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My temperature data logger arrived.

I downloaded the software (rubbish instructions BTW :mad:), and configured the device.

I took it up to the brew-shed where all was quiet and opened the door expecting to see the temperature around 10C. IT WAS NEARLY 12C. WHAT!!!!

Then I remembered I’d set the differential to 2C. Bloody *****. Crap memory and a few beers gave me a heart-stopping moment thinking something had failed.asad.

Looking forward to seeing the results tomorrow, assuming I’ve set it up right.
 
I’m afraid I made a schoolboy error and don’t have real data to show you because I just put the logger in the most convenient location - on top of the control panel. The control panel has a big power supply, enclosed in a box, partly embedded in a thermally insulated wall. The one good outcome is that I can now confirm the control panel is not getting particularly warm! 😂

506946F1-0DBA-4393-92F4-41BE8492CAD7.jpeg


The chart starts at room temperature where I was configuring it and after putting it in the shed the temperature drops to a nice cosy 21 degrees on top of the control panel where it sits apart from when the air is chilled by the cooling system for a few minutes.

All I can really see at the moment is that the cooling interval is about 2 hours although it wasn’t that warm overnight so I’m not sure how representative that is.

Ah well, data cleared, logger re-sited and restarted.
 
Well at least you hadn‘t sited the room thermostat itself above the box :-)
If your temperature range was set to 4° (+/- 2), then would the 2hr interval between the cooler kicking in give you a temperat change rate of 2° per hour? (Assuming the cool-down period is short)
 
No, I think when I sited the sensors I had my thinking head on, I even designed in a buffer to avoid wild and short-term variations when I open the door and let the heat/cold in.

7B48136E-D6F6-4341-A85D-2A37F5D2282C.jpeg


The temperature is set to 10 degrees and a differential of 2 degrees so last night the temperature change was actually less than 1 degree per hour but because it was quite cold last night I don’t think it was representative. During the day today I should get something a little more representative but it might take a few days to find the best location for the logger
 
No, I think when I sited the sensors I had my thinking head on, I even designed in a buffer to avoid wild and short-term variations when I open the door and let the heat/cold in.

View attachment 47919

The temperature is set to 10 degrees and a differential of 2 degrees so last night the temperature change was actually less than 1 degree per hour but because it was quite cold last night I don’t think it was representative. During the day today I should get something a little more representative but it might take a few days to find the best location for the logger
Lovely job, that. Those temperature loggers look pretty handy - think I might need a couple myself :-)
 
I have another trace for anyone with an interest.

D716E408-AB30-42A0-B3A5-0B77C2DD3CA4.jpeg

The first observation is that the logger has quite the temperature inertia, taking nearly an hour to drop from 22C to 12C. This is also why the troughs in the trace don’t make it to the baseline (10C) before the temperature rises again. I may see if I can break the logger out of it’s casing to reduce this inertia.

You can then see the saw-tooth trace I’d expect - until around 12:30. From this point on the cooling system stays on permanently and never quite gets to 10 degrees (10.1 was the lowest I saw on the panel). By this time the external temperature was at 20.7 degrees and I think this maxed out the cooling capacity with the glycol chiller on it’s current setting. It’s currently at about 0C but can go to -30C.

Despite being on permanently for the last 4 hours there is no trace of frosting on the heat-exchanger, just a little condensation in the lower-left corner where the coolant flows in.

02A4BB3E-AFB6-43E2-978E-9D029BD133AD.jpeg
 
I fitted the door to the front of the new fermentation cabinet today. Still have to fit a handle and a couple of bolts or similar and then I can get on with some brewing. Busy this weekend but next week might well see me brewing four batches (Stout, Bitter, Pilsner, Summer Breeze 2.1).

17042A65-0391-4980-8AFA-69947948C7CF.jpeg

The little fella on the shelf is the temperature data logger.
 
I’ve found myself another small project...I know but this is just a small one...no really.

As I am tinkering with my temperature control I need to access the setting for my glycol chiller. The chiller is boxed in so as not to warm the space I’m trying to cool but it does make it awkward to access. The chiller is in that box below my corny kegs. To access the control knob I have to move my gas bottle, remove the front panel, remove the insulation, make the adjustment, and reassemble everything.

067DD33D-9354-4301-B2EA-E5BB32C18E94.jpeg

My cunning plan is to take the control knob off it’s spindle and fit a shaft extension :oops: I can then extend the shaft through the insulation and the front panel and fit the knob on the outside of the box so it’s immediately accessible. This is the kit I’ll be using.

2DF70EE3-D4EF-46CF-8D7C-F0D3F26398AA.jpeg
 
I’ve found myself another small project...I know but this is just a small one...no really.

As I am tinkering with my temperature control I need to access the setting for my glycol chiller. The chiller is boxed in so as not to warm the space I’m trying to cool but it does make it awkward to access. The chiller is in that box below my corny kegs. To access the control knob I have to move my gas bottle, remove the front panel, remove the insulation, make the adjustment, and reassemble everything.

View attachment 48086
My cunning plan is to take the control knob off it’s spindle and fit a shaft extension :oops: I can then extend the shaft through the insulation and the front panel and fit the knob on the outside of the box so it’s immediately accessible. This is the kit I’ll be using.

View attachment 48087
I'd love to have seen your search results when you googled 'shaft extension'
 

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