Wiring an stc 1000 temp. controller for cooling.

Post #1 made 11 years ago
IMPORTANT, electricity is dangerous. In some countries it is also illegal to do this type of wiring unless you are qualified. If you are in any doubt get a licenced electrician to check things for you, or get them to do the job for a few home brews. Do not risk your life just to try and save a few $$$

Below I will attempt to show, with pictures, how to wire an stc 1000 temperature controller for cooling ie, to turn your freezer into a keg fridge, or a fridge into a fermentation fridge.

When used for fermentation some people like to have the heating side in operation to limit the parameters of temperature fluctuation. I am not worried about this so long as the temperature does not go above the required temperature for fermentation. Using the stc 1000 in this way you can set the parameters to whatever you want, for example, if you want to ferment at 18°C you can set the controller to start the fridge compressor when the temperature rises to 18.1°C (64.4 F). The compressor will then run until the temperature drops to 17.6 C (63.7F).
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This is the equipment I used, a jiffy box, a 5 metre extension lead, An stc 1000 temperature controller with sensor and lead, 2 x cable glands and a 6 way cable terminal post.
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These are the tools I used to get the job done. Not shown are an electric drill and a jigsaw for making the holes and openings in the jiffy box.
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First job is to mark, drill and cut the jiffy box. Then dry fit the components to ensure a good fit.
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Then find the centre of the extension cord and mark three sections to be cut, approximately 100mm per length.
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Cut the lengths from the cord.
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All the wires can have their ends stripped ready for connecting. Needed are the 2 cut ends of the extension cord, 3 x brown wire (100mm each), 2 x blue wire (100mm each), 1 x earth wire (100mm).
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Pull all the cables, including the sensor cabling, through the holes and glands made for them. Pull through more than you need to, to ensure ease of wiring.
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All of the wire connections have now be made. Hopefully you can see the male and female plug ends to see the placement of the connections.
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A closer look at the wiring connections.
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Here is the wiring schematic for an STC 1000, with thanks to lambert. This diagram shows the wiring for both heating and cooling, I only wired mine for cooling.
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Almost finished, Everything is now in the jiffy box and it just needs the base screwed on.
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Finished product, tested and working.

I hope you found this helpful.
Last edited by hashie on 05 Jul 2012, 13:00, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #2 made 11 years ago
hashie, that must have taken ages to write and post. Top job - super clear :clap: :salute: :champ:.

Great looking display on that controller too. Jealous :dunno:.

:peace:
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Wiring an stc 1000 temp. controller for cooling.

Post #4 made 11 years ago
Seems that STC1000 is making huge impact on homebrewing communities across the globe :) Every forum I've read, they got subforums for that controller, wiring issues and settings trivias :) Here's mine 'ghetto build' ;)
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499435.924680.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499470.698030.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499502.733353.jpg
It's wired for cooling and heating, but of course not at the same time.

Cheers from EU (while it still exists).
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Last edited by mirogster on 05 Jul 2012, 22:42, edited 3 times in total.

Post #6 made 11 years ago
mirogster wrote:Seems that STC1000 is making huge impact on homebrewing communities across the globe :) Every forum I've read, they got subforums for that controller, wiring issues and settings trivias :) Here's mine 'ghetto build' ;)
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499435.924680.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499470.698030.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1341499502.733353.jpg
It's wired for cooling and heating, but of course not at the same time.

Cheers from EU (while it still exists).
Theyre just so easy for temp control. Ive now got 2 fridges and one chest freezer running them, also a herms unit which works surprisingly well. Im also looking at making beef jerky/biltong. This will be a heat lamp and computer fan all controlled by an STC1000.
My herms unit just controls mashing temp and mash out. I was going to build a PID do everything unit, but the STC keeps everything within half a degree of mash temp. For about $30 bucks fully built, you can't beat them
Last edited by Aces high on 06 Jul 2012, 07:56, edited 3 times in total.

Post #8 made 11 years ago
Just came across this thread, AWESOME :champ: and Thanks Hashie. Have one of these in my bits and pieces box plan on using one day to maintain mash temp and do step mashing with some type of heat exchanged recirc mash(HERMS) addition to my brew rig. I have 2 mashmaster fridgemates , one set up for heating and one for cooling for my fermenter fridge. Wish the STC1000 were on the scene before I forked out the dollars for those. Anyway thanks again that will make life a bit easier when I wire it up :peace:

Post #10 made 10 years ago
Hi Hashie, I just wanted to say thanks for your tutorial. It has just saved me from having to return a perfectly good temperature controller due to poor instructions. Good work man.

Post #14 made 10 years ago
Im a YouTube junkie so I used a vid by HomeBeerBrewery to wire mine up but this looks alot neater. I will have have to revisit my current and future stc units that I plan to use.

I would really REALLY like to see a thread/sticky on STC's like what probes and thermowells people are using. What relays to use and how to wire em. I have a 9500w dimmer switch thing of ebay that I want to hook up to a relay and an STC for step mashes. But I guess the issue of saftey is the main problem with passing on info.

I have been waiting for my electrician mate to install a 30a power point in my garage for many weeks now for my 5500w eBIAB that is very near to finished. I think me talking about eBay components, boiling liquid and high voltage may have scared him off! Im gonna have to lure him back with the promise of large quantities of free beer
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Post #17 made 8 years ago
This version from Inkbird works fine (for my region i got 220/230V), just wired one a few days ago. You can choose weather you like to display Celsius or Fahrenheit. Documentation here, see downloads section.
Last edited by Aries on 09 Aug 2015, 18:13, edited 3 times in total.

Post #18 made 8 years ago
So after seeing this post and follow on comments -thought I would build myself a chamber (call it a Christmas gift to me).
being in the states and not so keen on Celsius I went with the ITC-1000F which gives me Fahrenheit. though I will say with BIAB my metric knowledge/conversion continues to improve. :dunno:
So I took my son's old dorm frig and used it for the chamber - made the side big enough to replace if/when need. Tested out today - all works great :party: - will be able control fermentation temps in the 50 and 60s (that in Fahrenheit guys) - next step is to brew a pilsner. Will use the winter months for the lagering part ;)

I attached some pics - size is about 2ft by 4ft - with a removable/adjustable wall in the middle - the idea is beer stored on one side and ferment on the other - let the cold air bleed over to the bottle side. I put the frig door on so as not to open the top hatch when fermenting want to grab some beers. The hatch fit is pretty solid - blows the frig door open (even with metal strips on the edges), hence the bungee cord.
Thanks for the original post Hashie!
thanks to all on the site - the shared knowledge is great to see and partake in!
B4M
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Post #19 made 7 years ago
I am interested in wiring one of these for 240V, but I stupidly bought the 12V version. Can I use an LED driver transformer such as a Philips ET-E 10 (Input 220-240V, Output 12V 2-10W). I'm planning on using this configuration, so the transformer will be taking mains and powering only the STC unit:
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Last edited by Aidan on 30 Aug 2016, 14:32, edited 3 times in total.

Post #20 made 7 years ago
Hey Aidan, if you bought the wrong version, can you exchange it (or return it)? Pretty low cost units so don't seem like a deal breaker to me...
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Post #21 made 7 years ago
Can't return it as it was tacked on to an order from overseas, and the transformer was free (family has some renovations done). If it's not going to work I'll buy a new one, but $40 I'd rather put on ingredients of I can! I appreciate the reply :)

Post #22 made 7 years ago
Looks alright to me. I made the same mistake on my first one and ended up hacking a car outlet appart to get my DC voltage. I can't verify the pins because mine is in a box buried somewhere.

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Re:

Post #23 made 7 years ago
Lumpy5oh wrote:Looks alright to me. I made the same mistake on my first one and ended up hacking a car outlet appart to get my DC voltage. I can't verify the pins because mine is in a box buried somewhere.

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Cheers, guys! Put it together tonight and all seems to be working as expected with a hair dryer, so I'm feeling rather accomplished! Now to make some beer with it...
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Last edited by Aidan on 01 Sep 2016, 17:26, edited 3 times in total.
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