STC 1000 plus

Amazon said:

So the STC-1000 is a great little thing that I use to control a fridge for homebrewing beer (and with the addition of an SSR, controlling heating elements), though they are also popular for fish-tank temperature controls and I've even seen them used for curing meats, making cheese and making a pseudo-sous vide controller for a slow cooker. If any of those things are of interest to you, I highly recommend it. For less than £20, you would be hard pushed to find a more useful temp controller.

The real joy with this one however is (as of Mid August '14 when I purchased it) it contains the v1.0 circuit board inside it which has accessible headers to reprogram the firmware with a custom version that massively enhances its capabilities. The firmware I flashed (google for STC-1000+) increases the level of functionality by leaps and bounds. It does require an Arduino (just for the flash, borrow one off someone if you only need it for this) and some soldering skill but now it not only controls temperature but supports pre-programmed profiles, adds a temperature ramping feature, fine control of temperature hysteresis, selectable temperature units (Fahrenheit or Celsius) and the ability to correct for errors in your temperature probe. Most of this stuff is usually only found in £100+ controllers! Obviously these aren't' marketed for this upgrade and there is no guarantees that you will get the right board as all units look identical on the outside, its only the stamp on the actual board that tells the version.

Stll, on its own, the STC-1000 is great for controlling temperature, whatever purpose you need it for. The ability to add the 1000+ firmware makes this one a solid choice for brewers. Why pay more for less?

Click to expand...