pdilley
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Instead of having new controller owners dig through pages of posts to find a valid and many invalid electrical wiring diagrams, I am putting this up as I was asked by a bloke from work how to wire his 4 STC-1000's so I drew this for him so I will share it here on Page 1 / Post 1 right from the start.
While this diagram may work for any AC powered 2 Relay based Temperature Controller, I can only validate its use with my own TempMate and STC-1000 controllers.
I have named the relays by the numbers 1 and 2 instead of the names Heat and Cold as it makes the diagram more generic across controllers.
Not on the diagram but what I do for safety: I tie a knotted loop in all power cords that enter the box on the inside of the box for use as a strain guard and I have drilled the holes for the wires in the box just large enough for a snug fit. The knots will therefore pull against the inside of the box when pulled from the outside. This keeps the wires and their ends/connectors from taking the force of the pull which can pull the wires off their connectors leading to a dangerous situation of having potentially live AC wires floating around inside the box which may short out and start an electrical fire.
Colour coding of wires is for Australia. The colours may not match the required standards used in other countries.
I currently use:
[A]. TWO 3M long power extension cables from Bunnings, cut in half to give two female power ends and one male power end and one spare male end for other projects.
. ONE terminal block, currently a 6 terminal block from Bunnings cut in half to give two three terminal blocks for doing two controller projects.
[C]. Spare lengths of Brown and Blue wiring cut from the spare male end from [A].
[D]. A waterproof fully sealed box to house the controller, terminal block, and wires. My current boxes are not metal, so I do not worry about grounding the chassis.
The basic idea is to switch the Active power circuit through the Relays and only Active. Neutral and Ground are passed through directly to the external power cords.
My Current Wiring Method
My Alternate Wiring Method
The more you know (may contain USA wiring standards but most will apply to Australia as well):
o Electrical Wiring
o Electrical Basics for Beginners
o Electrical Safety
o Electrical Wiring, Circuitry & Conduit
Cheers,
Brewer Pete
While this diagram may work for any AC powered 2 Relay based Temperature Controller, I can only validate its use with my own TempMate and STC-1000 controllers.
I have named the relays by the numbers 1 and 2 instead of the names Heat and Cold as it makes the diagram more generic across controllers.
Not on the diagram but what I do for safety: I tie a knotted loop in all power cords that enter the box on the inside of the box for use as a strain guard and I have drilled the holes for the wires in the box just large enough for a snug fit. The knots will therefore pull against the inside of the box when pulled from the outside. This keeps the wires and their ends/connectors from taking the force of the pull which can pull the wires off their connectors leading to a dangerous situation of having potentially live AC wires floating around inside the box which may short out and start an electrical fire.
Colour coding of wires is for Australia. The colours may not match the required standards used in other countries.
I currently use:
[A]. TWO 3M long power extension cables from Bunnings, cut in half to give two female power ends and one male power end and one spare male end for other projects.
. ONE terminal block, currently a 6 terminal block from Bunnings cut in half to give two three terminal blocks for doing two controller projects.
[C]. Spare lengths of Brown and Blue wiring cut from the spare male end from [A].
[D]. A waterproof fully sealed box to house the controller, terminal block, and wires. My current boxes are not metal, so I do not worry about grounding the chassis.
The basic idea is to switch the Active power circuit through the Relays and only Active. Neutral and Ground are passed through directly to the external power cords.
My Current Wiring Method
My Alternate Wiring Method
The more you know (may contain USA wiring standards but most will apply to Australia as well):
o Electrical Wiring
o Electrical Basics for Beginners
o Electrical Safety
o Electrical Wiring, Circuitry & Conduit
Cheers,
Brewer Pete