to the side of the fermenter the capilliary is still sending the temp of the air, so it may as well be stuck to the inside if the cabinet somewhere. Putting it into liquid sounds like the go, however it would'nt be accurate unless in the same volume as the fermenter. So I guess the prime position would be inside the fermenter. Don't think the gain in accuracy would matter that much to the yeasties.

 

[Hogan]

Hi Screwtop

I cut a nitch in a piece of styrofoam and taped the capiliary probe on my digital thermometer to the side of the fermenter. Works a treat and gives an accurate temp of the wort whilst the probe of the Adloheat Growarm regulates the temp of the freezer. You will notice that the wort temp will mostly show a few degrees above that of the fridge during the fermentation process.

FWIW I believe that the only thing that one should placed in the wort is what is needed to make beer.

Regards, Hogan.

 

[ntboozer]

NT hope you realise the one on the right (black one), is a heater controller.
If you want it to cool, will have to pull it apart, and switch the wire from one pin to the free pin

[post="93148"][/post]​

No worries mate. Bought this one to control the HLT.
Cheers
nt
:beer:

 

[Screwtop]

Hi Screwtop

I cut a nitch in a piece of styrofoam and taped the capiliary probe on my digital thermometer to the side of the fermenter. Works a treat and gives an accurate temp of the wort whilst the probe of the Adloheat Growarm regulates the temp of the freezer. You will notice that the wort temp will mostly show a few degrees above that of the fridge during the fermentation process.

FWIW I believe that the only thing that one should placed in the wort is what is needed to make beer.

Regards, Hogan.

[post="93516"][/post]​

Great Idea, and second the comments re the wort.

 

[jimi]

Hi All,
I ressurrected this thread because I have a black growarm (heating variety) that I picked up from a mate, I don't think he knew it was a heating variety, said he couldn't get it to work.
Anywho I want it to be a "cooling" variety :blink: growarm. It was mentioned above that it involved switching a pin over :unsure: Can anyone (Normell?) elaborate a little more how I can change it over?
Cheers
Jimi

 

[mika]

Probably best to PM Normell as well, I'm sure he won't mind helping out a fellow brewer