STC1000 - Heat only

[Old Speckled Ben]

Hi everyone

I'm about to build my fermentation chamber and could do with some advice regarding thermostat vs. STC1000

My main question is can I use an STC1000 with only the 'heat' side of it wired up?

I'm building the FC to go down the cellar, which rarely goes above 12-15oC so only need to heat, rather than cool

I was going to get a room thermostat and wire it to a halogen bulb but the thermostats cost £5-£10 and the STC1000 seems to be around the £11 mark

Moving forward, I'll be getting hold of a second hand fridge and using that with the STC but just wondered if it would work this way for now

As always, any help would be appreciated

Many thanks
Ben

[irv]

yes you can use the STC1000 for only heat or only cool. you should price it up properly, as like any "small" project, cost can spiral upwards if you let them.
making a temp controller now, will maybe future proof your set up later on?

[Old Speckled Ben]

Brilliant, thanks very much

I'll spend the extra couple of quid on the STC1000 then, so I can use it with the fridge in the future

Cheers

[Dave S]

You'll want the cooling capabilities when it comes to crash cooling after fermentation

EDIT: I am envious of your super cool cellar.

[Old Speckled Ben]

You'll want the cooling capabilities when it comes to crash cooling after fermentation

EDIT: I am envious of your super cool cellar.

I think you might be right

The cellar is brilliant (not to rub it in), gets down to about 6oC in winter

[Supercooper]

I have an old bottle fridge that I use in the same way. The cooling circuit was kaput, so I ripped it all out and remodelled the inside to make enough room for 2x 33l buckets.
I actually re-used the controller and probe that were fitted in the fridge to control the heating element. With a bit of re-programming, it's possible to reverse the logic. ( I.e. Make it heat not cool).
Not sure if you can reprogramme an old domestic fridge, but it works a treat.
Oh, and because I was a bit concerned about the controllers switching capacity, I fitted a relay to drive the heater. Might be worth working out the load you need to switch to see if you need a relay.
I'd live in my cellar if i had one!

[Old Speckled Ben]

That sounds like a good idea

My STC-1000 has arrived today, so tomorrow I'm going up to my father in law's wood yard and beginning to build the FC

I'll take some pics and (if I can work out how to do it) will post them on here

[Supercooper]

How fid you get on with the build?