STC 1000 Failure

HisDudeness · Nov 24, 2015

Anyone had one of these go wrong on them? Noticed the temp in my brew fridge plummeting this evening despite it being in heat mode and realised the fridge was running at the same time as the heater. The 'cold' relay appears to have stuck closed and is even supplying power when the STC unit is switched off. Tried unplugging everything and resetting but no joy, there was no obvious internal damage or burns/melting inside the case so it's a bit baffling. Lucky I caught it or I would have had a very frosty fermentor in the morning!

ManseMasher · Nov 24, 2015

Thank goodness it wasn't the heater that had stuck on. How long have you had it? Any chance of getting on to the supplier and getting another one?

HisDudeness · Nov 24, 2015

Yes cold beer would have been salvageable, cooked beer not so much. Got it off amazon so will look into returning it tomorrow

HisDudeness · Nov 24, 2015

Bummer not eligible for return according to Amazon :-x
Still looking on the bright side the shed and all my equipment didn't burn down and it only cost ÃÂ£14, think I will try a different brand for the replacement....

Twostage · Nov 24, 2015

Is there a short somewhere bypassing the relay ?

McMullan · Nov 25, 2015

HisDudeness said:
Bummer not eligible for return according to Amazon :-x
Still looking on the bright side the shed and all my equipment didn't burn down and it only cost Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£14, think I will try a different brand for the replacement....

Which brand is it? Got mine off amazon too, an 'Elitech'. Seems good quality. It's been working nonstop for a while now.

pms67 · Nov 25, 2015

Ive had mine six weeks and the display has gone wonky,i can only work out temp when i start changing it, i bought it from either Amazon or EBay but too much hassle returning it,i will tell you the make /model later.
Dissapointing

clibit · Nov 25, 2015

How can something that's faulty not be eligible for return? Illegal surely?!

HisDudeness · Nov 25, 2015

Twostage said:
Is there a short somewhere bypassing the relay ?

No unfortunately nothing that easy to fix, its definitely the relay as the cooling socket live terminal goes direct to the relay switch first.

HisDudeness · Nov 25, 2015

McMullan said:
Which brand is it? Got mine off amazon too, an 'Elitech'. Seems good quality. It's been working nonstop for a while now.

My one was 'Inkbird' had it since May, has good reviews on amazon and cant find any similar issues online so maybe just unlucky :-(

HisDudeness · Nov 25, 2015

clibit said:
How can something that's faulty not be eligible for return? Illegal surely?!

You would think so but amazon seems to have a blanket 30 day return policy that I cant find a way round on the website at the moment....

clibit · Nov 25, 2015

I don't know the law but regardless of Amazon policy, there are laws to protect consumers. In these kind of circumstances. 6 months life doesn't seem reasonable to me. Maybe contact the vendor. They won't want a negative review after all! "Mine broke after 6 months and I got no refund or replacement" won't help sales.

HisDudeness · Nov 25, 2015

Absolutely, returns policies and statutory rights are 2 different things and in this case I should be entitled to a refund. Trying to get through the amazon website to do this however is another matter! I think I have now managed to send an email to Amazon/Supplier that will hopefully allow me to complete a return.....

HisDudeness · Jan 16, 2016

Need to update this one as I got in touch with Inkbird directly via this forum after seeing they had become a sponsor and they have very kindly honoured the 1 year warranty that they offer on their products. I contacted them on Wednesday and received a replacement on Thursday! Very impressed with the customer service and I would advise anyone who purchases their products and needs assistance to contact them directly, especially if you purchased via amazon. Thanks INKBIRD :thumb:

Fil · Jan 16, 2016

Whats the size of the fridge?? is it perhaps a big powerful one which uses more than a 10 amp load when starting the compressor?? if so any replacement you use with a 10a relay fitted could possibly go the same way??

the 10amp limit of the stc1000 relays can be overcome using 2ndary relays fairly easily, but may need a bigger box

HisDudeness · Jan 16, 2016

Its a larder fridge but not anything industrial, wouldn't think this would be the problem but I'm no expert....

Fil · Jan 16, 2016

im afraid i know enough to know i know bugger all with electrics, perhaps a google of the make and model will reveal specs in a simple format :)
look out for something like initial load ? it may give a value in watts in which case google will provide you with a watts to amps calculator

I used an atc800+ controller for my first brewfridge as its fitted with a 20a relay for its cooling circuit, afaik older less energy efficient fridges can 'spike' when they start up and can initially draw more energy than used when running, the fact im not using the correct terminology just highlights that im out of my depth on the subject..

unless yours is an ancient machine 15+years old this is probably a red herring..

Cqr · Jan 16, 2016

When I lived on a boat I had a fridge that had a 80 w motor
So I got a 300w inverter, no chance of running the fridge as the start up amps was way a both 300w
Lesson learnt lol

Dutto · Jan 17, 2016

HisDudeness said:
........ so maybe just unlucky :-(

I sure a heck hope so 'cos I just bought one are per ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IJ0F2OW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Twostage · Jan 19, 2016

HisDudeness said:
Its a larder fridge but not anything industrial, wouldn't think this would be the problem but I'm no expert....

Check the fuse. If it's 10 amp then you'll be ok with the STC.

I actually changed the fuse on my brew freezer from a 13 to a 10 (having checked its rating first). I think someone had replaced it in the past and shoved the 13 in.

STC 1000 Failure

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