Expected lifespan of a Stc 1000

[Unclestewbrew]

Hi fellas ,
Curious on how long these fantastic little devices last.
I have one that was made by Keg King and it's been running non stop now for about 6 months.

So how long have the more experienced brewers on here been getting out of them ?
Do they show any signs they are about to die ?

Cheers Stu

 

[MartinOC]

'Dunno about others' experiences, but I got a few "good" ones (there are dodgy-ones out there!) a couple of years ago. I run one on heat/cool duty for a fermentation fridge & two more as HLT & H/X controllers.

None of them have missed a beat.

 

[Yob]

some of mine have been going for years, Ive swapped out 1 in the daughters room that runs the oil heater and one on a fridge that was being suspicious.

 

[yum beer]

I'm not sure how long they last, but given the $19.22 I paid to a highly reputable merchant from the great nation of China......
I expect to pass them down to my grandbrewers err I mean grandchildren.

I can see them now...."how did they do anything without portable thermo-nuclear temp control. Mum, was grand dad one of those beer snob hipsters we've been learning about in history"

Yes dear......

 

[Mr B]

some of mine have been going for years, Ive swapped out 1 in the daughters room that runs the oil heater and one on a fridge that was being suspicious.

Now that is not a bad idea............

I like it, Thanks cant believe why it didnt occur.

And one on the fireplace fan too, Mmmm now we are thing king.........

 

[GalBrew]

I've got a keg king one and two stc-1000s that I have been running non stop for 3 years. Still good.

 

[Rocker1986]

My first one lasted about 18 months before it shit itself, the current one was its replacement, about 15 months ago now and still going fine. Hopefully it doesn't shit itself in 3 months!

 

[pcmfisher]

I would suggest the number of times it switches and the load going through will determine how long they last.

If you start switching large draw heating elements or oil heaters (WTF) they may not last as long as on lighter applications.

 

[Yob]

Keeps the daughters room steady overnight, quite an elegant solution I thought, in a rated locked electrical box of course..

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Being an electronic device they should last years if not abused.

As long ass they dont get any power surges or lightening strickes they should be ok.

I would say the probes might die before the STC does due to stressed over time ( years)

 

[Dave70]

Fridgemate. Pretty much eight years continuous use and counting. Outlasted two fridges.

 

[BJB]

Fridgemate. Pretty much eight years continuous use and counting. Outlasted two fridges.

Same, been running three for many years without missing a beat.

 

[coopsomulous]

My first STC1000 lasted a whole 10 seconds, but that's because it was a 110V unit labelled and sold as a 240V unit. Learnt quickly to avoid the Chinese knockoffs.

The proper 240V units have not missed a beat so far, but I only have had them going for a few months.

 

[Yob]

The proper 240V units have not missed a beat so far, but I only have had them going for a few months.

where do you get those from?

I assumed all STC's were cheap Chinese knock offs

 

[coopsomulous]

where do you get those from?

I assumed all STC's were cheap Chinese knock offs

That they are, my 110V unit must have been a cheap Chinese knockoff of a cheap Chinese knockoff.

My current one has a brand name on it, unlike the one that let the magic smoke out.

Apart from that, everything else is the same (apart from the AC to DC converter), including the box and documentation.

 

[mickiboi]

If you want to extend the life, put a pilot relay on it. If you don't know how to do that, put up another post and I will post a drawing for you.

 

[fraser_john]

My first one is heading into its 11th year going strong..

 

[Aces High]

About 5 years each, I have 4 and they've never missed a beat. In another thread somewhere on here I tested them for accuracy with some very expensive test equipment from my old work. They all came out within a degree of perfectly accurate from fermenting temperatures right through to mash temps. I was amazed and I reckon that's pretty awesome for something that cost $20 bucks.