Brew Fridge Temperature Control

[Pinto]

Wouldnt be room for conditioning and brewing at the same time - its an under counter larder fridge - and also have to consider that I might well be lagering @ 2 degrees for weeks on end.....two fridges are deffinately the way

[Pinto]

STC-1000 on the way..... exciiiiiited

[cellone]

I'm in an arm lock cyber jig with you Pinto

[Pinto]

two weeks on.... no STC

Had words with the importer who claimed "bank holiday" delivery issues meant they have a backlog, but being a week after the bank holiday im still not impressed (especially as the seller was clearly not from the UK and "UK Stock" was promised)

Better have it during this coming week !

[troublebrewing]

If not, then...

[Pinto]

Fed up with this now - had to raise an ebay complaint i think i'll name and shame too so others dont get ripped off.

Watch this space...

[Pinto]

FINALLY !!!!!

IT LIVES .......mwahahahahaha !!!!





I've not really had the time or inclination to brew in the last few weeks given time, work issues and the heat making temp control near impossible I tried water baths and the like but it was all too much hastle - and the man-cave has been full to the brim with rubbish for ages now.

However, I become bored on a rare day off today and thought.... hmmm

4 hours and 15 odd sack of rubbish later, the man-cave was clear and I began the process of adapting the fridge I bought a while back to accept the STC and a 60w tube heater. Another 2 hours later and I have a fully operation FROOKER

Now need to find the time to get a kit on. Im thinking (now I have accurate temp control) on going for a lager - probably a Coopers kit for ease (btw.... Coopers Euro or Cerveza ??? any reccomendations ? )

[Pinto]

Question for people with an STC controlled fridge too....

What resolution do you set your STC to follow ? I tried 0.5 deg (the default) but found that the temperature tended to yo-yo around by up to +/- 3 degrees as the tube heater doesn't cool down instantly after heating up and tends to overshoot (and not so much, same with the fridge)

I've set mine to the minimum 0.3 degree resolution hoping to limit the bounce, but dont know if this is correct - anyone have any advice ?

[jmc]

Question for people with an STC controlled fridge too....

What resolution do you set your STC to follow ? I tried 0.5 deg (the default) but found that the temperature tended to yo-yo around by up to +/- 3 degrees as the tube heater doesn't cool down instantly after heating up and tends to overshoot (and not so much, same with the fridge)

I've set mine to the minimum 0.3 degree resolution hoping to limit the bounce, but dont know if this is correct - anyone have any advice ?

I use default 0.5 deg and I place my sensor next to FV using duck tape. Others will no doubt have different views but it works for me.

Did you test it on an empty fridge or did it have an FV full of liquid in?
Where was the temp sensor placed? Air temp will osillate more tha FV temp. Lots of topics on Jims about where to place FV (and lots of different views)

[Pinto]

Mine was an air test - thinking about what you've said, a full FV will provide a massive heat source buffer and should iron it out nicely. My probe is air mounted, half way up the fridge using a loop of 0.8mm welding wire.

Im thinking about adding a 5v LED driver into the spare room in my STC housing and then mounting a 120mm PC fan in the fridge to maximise air mixing and heat transfer.

[darkonnis]

I mounted my stc probe on the side of the FV, under a sponge covered in tape. If you do it right you shouldn't get a temperature change when you open/close the door. I get probably 0.1 or 0.2 of a c change over 20 minutes after opening the door so i assume thats the slow trickle effect or air currents more than the FV altering temperature. I have mine on 20c, 10min compressor delay, and i think 1.5c temp change? when i first tried it on default all i got was fridge/belt/fridge/belt on a constant switch, so i changed that after I mounted the probe. As i say though, the sponge was the best solution to the yoyo problem short of putting the probe in the fv.

[jmc]

Mine was an air test - thinking about what you've said, a full FV will provide a massive heat source buffer and should iron it out nicely. My probe is air mounted, half way up the fridge using a loop of 0.8mm welding wire.

Im thinking about adding a 5v LED driver into the spare room in my STC housing and then mounting a 120mm PC fan in the fridge to maximise air mixing and heat transfer.

Fan will probably help even out temp, but I think its also useful to shelter probe from air-change when fridge-door is opened as darkonnis mentioned.

Prior to placing next to FV I used to place in a crimped bit of copper tube on the side of fridge (see old pic below). This helps a bit but there can be quite a difference in temp between side of fridge and FV, especially in early stages of brew, so I strap to FV now.

[Fil]

my little fridge cycled like that before i taped the sensor behind some insulation against the FV..

its the temp of the beer thats important not the temp of the air in the fridge.

the sensor is a snug fit inside 3/8" SS tube, so a short length of that crimped to seal can make a thermowell thru a second bung hole?

[darkonnis]

thats a pretty good idea actually, only my coopers FV fits in the fridge which is a shame because I'd rather not drill into it my I extend the size of the fridge however...

[cellone]

The insulation and tape is a very good idea, quite a suprise to see change in temperature when opening the door.

I have set up my brew fridge . I conected 2 single sockets to the stc1000, added a couple of ply wood shelves to the fridge and it's up and running. I didn't set the stc properly and it thinks it 10 degrees warmer than it is so I've been trying to ferment at 6C .

I am thinking about keeping all my cool blocks in it as a full freezer is cheaper to run than a half full one.