Temperature control

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Perfect for the job!

Obviously, you need a source of heat to control so they are best used when the ambient temperature is below 20*C.

I use one sat on the worktop with the FV sat on a Heat Pad.

With the FV insulated, the probe strapped to the side of the FV and the Heat Pad plugged into the Inkbird it controls the FV temperature to within 0.3*C.

BTW if you want a much cheaper version I can recommend the Inkbird STC1000 ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KYL3...t=&hvlocphy=1006559&hvtargid=pla-438679857574

You have to wire it up yourself, but as you only need it to heat something it would be incredibly simple and there are loads of "How To" videos on YouTube.

Enjoy. :doh:
 
Nice one- the ambient temperature is almost always below 20 degrees in Ireland so might look into these!
I had a friend that told me about these before- do you wire it into the heat belt then?
I think i will get one of these for winter- I have a brew belt but i am at work and can only stick it on before i leave and after i get home...
 
Inkbird.jpg
Inkbird.jpg
Exercise Mat2.jpg


The photographs are of:
  1. My Inkird STC 1000 wired up (very badly) for Heating and Cooling.
  2. A Lidl Exercise Mat that I used to insulate the FV so that very little of the heat was lost from the Heat Pad.
Enjoy! :thumb:
 
So I just wire the STC into my heat belt and it'll maintain the FV temperature?
Just having a wee read- they sound very handy and easy (once set up).
 
Seems a lot harder to cool the FV- luckily that is not an issue too often..
 
I got the plug and play version... can't remember the model number. But it's great; got a brew in the fridge and it's been held between 19C and 19.5C for the last 9 days. Can't imagine being without it now, especially given the current horrendous weather conditions or in the middle of winter. And when it's done I can wind it down to close to 0C in seconds without touching a thing except the buttons. Brilliant!
 
The Heat Belt can be used under the insulation and the Inkbird will switch it "On" and "Off" as required.

The simplest, cheapest and easiest of all is to use a Builders Trug and an Aquarium Heater.

Trug about £10.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001OXGWHC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Aquarium Heater about £10.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015SRP4C8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

  • Put the FV into Trug.
  • Fill with water up to 5cm below top of Trug.
  • Stick Heater to side of FV set at 20*C
  • Cover everything with old duvet.
  • Switch on Heater.

I actually have one of these sat in the water to monitor the temperature ...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQFAMI1/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I put it on the opposite side of the trug to the Aquarium Heater and it's just to make sure that the Aquarium Heater is doing it's job.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi

I've done a couple ranging from fishtank heater controller to Raspberry Pi based ones. At it's simplest just get an enclosure (screwfix or RS) and some glands, mount a fishtank temp controller on it and a brew belt heater the relay outputs. That works really well.

Or you can go the whole hog and do it with a Raspberry Pi with realtime graphs etc you can view on your phone. I've got an overview of both approaches here with some photos.

https://www.element14.com/community...berry-pi-homebrew-controller-with-rode-red-ui
 

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