Fridge for brewing ?

[Will_D]

Buy lots of STC-1000s!

They also make for a great mains powered temperature display. The beauty is that they can be calibrated via the F4 function so you can set them up against a know reference thermometer or ice water or boiling water.

The very expensive ATC-800+ or the cheaper digital battery powered or 9v powered digital thermometers do not have a calibrate function

[LordEoin]

@ ciderhead - mine came with no wiring diagram, but it's nice to see that our diagrams are the same configuration

@tube - I just like the connector blocks as it I think it makes the wiring easier

@colinc - Each to their own

@will_d - Are they often calibrated wrong on delivery?

I notice there's no wiki on encasing, wiring and using the STC1000.
I'll be making another soon, so I'll make a Wiki for it.
How do i upload it to the wiki once it's done?

[Ciderhead]

I have to confess my diagram was lifted right off another forum!
The connectors make it tidy and safer

[Will_D]

@will_d - Are they often calibrated wrong on delivery?

I bought three and checked them against my accurate mercury thermometer. They were all with in 1C so I just tweaked them the odd couple of decimals of C so they all read the same.

I'd say that OOTBox they are fine but as they have the facility to be calibrated why not try it!!

[Mike]

I have found a small undercounter fridge with a freezer in the top part - will that work with an ST1000?

You know the type I am talking about, the freezer is one shelf at the top, both fridge and freezer are accessed through the main door.

[JimmyM]

yeah it will work - just make sure the fermenter fits. and obviously keep the stc probe well in the fridge part.

If you want to take it a bit further you can look at maybe disabling the freezer part altogether - its prob easy enough. Might even get a bit ore space if you rip it out altogether.

PS: havent got round to sampling your beer. this weekend!

[Mike]

yeah it will work - just make sure the fermenter fits. and obviously keep the stc probe well in the fridge part.

If you want to take it a bit further you can look at maybe disabling the freezer part altogether - its prob easy enough. Might even get a bit ore space if you rip it out altogether.

PS: havent got round to sampling your beer. this weekend!

Haha good man.  Thats one of my entries into the beer competition so let me know what you think!

[DEMPSEY]

Be careful about how you go about taking out the freezer shelf. I stripped one of these fridges down once and the cooling pipes were all one  long  run with the freezer shelf being just a double folded up pipe to create more cold.

[Mike]

Be careful about how you go about taking out the freezer shelf. I stripped one of these fridges down once and the cooling pipes were all one  long  run with the freezer shelf being just a double folded up pipe to create more cold.

Yeah I once helped my freezer defrost with a knife bursting pipes that I didnt know were there.  That was an unexpected and unwanted bill. 

[Ciderhead]

some run the stc probe wire through the drain at the back , or you can drill through the side.
The procedure to do this is that you barely pierce the outer plastic or aluminium skin with your drill bit, STOP, put a paper clip or piece of wire through in and have a bit of a wiggle to make sure there are no cooling channels present to the inner plastic wall and then drill through the plastic inner wall.
it tends to be the older fridges that have cooling channels in the side but don't take the chance, as if you compromise one its gone
You can also check where they are by running you fridge, then leaving the door open, water should condense at cooling channel lines

[Will_D]

OK, No Pics, so its sweeping Assumptions:

I think that if there is only one door and a small freezing compartment then you just have a fridge with an ice box ( The ice box bit is rated at about 1 or most 2 stars as a freezer )

The only cooling system is in the freezer bit! Don't touch or you will ruin the fridge.

A fridge without an ice box is called a "larder" fridge.

A 2 door fridge freezer should have two compressors and 2 'stats so it all becomes a bit more complicated.

The good news is that given a normal domestic fridge with an ice box:

If you over-ride its thermostat and use a STC-1000 type controller it will lager beer to below zero ( mine goes to about -3C and even then the compressor is not running constantly )

I have not over-ridden a larder fridge but it may not go as cool

HTH

Will