Mini Digital Temperature Controller

[mikewest]

Scooby - is it the switching on/off that draws too much current or have i got my sums wrong - im no sparky!
I had hoped i could use this for a hlt but if its going to overload the relay then i might think again.
Or i might pull it to bits and see if i can change the relay for a 20amp one.

Why not use a secondary relay? simpler and with a bit of cheap din rail you could mount a couple of relays and do some fancy controls.

It is the switching that draws the highest current but I wouldn't trust these units to handle a continous 10A either. The control seems a bit crude i.e. +/-1 Deg C accuracy.

Hint: if using this or anything similar to control a fridge put the probe in a very small sealed plastic bottle of glycol (gives a slower but far more stable fridge temp).

[sim]

The control is +/- 0.1 deg.
The temp swing is due to the probe being mid air in the fridge.
Glycol sounds like a good answer.
If it has a 10 amp rating then why should it not control 10 amps?

[tubthumper]

If it has a 10 amp rating then why should it not control 10 amps?

well its because manufactures like to quoote the maximum that a unit can cope with but that is always for a short burst if it says continuse 10A then it would be fine and allyou have to do to proctect it is use a 10 amp fuse in the plug top and that in theory should blow before the unit does. ( they dont allway though)
so to be sure get a relay to do the switching and handle the current . safer and you want safe when your brewing

[floydmeddler]

Ok...

Mine arrived yesterday.Tidy little thing. Connected the mains and the temp sensor which work perfectly but am having problems with the hot and cold connections. Has anyone got theirs working? I thought it was a simple case of connecting live and neutral to the two connections like this:

**Image deleted**

What can I say, I'm no sparky either! Has anyone successfully wired theirs up yet? If so could they share their wiring diagram?

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!

[EccentricDyslexic]

I have 2 similar to this called the atc200 which is just for heating or cooling not both..but i only needed it for the heating of a HLT and one for the boiler.

It was a simple matter of wiring in but NOT as stated above....you wire the netral directly to the apliance from the mains and the live from the mains to the controler THEN to the appliance.

Works ok, but the time delay 'feature' of min of 2 mins is a right pain ....i will replace them on my next build with PIDs....

Steve

[floydmeddler]

Cheers.

I've now come up with this diagram. Will this work? For some reason, I'm thinking that the neutral should go through the switches and not live?



Thanks

[EccentricDyslexic]

Yep that looks right! You can switch the neutral instead, but its safer and more conventional to switch the live (or PHASE as they like to call it now )

Steve

[floydmeddler]

Cool!

Will give this a try.

[dcq1974]

Nice one!
Thing I will purchase one of these for my HLT

[EccentricDyslexic]

Before you do, check that the delay can be set at 0mins...on my atc200 you can set it at 0mins, but it will not do what its told...it has a min of 2 mins set int4ernaly...and its a pain. Id get a pid instead for a hlt cus you not need cooling.

steve

[floydmeddler]

Cheers. Yep, this wiring method works a treat. It does have a delay for the cool function but not the heating. I'm only using it to heat anyway so not really an issue. Cheers for all your help. Can't wait to brew Belgian beers now!

[haz66]

Picked mine up from the PO today but not had chance to play with it yet

[floydmeddler]

Mine is up and running perfectly now. Have it connected to an aquarium heater and it's keeping my brew at a steady temperature.

What a bargain!

[Scooby]

These units are very similar in spec to the Forttex ones, possibly the same internally. There is a warning on the ETC-200B (10amp max load) regarding the heating load

'Although the maximum capacity of the output relay is rated at 2.4KW we recommend that the actual power load of the heating or cooling devices connected to it do not exceed 2KW.'

[floydmeddler]

These units are very similar in spec to the Forttex ones, possibly the same internally. There is a warning on the ETC-200B (10amp max load) regarding the heating load

'Although the maximum capacity of the output relay is rated at 2.4KW we recommend that the actual power load of the heating or cooling devices connected to it do not exceed 2KW.'

Eeek! Had mine hooked up to my 2.4kw boiler earlier!

With no problems mind you...