STC 1000 for kegerator

[ECLIPSE]

I'm thinking of going for some kind of STC 1000 setup to control the temp inside my kegerator. Currently it is in the spare room and at its lowest setting is still keeping my beer a little too cold! So would it be possible to use the STC 1000 just for the cooling? As the fridge will always be in a heated room the ambient temp will not be a problem.

Is it possible to wire the stc up so I have a normal plug socket I can plug the fridge into directly with its existing plug? Would this cause any issues with the fridge being turned on/off all the time by the STC? As my fridge has auto defrost so using the STC to turn it on and off to maintain temp might be interrupting this in a negative way?

Sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure this won't harm my fridge in any way before I invest in the ATC.

Thanks guys

 

[PD]

you can set up an stc to heat a fridge, to cool a fridge or do both, just dont wire in the part you don't need. There will be more of lag time with just one part wired up but with a keggerator its no problem.

You can either wire to sockets or direct into the stc either way.

 

[ECLIPSE]

Thanks for the quick reply.

So it won't damage the fridges compressor on any way by power being cut every time the STC turns it off?

 

[amusedparrot]

I don't know this scientifically but it seems logical to assume that turning it off and on all of the time is going to cause some damage to it eventually. The STC-1000 has a built in delay that will stop it from turning back on for that period of time after turning off, setting this to a good amount will obviously reduce the number of times that the fridge cycles and so should improve the lifespan of the fridge.

 

[Buster]

Thats exactly how I use one of mine to keep my kegerator around 13c. My settings are 13c - 0.5c differential - 3.0min Delay. These settings seem ok, the heat light comes on at 12.5c but nothing happens obviously as there is nothing plugged in to the heat socket, when it reaches 13.5c by natural means the cold light comes on and so does the fridge untilit reaches 12.5c again and so on.

 

[ECLIPSE]

Sounds like I need to order me 1 pronto!

The only thing bothering me slightly is how it will affect the life of the fridges conpressor...

 

[Buster]

The only thing bothering me slightly is how it will affect the life of the fridges conpressor...

Using it the way I do, the answer to that is how often you open the fridge door........in my case its when one of the cornies is empty. :thumb:

 

[airymary]

Hi Eclipse

It's pretty standard to use a temp controller to control a kegerator. It's rapid on/off cycling that kills compressors, so the controllers have delays built-in to prevent this.

I used a WH7016 in my recirc cooler to replace the original (expensive) controller when it died. With a differential of 2c, it cycles the compressor frequently, but not rapidly. No probs so far (and cold beer year-round )
Cheers, Chris

 

[ECLIPSE]

I managed to wire up most of the stc 1000 last night. Pretty straight forward. All I need to do now is wire in the socket for the fridge which I will be doing tonight. Just a quick question about setting up the unit. For me I'm looking to keep the fridge at around 12 degrees as primarily I serve ales. What would the best temperature difference and compressor delay times be for this temp? I'd like to have the fridge switching on as little as possible so I'm not fussed if the temp is fluctuating around 12 a little.

 

[PD]

set it as buster has his, cept at 12c

 

[ECLIPSE]

Cheers PD. Just got the ATC hooked up to the kegerator this evening. Its set at 9.5 degrees c with a variance of 2 degrees c. However it is turning the fridge I'm about every 20 minutes or so. Is this normal/OK for the fridges compressor?

 

[joe1002]

Where is the probe? If it is just in the fridge it will cycle a lot more. As a test stick it in a glass of water. When you use it stick it to the side of one of your kegs, with a bit of bubble wrap for insulation :thumb:

 

[Runwell-Steve]

I just lay the probe on the lid. I've tried bottles of water, copper pipe and taping to side of fermenter, but for me having the sensor in free air works best and that is how all 4 of my fridges are configured now.

 

[ECLIPSE]

The sensor has a small amount if bubble wrap zip tied to it. And its about half way up the fridge. Is 20-30 minutes OK for the compressor to be cycling?

 

[Fil]

The sensor has a small amount if bubble wrap zip tied to it. And its about half way up the fridge. Is 20-30 minutes OK for the compressor to be cycling?

yes only worry if it cycles between heating and cooling and starts to chase itself, the built in compressor delay will stop the compressor getting switched too frequently, if it does chase itself set the difference between change and action to a wider diffrence 3C should do it after a few days and its settled down you can reset this to a finer gap if u want