Stc1000 Auto Switch Query

[brycehobson]

Hi Guys,

been a 18 month brewing hiatus but I'm back in the game with some new toys

I seek your advice...

just in the process of crash chilling a 20 degree fermented Pale in which I have an auto switch heat/cool STC1000 with Stainless NTC probe (sitting in the wort) and a KK Kegerator.
STC1000 Heat/Cool

Problem I'm having is when I dialled down the STC1000 to a nice and frosty 1.5degree temp the KK fridge compressor shuts off when the fridge digital readout displays 0-1 degree??? Then kicks back in at 3-4degrees. Wort temp on the STC is still showing 17 degrees though??? Shouldn't the compressor keep running until I hit wort temp of 1.5degrees???

I thought the STC1000 bypassed the fridges thermostat? Or have I missed something...

any help would be greatly appreciated

Bryce

 

[twizt1d]

theres a little frame on the wall of the kegerator that the temp probe clips into, if you (carefully) pull the frame off the wall of the fridge you can unclip the probe and either tape it to the side of the fermenter or stick it in a glass of water
if you do that the stc and the kegerator should read the same temp (i did and it worked for me)
be careful with the probe tho, the cable length isnt very long but if you slide the fermenter close to that side its just long enough to tape to a keg/fermenter

the stc wont override the kegerators thermostat, it will only turn the kegerator on and off relative to what the stc is sensing

 

[Rob S]

He said that the probe was sitting in his wort.

The STC won't bypass the fridget thermostat. You have to turn the thermostat all the way down to it's lowest setting, then the STC can turn the power off to the fridge when you hit your 1.5*C setting on the STC.

The default differential is set by default at 0.5*C so your fridge should kick in at 2.0*C.

The max setting of the differential is 10*C. You can check this by checking the value of the F2 function on the STC. Do this by pressing the down arrow once on the unit. It should display the value. You want it at 0.5*C.

Rob

 

[Wolfy]

The fridge compressor will only turn on when the fridge's thermostat says it needs to be cooled. Hence if the STC is set to 1.5C and the fridge thermostat to 17, the fridge compressor will not turn on.
However, if you set the fridge thermostat to as low as possible (hopefully freezing) then as far as the fridge's controls are concerned it always needs to be on (because it never reaches 0) and the temperature is controlled by the STC cycling power to the fridge as required.

 

[Yob]

or disconnect the thermostat on the fridge/freezer/kegerator.. I had a fridge that wouldnt play well with others and this is what sorted it out..

bloody seamless now..

:icon_cheers:

 

[twizt1d]

He said that the probe was sitting in his wort.

Rob

sure the stc's is but the kegerators isnt (which is what i was explaining)

stc is measuring wort temp, kegerator is measuring the temp of the plastic frame clipped to the side of the fridge
stick the kegerators probe to the side of the fv as i said before and problem solved
when i do it that way my kegerator and stc read the same, you just cant cc lower than what the kegerators minimum setting is and if the kegerator gets turned off it will default back to 4c (from memory)

use the kegerator thermostat as low as it will go for cc'ing and use the stc on it when fermenting in it, thats about all you can do.
if you add a fan inside the fridge it will help things out a lot too.

 

[glenwal]

Just leave the fridge alone, it'll cool the wort down and then the STC will kick in. Bypassing (or moving) the fridge thermostat will just cause it to run continuously until the wort is chilled and will eventually burn out the compressor.

 

[brycehobson]

I see I see.... thanks gents. I understand now. I have wrapped thermo putty around the probe to give a more stable air temp. Although I must say that the wort temp is now showing 2.8-3.0 with the KK fridge set to 2 degrees. So that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Might get onto the 33ohm resistor mod to give me some more wiggle room.

appreciate your comments

Bryce

 

[tiprya]

or disconnect the thermostat on the fridge/freezer/kegerator.. I had a fridge that wouldnt play well with others and this is what sorted it out..

bloody seamless now..

:icon_cheers:

how do you do this? Do you mean just physically detach the probe? Will that cause the fridge to run all the time, or not at all?

 

[Rob S]

sure the stc's is but the kegerators isnt (which is what i was explaining)

Yep reread & got it

and +1 on the fan