stc1000

[Dave-Leeds]

Thinking of getting an stc1000 and turning a fridge into a fermentaing chamber. This will sound a daft question but when i wire it up does the fridge get plugged into the cool side? .

will this effect the compresser by switching on and off all the time?.i have read some1 used a hair dryer for the heat side.has any1 tried this?

cheers
Dave

[jumpinjack]

Yep plug fridge into cool side, most people fit a plug or trailing socket to leave the fridge wiring as it is. With the compressor issue it is less of a problem with a fridge than it is with a freezer, although if your worried then just bump the delay up to 10 minutes (max allowed) to stop it cycling too much. I've heard of someone mentioning the use of a hair dryer but IMHO.(and some others) it's a bit of a fire risk using them for that in an enclosed space with liquid. Look at a 1ft 60w tube heater (greenhouse heater) instead, around 15 quid and is a lot safer. If you want the air circulating investigate a small pc fan but I haven't had to yet. Well worth controlling fermentation temp, brew all year round and a much more consistent end product.

[Dave-Leeds]

Thanks for the info jumpinjack

does the instructions tell you how to work the delay?, read that sum1 turned it to max of 10 when i was reading something.

Probaly the best option going for a tube heater.

cheers

[jumpinjack]

Yeah they do. It's something like function 3 or 4, I have put mine up to 10 as mine was a freezer. Don't forget to calibrate it too, can be a few degrees out. Easiest way is to make a bowl of water with plenty of ice in it, move the ice around and give the water a chance to equalise temp. Then put the probe in and modify the temp to be 0.0! That's also covered in instructions but it's the other one that isn't the delay on function 3 or 4.

[Dave-Leeds]

Great stuff. Thanks for the advice

[joe1002]

The settings are:

F1 - Desired temperature.
F2 - Temperature variance.
F3 - Compressor delay time (mins).
F4 - Temperature calibration value.

I have set my fermentation fridge as follows:

F1 - Whatever you want the temperature to be
F2 - 0.5°c
F3 - 3 mins
F4 - Whatever is required to make the sensor give a true reading (calibration per JJ above)

My Keezor settings are:

F1 - 12°c
F2 - 2°c
F3 - 8 mins
F4 - As above

[AnthonyUK]

If you want to add more functionality and have the right version of STC-1000 there is a custom firmware.

See details in this thread - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=67349&p=707403#p707403

[Dave-Leeds]

What sort of wire do have u lads used

flex or twin qnd earth

going to cut stc into a little box and have cool and heat on single sockets which will be behind cuboards out of view

Cheers

[alexlark]

Flex, easier to work with

[barneey]

I would use flex.

[Dave-Leeds]

Cheers alexlark and barneey. Flex it is

[Redimpz]

Would I be correct in assuming that it is ok to plug the power lead directly into a normal household power socket? It's just that the descriptions put the power of the stc at 220v and UK power is 240v.
In addition to this. Would an rcd be recommended in the socket as a buffer?

[AnthonyUK]

The power will be fine. Ours is not specifically 240v but 230 V +10% / -6% so we can comply with EU regs.

[Dave-Leeds]

Plug it straight in to a normal socket and it will be fine.

i have got all mine wired up now just waiting to test it out at weekend when i have more time

[Dave-Leeds]

Tested my stc1000 2night and it works a treat

need to build a shelf in my fridge which is sturdy enough to hold a full fv and my fermentation fridge is sorted.. Think ill use some wood blocks and strong length of wood. How heigh do you guys have a shelf above the tube heater?

Does any1 use a pc fan to move warm air around?, do you just connect wires to a 9v battery and leave it running all the time?

cheers