Got this built today and got the probe in the thermowell, which has some Star-San in it, for my Pliny clone, so it's reading the temp from in the middle of the fermentor. The instructions say nothing about submerging the temp probe in fluid, but it seems well sealed. I'll leave it out for the time being until I get some word from you guys. Anyway, need some nuts to better fasten the outlet to the box so I'm leaving the faceplate off for now. Dremel needs some better tools for cutting plastic, everything I use doesn't cut plastic, it just melts it. Wanna built another on ASAP, although I'm not sure why....
Another note: has anyone used a after-market probe with this controller? Just in case something were to happen to the original?
Doing some research on the temp probe. Seems like it is submersible as it is also used by the aquarium hobbyists (I used to be one myself).
I have submerged my probe in a bottle of water with tape over the top and placed in the middle of my case of priming bottles to regulate the temp of the liquid in the bottles while conditioning. Never had an issue with it.
I like the idea of liquid in the thermowell, if the probe is up to the job. Seems like that would help it be just that little more accurate.
Putting the probe in liquid is not helpful. The fermenting beer is warmer than the liquid surrounding the probe, so you're not getting an accurate temperature -- if I understand what you're describing. Try running your Dremel at a lower speed for plastic.
Yeah, I did all of that. I need to reacquaint myself with their line of cutters. My basic technique was to outline the cut, get it as close as I dared, then use a sanding drum to get to the edges.
Just a note, there is a hacked firmware upgrade for the stc1000 that gives it a better interface and a readout in Fahrenheit http://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/temperature-controller-gets-open-source-firmware-upgrade/
Yeah, I did all of that. It's all put-together and looking nice now. Last night I bought some clamps that helps to hold the electrical cord in place so that you can't yank it around. I'll put that into my second controller. The hack looks nice; I've already taken a peek at it. I'm fairly comfortable with the metric system, but maybe for the second controller I'll put this hack on it.
