Fermentation Fridge Build

[Loetz]

Hey, All:

I got my new 98L BK in the mail today from Hop & Grape, and I'm just itching to do a brew with it. Since it's hot out now, that means that I need to get around to wiring up this STC-1000 to the fridge I bought so I can keep ferm temps in range.

I was thinking about wiring it directly to the fridge instead of building a special box with a plug etc. like a lot of people do, but now I'm not sure about this and I would like some input.

Take a look at this photo of the wire box on the back of my fridge:

My thought was that I could cut the wires where I indicated on the picture. The wires to the left of that cut would go into the 'power supply' ports on the STC 1000, and the wires to the right of the cut would go into the 'cooling' ports on the STC 1000.

Do you guys have any thoughts on this? Does it seem like it would work?

That big hole at the top seems to be the home of the thermostat. The silver cable is that refrigerator's original temperature probe wire. The black wire hanging down at the bottom is the new probe wire which I've already fed into the fridge.

My concern is that the power does not go directly from the wall to that fuse box in the first image. It seems to connect to the compressor or something else first. Here is a photo of the bottom of the fridge:

I guess I could go to the electronics store on monday to buy parts to make a control box if you guys think that this is too dangerous. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Fil]

go to the £ shop or check ebay for a strip of 13a connector blocks with 9 connector pairs at least, just like the 2 set used in your first pic,

if you pull the cover off the electrics next to the compressor you will probably find neutral n earth connected to the compressor with its live feed fed via the thermostat you want to bypass?? uncover and take a few more snaps??
earth could just be anchored to the metal frame?

from the incoming mains feed you will want to branch off 3 x live wires(brown) 3 x neutral wires(blue), and upto 2 earth wires

one neutral wire feeds the controller as does one live wire (no earth)

one neutral and one earth feed directly to the heater, its live goes via the controler heat relay.

and similarly one neutral and one earth feed directly to the compressor, its live goes via the controler cooling relay.

if all wires to the compressor are black?? well the one coming direct from the mains is probably neutral... if black n white you can double check the 'polarity' online


use one big connector block to build up the wires and connections you need from the mains (WITHOUT IT PLUGGED IN hehe)

 

[RobertP]

The white block with VS on it is a vossloh shwabe lighting choke for running a fluorescent light. No idea if it has some other application in a fridge as most fridge lights are just a small standard light bulb. If it is for the light then a wire will run to the door switch and may not be what you are looking for.

 

[Loetz]

The white block with VS on it is a vossloh shwabe lighting choke for running a fluorescent light.

Oh I thought that was a fuse or something. I think you're right that it controls the light.

if you pull the cover off the electrics next to the compressor you will probably find neutral n earth connected to the compressor with its live feed fed via the thermostat you want to bypass?? uncover and take a few more snaps??

Thanks for the help fil, but I think I will just build a control box similar to what most people make. If I have to cut those wires at the bottom of the fridge, it doesn't seem worth it. I would have to run wires all the way back up to the top of the fridge where I want to keep the controller.
:electric:
I'll go to the shop on Monday to get the parts. Wish me luck!

 

[Loetz]

So I went ahead and built the box today. I haven't really played with it yet, so I'm not sure if it is working correctly. If any of you notice anything crazy or dangerous here, let me know!

 

[Fil]

Very Tidy job. Well done..

had to dbl check your location when i saw the sockets you mounted in the box :) then it made sense :)

It looks like your not using a cable gland to secure the cable against a tug pulling out any connections, if so? try tying a loose knot in the flex inside the box so any tugs pull on the knot and not the terminal connections :)

as for the connections , cant see the terminal markings in the small screen pic but the wiring seems to be in the correct configuration.

No doubt you have a good stock of blue and yellow/green wires for the next job too :)

 

this is the vid i used to do mine it worked first time like a charm...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30TvX1Zz1-Y

heres my build ...
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=41334&start=0

good luck not that youl need it ...

regards mick... :hat: .

 

[Loetz]

As a follow up, here is a pic of the fermentation fridge in action:

Later I'll install a fan to help ensure even cooling. I'm not confident that the fridge is very well insulated, but luckily my apartment seems to be sitting at around 18C so it's not really an issue currently.

I've got 17 liters or 4.5gal of an all citra, reddish IPA in each of those buckets.

I'll dry hop with more citra later and add some top up water. I screwed up my Brix to SG conversion before the boil and tried to boil down the wort to correct for the missing sugars. Turned out that I didn't need to do that and now I'm way over the planned SG. Oh well, I imagine that I didn't really hurt anything.

You can also see some jars of homemade salsa sitting on one of my shelves.