Fermentation Temperature Controller
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How have you mounted it for the freezer? In a jiffy box sitting on top of it or something more subtle? I've got a mate's fridge that has a buggered thermostat and was thinking of fixing it using one of these.
Its a chest freezer and it is sat on a cupboard behind the freezer.
does it have a way to compensate (adjust) the temp the probe is reading? that is if the probe is reading wrong you can +- a few degrees to bring it back to zero etc.
you could adjust the compensation up and it will bring the actual temp down in temp, if you adjusted it to read 8 at when it's @ 5 on the screen when it pulls down to 5 it would be 2/3d in the fridge ( i am not 100% sure this will work but might?) and worth a try......
let us know.
Ive got one of these. Similar to the eBay ones but slightly diifferent. I think i paid $60bks for it. Works really well and can heat or chill. I use it in my standing freezer and have used it on a smaller brew fridge.
You can buy a simple and easy thermostat from Jaycar for 40bks that you simply plug your fridges plug into, the only down side is its limited to 4degrees as maximum chillin.
I got mine from Thornleigh brewshop.
You can buy a simple and easy thermostat from Jaycar for 40bks that you simply plug your fridges plug into, the only down side is its limited to 4degrees as maximum chillin.
I got mine from Thornleigh brewshop.
I have the ebay 'STC-1000' controller, it has a calibration adjustment
http://www.kibnt.com/uploadfile/all-purpos...123057YibJg.pdf
http://www.kibnt.com/uploadfile/all-purpos...123057YibJg.pdf
Just bought a 16 amp dual controller from keg king and was after a bit of advice
I set it up today with my chest freezer and heat band for a test run, Filled my fermentation keg with 70 degrees Fahrenheit water and set the controller for 67 degrees, I've left it on for 8 hours now and the temperature of the keg has not shifted further south than 69 degrees. The display on the controller has gone down to 63 degrees but as soon as this happens the heat band kicks in meaning the keg will never drop to 67. I just have the temp gauge dangling down into the freezer so obviously this will not accurately reflect the liquid temp of the keg.
when I brew and shift the wort through the wort chiller it normally gets down to 69 degrees but the recommended temp for the yeast I will be using next is 66 degrees, can anybody tell me how to get down to this lower temp
Cheers
I set it up today with my chest freezer and heat band for a test run, Filled my fermentation keg with 70 degrees Fahrenheit water and set the controller for 67 degrees, I've left it on for 8 hours now and the temperature of the keg has not shifted further south than 69 degrees. The display on the controller has gone down to 63 degrees but as soon as this happens the heat band kicks in meaning the keg will never drop to 67. I just have the temp gauge dangling down into the freezer so obviously this will not accurately reflect the liquid temp of the keg.
when I brew and shift the wort through the wort chiller it normally gets down to 69 degrees but the recommended temp for the yeast I will be using next is 66 degrees, can anybody tell me how to get down to this lower temp
Cheers
of mice and gods
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Ricardo, did you get the instructions?
If not, check here -> http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/New%2016amp%20Temp%20Controller%20Instructions.pdf
I'm not quite sure what you mean that it drops to 63 but wont drop to 67?
Anyway, if you set you Min temp (E1) to 67, your max temp to 67(E2) and you temp hysterisis (E3) to 1 then one would assume that when it got to 66 or 68 it'd kick in the appropriately plugged heater or cooler?
If not, check here -> http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/New%2016amp%20Temp%20Controller%20Instructions.pdf
I'm not quite sure what you mean that it drops to 63 but wont drop to 67?
Anyway, if you set you Min temp (E1) to 67, your max temp to 67(E2) and you temp hysterisis (E3) to 1 then one would assume that when it got to 66 or 68 it'd kick in the appropriately plugged heater or cooler?
Thanks for the response, Unfortunately E1 & E2 options will not go into that temp range. I did call Kee at Kegking and he said that if he could he would drop the E1 & E2 options from the programming as they are misleading. He said that all I need to do was set the temp I needed,of mice and gods said:
Regarding the temperature drop, the liquid in my fermenter is 70 and I have the controller set to 67 (recommended yeast temp). the probe sits in the fridge and does not measure the temp of the liquid inside the fermenter. If the ambient temp in the fridge is say 64 the controller will go to 67 and then drop a few degrees before going back to 67, therefore the liquid temp never seems to go down as the freezer doesn't kick in to cool the liquid
Does that make sense?
.
of mice and gods
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I dont see how it's misleading dude. These things were designed to control temps for a wide array of applications, it makes sense to have a upper and lower limit right?ricardo said:
I have the identical unit, I just checked it and my settings are E1 18, E2 19, E3 .5 E4 05.. and while i may have completely buggered it up, it sits at around 18.5 Celsius most of the time and kicks in the heat pad or fridge very occassionally as needed. So it's possible and from the problem you are describing it sounds like an error in the set up of the unit.
What are you current values for E1 to E4?
They are set as default as instructed by Kegking when I called them . I have just amended the settings to yours and will monitor it tomorrow, just a minor point but my controller will only go down to 19.4 on E2? Can I just confirm that your setting for E3 is 0.5 and E4 is 05of mice and gods said:
brente1982
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Or i just use blutac to hold it on, use a fair amount of it so its got a nice even thick layer on it.
You're using Fahrenheit, correct? The numbers that of mice and gods gave were in Celsius (as are most temps on this site). Just a heads up as to why some of your numbers are completely different/may not work properly.ricardo said:
of mice and gods
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Sorry, I should have mentioned the fahrenheit/celsius difference more prominently.
Ricardo, if your unit still has the function CF set to F (Fahrenheit) then 19.4 is our equivalent of -7 Celsius so I could understand why the Max Temp function might not go lower. But if you changed it to Celsius then it should go a lot lower.
I will go check all the functions on mine and get the info, translate it across to Fahrenheit to hit your desired temp of 67 F (our version of 19.5 C), so all you'll have to do is plug the numbers directly into your controller.
Ricardo, if your unit still has the function CF set to F (Fahrenheit) then 19.4 is our equivalent of -7 Celsius so I could understand why the Max Temp function might not go lower. But if you changed it to Celsius then it should go a lot lower.
I will go check all the functions on mine and get the info, translate it across to Fahrenheit to hit your desired temp of 67 F (our version of 19.5 C), so all you'll have to do is plug the numbers directly into your controller.
of mice and gods
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Also in regards to the difference in temp of the wort and air inside your fridge/freezer, there are a million different ways to do it.. but just remember if the ambient temp is set at say 67 Fahrenheit, eventually the wort will reach equilibrium so I just hang my probe in the corner of the fridge (not next to a chill vent) and that works well for me.
Anyway, like I said earlier, my settings may not be the correct way to set up a temp controller but it works well for me. I hedge my bets by using the SET point, as well as the function settings. Also I didn't want the alarm to ever go off so I maxed out the settings to essentially disable the alarm.
This set up will get your ferment cab going around 18.5 C / 65.3 F, adjust the first three values (SET point, E1 & E2) to change the target temp.
Press 'SET button once and display flashes,
SET point 18.5 (Celsius) / 65.3 (Fahrenheit)
Wait for controller to return to current temp screen, then press and hold 'SET' button until display reads E1
E1 (Low temp limit) 18 (C) / 64.4 (F)
E2 (High temp limit) 19 (C) / 66.2 (F)
E3 (Temp hysterisis) 0.5
E4 (Cooling delay time) 05
E5 (Temp calibration) 0.0
CF (Temp unit) C (if you use Fahrenheit, yours should be F)
CL (Operation mode switch delay) 30
P1 (High temp alarm) - the highest number it will go to
P2 (Low temp alarm) - the lowest number it'll go to
P3 (Alarm delay) - default 00
P4 (Alarm hysterisis) - default 0.0
Cheers,
Al
Anyway, like I said earlier, my settings may not be the correct way to set up a temp controller but it works well for me. I hedge my bets by using the SET point, as well as the function settings. Also I didn't want the alarm to ever go off so I maxed out the settings to essentially disable the alarm.
This set up will get your ferment cab going around 18.5 C / 65.3 F, adjust the first three values (SET point, E1 & E2) to change the target temp.
Press 'SET button once and display flashes,
SET point 18.5 (Celsius) / 65.3 (Fahrenheit)
Wait for controller to return to current temp screen, then press and hold 'SET' button until display reads E1
E1 (Low temp limit) 18 (C) / 64.4 (F)
E2 (High temp limit) 19 (C) / 66.2 (F)
E3 (Temp hysterisis) 0.5
E4 (Cooling delay time) 05
E5 (Temp calibration) 0.0
CF (Temp unit) C (if you use Fahrenheit, yours should be F)
CL (Operation mode switch delay) 30
P1 (High temp alarm) - the highest number it will go to
P2 (Low temp alarm) - the lowest number it'll go to
P3 (Alarm delay) - default 00
P4 (Alarm hysterisis) - default 0.0
Cheers,
Al
brente1982
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Gees i cant believe how cheap a TempMate is these days on craftbrewer. I seriously dont think i paid anywhere near as little for what it costs now 
MastersBrewery
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I say to hell with it and build one of these http://brewpi.com/ you'll even be able to control 'd' rests wireless interface and all
