antiphile Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Sounds to me like one of the settings is set "too sensitively". However, to avoid any more stuffing around more at the moment, take a leaf out of Headmaster's book (and mine for that matter) and go to BigW or Kmart or similar tomorrow and buy one of the smallest personal or desk fans you can find. Sure, it may cost you $10 or $20, but it will be a lot less than it costs when the fridge motor/compressor/whatever sends you a goodbye card. Place it in the bottom of the fridge (if possible), pointing upwards, and connect it to the same powerpoint you use when the temp controller is on. Good luck and then read about the "hysteresis" settings (or whatever your manufacturer calls it) in your temp controller leaflet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Yeah that's what I thought Kelsey - I haven't changed any of the default settings at all, just put the set temp to 18 and left it thanks Antiphile - will consider that fan option instead of the computer one which looks a bit beyond my skills!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpack Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Keg king said their unit does not show a constant display. Moves around about half a degree of the set point. They suggested making the hysterisis 1 degree rather than half a degree to stop it turning the fridge on so regularly. He also said as long as your fridge isn't thruning on within 2 minutes its not a problem. I've left the hysterisis at half a degree but increased the cooling delay to the maximum which is ten minutes. Its maintaining a good temp and the fridge seems fine so I'm happy. I've got it set at 19.7 degrees. My fv is mainting this temp and my conditioning bottles are just below 18 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Keg king said their unit does not show a constant display. Moves around about half a degree of the set point. Well, in my opinion that is bloody ridiculous. Whoever would design a temperature control unit to have the temperature display jump around like that, instead of just reading what it is as a more constant number, is a moron. Either that, or the measuring probes they use are a pile of shit. I'm glad I didn't waste money on one of these things now. Much happier with my $20 STC-1000 that actually reads the temperature properly. /endrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Totally agree Kelsey - it should be stable, but mine does the same I was out in the garage at midnight fiddling with mine - the weather was a balmy 10c (yay...summer in Melbourne!) ....getting to a whopping high today of 19 woo hoo....so knew my garage would remain cold. When I got out there it was bouncing around between 17.2-17.6 - top FV was reading 16. So bumped up the set tempt to 18.5 and lowered the hysterisis to 0.5c. It did make the heater pad kick in - but I reckon it switched it off and on about 7-8 times over the next minute! I hope it doesn't do that with the fridge when it gets hot or I reckon its going to burn it out. Take Antiphile's point about using a fan - but like others I have my probe taped to the FV under bubble wrap so don't know a fan will alter it as it should be reading the FV temp not the ambient fridge temp Due to 2 FV's being in there and having to remove a tray on the door to get it closed I don't have room for bottles of water/beer as recommended but will do that when I brew with just 1 FV. Just hope the top FV being at 16 relatively consistently hasn't affected the brew - main one below has been fairly constant at 18 so that should be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 It may go to show that the KK controllers are not in fact STC-1000's. I've had two STC's and neither of them have acted like that. They read stable, and rise and drop slowly, in line with reality. To me, that's a fault in the working order of it, despite what they might say, and if I had one that was doing that I'd be sending it back for a refund. A thermometer of any type shouldn't be jumping around all over the shop, especially when it's measuring a mass of liquid that will not change temperature anywhere near that quickly - it certainly won't jump up and down by tenths of a degree like the display would indicate. If you're worried about it kicking the fridge in and out too often, change the delay to like 10 minutes or something, that way it will wait ten minutes before it turns the fridge on. Sounds like it could be very useful to do, given the, in my mind, abnormal way it's reading temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpack Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 What kelsey said. It's a bit disappointing. To make it worse i specifically ordered an stc from the supplier and they posted me this. It is maintaining the temps i need though. You either need to set a hysterisis greater than 1 degree or set a big delay or your fridge/ heat mat is going to go on and off constantly. Hard thing is i waited a month for this and it is working so hard to send it back and be without. I will be back on the phone to brewmart and keg king though. Might get an stc and then send it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Yeah dpack, totally shits me to be honest! like you I reckon I'll return mine and get the genuine stc1000. (which on eBay clearly looks different from the keg king one) and get it wired up. will keep using this one in the meantime but will call keg king tomorrow and tell them it's no good just checked mine again and it's still oscillating around 0.5 of a degree - as Kelsey said that is impossible! was just gonna make do but if you have a temp controller then it should be accurate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Call me stupid (and believe me when I say many have), I just don't get it. Why are people getting upset over one half of a degree celsius? Do you really think that is going to make a gnat's pubic hair width of a difference to how your beer might turn out? I bought a Mangrove Jack's prewired temp controller and it doesn't even show tenths of a degree. In fact, everything (including all setttings) has a granularity of one degree. And it works absolutely beautifully, and the beer turns out very nicely (thank you very much) because I tend to concentrate on things that do make a difference rather than quibble whether the perfect temperature is 17.9C or 18.1C. Perhaps I could see a problem if you intend to use it for freezing your semen or start a backyard IVF clinic, but even then I'd be looking at more important factors like: 1. Am I using a commercial quality fridge with sufficient air circulation within that I can be assured the temperature difference in all zones are within 1C (including top, bottom and "dead circulation" zones)?; 2. Is the fridge regularly tested to ensure it is maintained with sufficient gas for the compressor rather than waiting for it to finally die on me?; 3. Have I got a backup plan in case the power goes off for an extended time or if the motor turns up it's toes? 4. Is the way I'm measuring the temperature for the temp controller suitable for what is trying to be achieved?; and finally 5. Is what I'm bitching about worth the blood pressure increase? That's enough of me hiding my thoughts about the current topic. Next time I'll be open about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Bahahaha!! probably true Anti At this early stage of my brewing experience I'm sure there's plenty of other things generating that gnats pube of difference! Classic!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 That's all fair enough Phil, and I do agree that half a degree won't make any noticeable difference in the finished beer, and that there are way more important things to worry about in regards to producing a decent beer. However, that isn't the point. The point is that the units are malfunctioning by showing the temperature jumping around like a yo yo when in reality that's not what's happening. I've never seen a thermometer do that unless the temperature of whatever it's measuring is jumping around. I'm not sure why they'd sell something that's clearly faulty and then try to pretend that it's fine, but maybe that's why I'm not in business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payno Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Yep, Kelsey is right - it doesn't do what it is supposed to do and although I agree that 0.5 a degree won't make a bugger of a difference to my brews it is the controllers impact on the fridge and heater that is more of a concern to me. in the cold it kept switching the heater on and off again - and today as that strange yellow thing in the sky made an appearance and the garage warmed up it did the same thing with the fridge - even with the hysteresis set at 0.5. Turned it on and off 3 times in 5 mins - can't be good for the fridge. have gone back to default hysteresis setting of 1c, what was the other thing you did dpack - the timing delay? was that E4 or E5? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpack Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Yes it's the delay that fixes the problem. E5. I have it at 8 minutes. My fridge is running for a short time every 8 minutes. Also take t1 out to about the same. This is delay between heating and cooling. Unit works fine just need to tweak these settings to suit. It's serving its purpose. Fv on bottom of fridge maintained at about 19 degrees and conditioning bottles sitting above 18. I'm happy enough. All the bouncing around a half a degree means is you can't have a hysterisis of 0.5 and a short delay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Drinksbeer Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 G'day All, just thought I would share my brewing fridge. It can do two brews at once. If the weather is hot, I put a block of ice (in a waterproof container of course) inside the fridge and change it daily if needed. Take a look here if you like: https://youtu.be/dgQhY6jwkLY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol fart Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 yeh, just depends where you live I guess, I live on South Coast NSW, where its cold most of the time, like we still have the fire on some nites at the moment. So I only have need for heating at this stage. I've made a fermenting cabinet, room for a 23 ltr FV on the bottom and room for 2 x 5 litre glass FV's up top. there are 2 STC-1000 running 2 Reptile warming cords the cord wraps around the fermenters and the probe is taped to the side of the FV. works great. I've currently got both set to 20 deg witha differential of .5 deg + and -. Just one thing beware the chinese sellers of STC-1000 on EBay, the cheaper ones are total crap, so I've found. The reptile cords that I use are $30 each, and the Australian supplied STC was $19 and works Great, the other one was $12 and is a piece of poo! If it ever gets warm [pleese] I'll grab a 2nd hand portable evaporative cooler and stick it some where to blow into the cabinet. Might even duct the cool air in. Then set it to the cool cycle on the STC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyStew Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 yeh' date=' just depends where you live I guess, I live on South Coast NSW, where its cold most of the time, like we still have the fire on some nites at the moment. So I only have need for heating at this stage. I've made a fermenting cabinet, room for a 23 ltr FV on the bottom and room for 2 x 5 litre glass FV's up top. there are 2 STC-1000 running 2 Reptile warming cords the cord wraps around the fermenters and the probe is taped to the side of the FV. works great. I've currently got both set to 20 deg witha differential of .5 deg + and -. Just one thing beware the chinese sellers of STC-1000 on EBay, the cheaper ones are total crap, so I've found. The reptile cords that I use are $30 each, and the Australian supplied STC was $19 and works Great, the other one was $12 and is a piece of poo! If it ever gets warm [pleese'] I'll grab a 2nd hand portable evaporative cooler and stick it some where to blow into the cabinet. Might even duct the cool air in. Then set it to the cool cycle on the STC. I would not use the wires the heat the FV directly. Use them to heat the chamber. And I seriously doubt effectiveness of the evap when temps get over 30. Spend the money on a second hand fridge instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol fart Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 No wires this is a heating cord, very similar to a heat belt only round not flat. Has been working for me fo about 8 months now, I recommend them. I tape the cord round and round the FV, and it sits there nice. I dont think that it ever gets that hot here, I can only wish for 30 deg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 G'day All' date=' just thought I would share my brewing fridge. It can do two brews at once. If the weather is hot, I put a block of ice (in a waterproof container of course) inside the fridge and change it daily if needed. Take a look here if you like: https://youtu.be/dgQhY6jwkLY [/quote']I'm gonna guess that the fridge doesn't actually work if you're putting blocks of ice inside it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyStew Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 No wires this is a heating cord' date=' very similar to a heat belt only round not flat. Has been working for me fo about 8 months now, I recommend them. I tape the cord round and round the FV, and it sits there nice. I dont think that it ever gets that hot here, I can only wish for 30 deg.[/quote'] Everyone to their own. But from most of the information I have read does not recommend heating the FV my conduction but heating the chamber and using convection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol fart Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Yeh fair enough, I've not heard this thinking B4, but it certainely bears looking into, this hobby is a continual learning exercise. So a heat belt would be not a good idea either? I'm glad that Ive found something positive in this continuous cold weather [ Its 11 deg this morning a veritable heat wave] At least I dont need cooling for the FV as yet!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Drinksbeer Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 G'day All' date=' just thought I would share my brewing fridge. It can do two brews at once. If the weather is hot, I put a block of ice (in a waterproof container of course) inside the fridge and change it daily if needed. Take a look here if you like: https://youtu.be/dgQhY6jwkLY [/quote']I'm gonna guess that the fridge doesn't actually work if you're putting blocks of ice inside it? The fridge is lying on it's back with no motor. Just a big Esky really. Last time I brewed in really hot weather, a big block of ice kept the temperature below 19 degrees. I just put a new block of ice in every morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrewedBYleigh Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Hi has anyone used a mangrove jack and mk2 temperature control. Deciding which one to buy. Is one better then the other????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB44 Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 I needed something I can put away. Yet to attach thermostat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.