My reading this morning was 90F. It obviously wasnt actually 90 in my ferm fridge, so I unplugged everything, plugged it back it, and it read 70F (which was higher than my SP +diff, ugh). I've had it for about a year, and this is the first time I have seen anything like this. and well, it bummed me out. Has anyone experienced similar issues with their temp controller? Any solutions?
Replace it with an analog controller. I've said this many times in the past. An analog temperature controller is one of the most elegantly low tech devices on the planet. And damn reliable. Why anybody would want to add digital electronics to it is beyond me. Way too many delicate parts to fail that can't be easily repaired/replaced by the average handyman.
What about needing a dual stage controller to run both a heating and cooling function of a fermentation chamber?
think i might have to, now its reading 61 ?! im glad i have absolutely no idea what my porter is fermenting at........................................
I didn't get that from the original post. But you could simply use two controllers - one for heating, one for cooling.
My question was in response to your query as to the motivations for anybody to use a digital controller. There are a ton of applications in brewing for which an analog controller isn't the best piece of equipment. I have one on the Keezer (Johnson analog) and a dual-stage Ranco to cool and heat my fermentation chamber. Currently investigating PIDs and whatnot for some level of automation (RIMS).
My underlying point is that the perceived flexibility of a digital temperature controller for this application comes at a cost, namely reliability. The same functionality can be achieved with analog. There are applications where electronics bring benefits that make the cost worthwhile - car engines, for example. Temperature controllers are not one of those applications, IMO. That said, I love my Thermapen!
I have had the same problem. Except mine read 120 F and cooled my fridge down as cold as it could. The problem was that the temp control thermometer cord got pulled lose on the inside of the box. It was an easy fix. Just open it up and put the wire back into place (there are two little screws that hold the wire in). When you open it up you will see it is really easy to fix.
hmm, i opened it up, and everything looks like its where it should be. are you talking about the two little white wires that come from the big grey probe cord? Obviously im electrically illiterate
well i removed those two wires, and reattached them...turned it on, and my standard error (CO3) did NOT show up when i turned it on. Maybe that worked! Unfortunately, my porter is on day 2 of fermentation at 61 degrees :-\
61's not a bad place to be on a porter. With a few more degrees to fermemtation you're looking at like 63 or 64. You can ramp it up to around 68 or 70 now to finish it off.
