Ideas On A Fridge Temperature Controller?

[brettule]

I've got a Mash Master FridgeMate to regulate my fermentation temps, it's bloody brilliant, however I have one gripe with it and wondered if any of you can help? You see the FridgeMate can be set to power on to drop and maintain a temp (ie power on the fridge) or it can be set to power on and raise a temp to maintain a point (ie heat mat) but it can't do both. In an area where you can get temp swings quite dramatically which will hold for quite a few days so it would be perfect if I could plug in both fridge and sit the fermentor on the heat mat inside. It would then be a simple task of setting the temp with a +/-2 degree tollerance from a set point and the tempreture controller will maintain it regardless of how cold or hot the outside temp gets.

Ideas on if something like this exisits or where I might find one?

 

[razz]

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=2592

 

[altone]

I've got a Mash Master FridgeMate to regulate my fermentation temps, it's bloody brilliant, however I have one gripe with it and wondered if any of you can help? You see the FridgeMate can be set to power on to drop and maintain a temp (ie power on the fridge) or it can be set to power on and raise a temp to maintain a point (ie heat mat) but it can't do both. In an area where you can get temp swings quite dramatically which will hold for quite a few days so it would be perfect if I could plug in both fridge and sit the fermentor on the heat mat inside. It would then be a simple task of setting the temp with a +/-2 degree tollerance from a set point and the tempreture controller will maintain it regardless of how cold or hot the outside temp gets.

Ideas on if something like this exisits or where I might find one?

What about a Tempmate? available from Craftbrewer amongst others

edit: Beaten to it by Razz

 

[Peteoz77]

Yep, the Tempmate is the business. I regularly wire all sorts of temp controllers for people at the brew shop, and the Tempmate is the best!

 

[Screwtop]

I've got a Mash Master FridgeMate to regulate my fermentation temps, it's bloody brilliant, however I have one gripe with it and wondered if any of you can help? You see the FridgeMate can be set to power on to drop and maintain a temp (ie power on the fridge) or it can be set to power on and raise a temp to maintain a point (ie heat mat) but it can't do both. In an area where you can get temp swings quite dramatically which will hold for quite a few days so it would be perfect if I could plug in both fridge and sit the fermentor on the heat mat inside. It would then be a simple task of setting the temp with a +/-2 degree tollerance from a set point and the tempreture controller will maintain it regardless of how cold or hot the outside temp gets.

Ideas on if something like this exisits or where I might find one?

You need a Tempmate

Screwy

 

[alford_j]

+1 Tempmate.

I upgraded to a tempmate from the Jaycar tempmaster kit, very happy with it.

Alfie

 

[LethalCorpse]

You can convert your fridgemate to do exactly what you want with the addition of this relay. Instead of directly powering the output socket, the fridgemate now powers the coil of the relay. The relay switches the power between the two sockets - one for heat, one for cool. Wiring is as follows, just a slight modification of the wiring diagram in the fridgemate manual.

 

[altone]

You can convert your fridgemate to do exactly what you want with the addition of this relay. Instead of directly powering the output socket, the fridgemate now powers the coil of the relay. The relay switches the power between the two sockets - one for heat, one for cool. Wiring is as follows, just a slight modification of the wiring diagram in the fridgemate manual.

I'm probably completely wrong here as I'm no 'lectrician but wouldn't that sort of continually switch from cooling to heating?

ie. Fridgmate kicks in to cool the temp - cooling side running - temp reached, relay switches - heat side running

If I am wrong, explain a little further for the electrically challenged like me.

 

[LethalCorpse]

Nope, you're spot on - it would always be either heating or cooling. To do anything else you'd either need a smarter controller or two controllers set at slightly different setpoints. I'm not sure what the tempmate uses - whether it has a hysteresis band where neither is cut in, or whether it just uses a DPDT relay like the one I recommended to switch between heating and cooling. It wouldn't switch rapidly between the two because of the thermal mass of the wort - once it drops below the set temp and you switch from cooling to heating, there would be a significant time lag before the temperature rises above the setpoint. This system would definitely be less efficient than a single cooling or heating loop - you're always consuming power. I'm not convinced there's much call for it either - you do get hot and cold days, but the insulation of the fridge and the heat produced by the wort would mean if you're brewing in spring to autumn you'd be unlikely to ever need heating, and if you're brewing in winter you wouldn't often need cooling.

 

[Barley Belly]

TEMPMATE

 

[brettule]

You can convert your fridgemate to do exactly what you want with the addition of this relay. Instead of directly powering the output socket, the fridgemate now powers the coil of the relay. The relay switches the power between the two sockets - one for heat, one for cool. Wiring is as follows, just a slight modification of the wiring diagram in the fridgemate manual.

Cheers for the idea and the effort mate but I think the always on approach isn't quite what I had in mind. Looks like the tempmate is what I need which has the smarts to switch off and wait patiently for either heat or chill to kick in and maintain temp range.

Thanks everyone.

 

[CDJ]

Cheers for the idea and the effort mate but I think the always on approach isn't quite what I had in mind. Looks like the tempmate is what I need which has the smarts to switch off and wait patiently for either heat or chill to kick in and maintain temp range.

Thanks everyone.

Yes

+1 for Tempmate

 

[schooey]

You can convert your fridgemate to do exactly what you want with the addition of this relay. Instead of directly powering the output socket, the fridgemate now powers the coil of the relay. The relay switches the power between the two sockets - one for heat, one for cool. Wiring is as follows, just a slight modification of the wiring diagram in the fridgemate manual.

Won't that diagram only supply active when the Fridgemate circuit is closed? When the Fridgemate circuit is open (Within the set temp range) how are you getting power to the other point with the active commoned up like that at the relay?

 

[LethalCorpse]

Oops, yes quite right. The active supply to the middle relay contact should come from the main inlet, not the fridgemate

 

[Brewman_]

I like to keep things simple. So IMHO the fridmate is fine and would be OK for most Home brewers.

If this does not do the job, and you really need heat / cool and let's call it good process control around your temperature then you will need a temperature controller capable to heat and cool and have full PID, proportionalintegralderivative controller (PID controller), functionality.

In industrial applications controllers without PID are rarely if ever used. Without it you end up with continual temperature over / undershoot and the heat / cool will constantly chase each other.

Does the TempMate use PID or simple set point only?

Fear_n_Loath

 

[carpedaym]

[post removed - sorry. I think some malware might have posted automatically for me]

 

[mb-squared]

I see that most people are recommending the tempmate, for ~60 bucks; but what about the stc-1000? doesn't it do the same thing for a 1/3 of the cost? or am I missing something?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-All-purpose-Temperature-Controller-STC-1000-With-Sensor-Brand-NEW-/321351084547

 

[dblunn]

I see that most people are recommending the tempmate, for ~60 bucks; but what about the stc-1000? doesn't it do the same thing for a 1/3 of the cost? or am I missing something?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-All-purpose-Temperature-Controller-STC-1000-With-Sensor-Brand-NEW-/321351084547

You haven't missed anything, that is exactly what it does (at 1/3 the price).
Dave

 

[lael]

This is what I based my stc1000 build on. I haven't got his awesome temp chart printout done yet.

http://www.bootknockerbrewing.com/2011/08/dual-phase-temperature-controller.html?m=1

 

[verysupple]

You haven't missed anything, that is exactly what it does (at 1/3 the price).
Dave

Yeah, I checked out the info on the CraftBrewer site and it seems like it's exactly the same. I could understand paying $60 for something ready to plug 'n' play, but not something that still needs wiring.

Maybe a little OT, but I managed to buy all the components to build a PID controller for my fermenting chamber with heating and cooling relays for roughly $50. Surely someone in Australia can buy parts in bulk, make something similar, and have them certified for less than $60. Maybe the big buyers (probably the aquarium industry) don't need PID and are happy with the differential system of the STC-1000 and the Tempmate and that's why nobody makes a PID system? I'm just wondering why the commercial offerings are so expensive and at the same time very basic.