STC-1000 Temperature

[Tropico]

I have one of these that I have been using for ages.

It always did seem hot to touch the top of the unit, and today I did a bit of a rearrange with the new fermenting cupboard and I noticed that the STC-1000 really was quite hot. Not unbearable but any hotter and I would not be able to leave my fingers on it. It is not in an enclosure.

Is this normal, are they all like this or is mine approaching its use by date?

My other temp controllers, not STC-1000 do not run hot like this one.

 

[Kev R]

No i have 2 and they run cold.
the stc terminals are realy only a switch and don't have a great current capacity. How much are you trying to run through it. Fridge should be fine. 2000 watt heater ,no.

 

[anthonyUK]

No i have 2 and they run cold.
the stc terminals are realy only a switch and don't have a great current capacity. How much are you trying to run through it. Fridge should be fine. 2000 watt heater ,no.

They are rated at 10A so technically it would be within tolerance.
If they are getting hot there is something not right which needs investigating.

 

[Tropico]

Thanks guys, it is hot even when there is nothing connected to it. Most of the time I have been using it to run an 18 watt heat pad.

Probably something wrong with its internal power supply, guess it will stop working sooner or later. Maybe I'll just ditch it.

 

[Kev R]

Can't rember were but i did read somewhere on these forums that although they are rated at 10 amp that the conection clamps ore the internal switch are not up to that standard so i would not be ccomfortable with pulling 10 amp. Perhaps the persons with more electrical knowledge could comment. To be on the safe side i stay under 8 amp.

 

[Tropico]

Can't rember were but i did read somewhere on these forums that although they are rated at 10 amp that the conection clamps ore the internal switch are not up to that standard so i would not be ccomfortable with pulling 10 amp. Perhaps the persons with more electrical knowledge could comment. To be on the safe side i stay under 8 amp.

Spec sheet says 10amp
View attachment stc1000_operating_manual.pdf

Had another look at it this morning and it survived the night without the flash-of-light and puff-of-smoke.

The new ferment cupboard has much better insulation and temperature remains more constant. As a result the temp was sitting nice between heat and cool, and the STC also seemed much cooler.

Usually before cold crashing I turn the heat pad off, and leave the STC running just to monitor the temp as it drops to ambient. This causes the cool relay to run 100% of the time even though there is no load.

So my conclusion now is that the cause of the heat in the unit is not from internal power supply or load current through the relays or the contacts, but the current drawn to operate the relays themselves.

Cheers