Which temp controller

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by averse, Jun 5, 2013.

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  1. averse

    averse Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2012 Ohio

    I'm converting an upright freezer into a beer cellar for a friend who is getting married and lives in an apartment. I've been keeping 20-30 of his bottles in my cellar so I'm sure he'll love having his own.

    I've already got the freezer - I found an 8-9 year old model in great shape on Craigslist. My question is which temperature controller to buy. It looks like there are a couple models of Johnson on amazon. Are there pros and cons to each?

    http://amzn.com/B00368D6JA

    http://amzn.com/B0002EAL58

    Those are the two that I've seen mentioned most often on here. Does one require doing some wiring? Does one shit off the freezer and one allow it to keep running if there's a malfunction? Any insight is appreciated

    My other question is are there any other modifications anyone has made to these units to improve upon them? I'm talking about adding any kind of breweriana etc to them. I want to do this right.
     
    #1 averse, Jun 5, 2013
  2. Davl22

    Davl22 Maven (1,341) Sep 27, 2011 New Hampshire
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    I've been using the latter temp controller for a year and I think it does the job well. I still keep a digital thermometer in the fridge to try to keep a constant temp, since the outside controls vary a few degrees. Also, I bought a damp rid container because every time the freezer turned on it created condensation on the shelves. The damp rid worked perfectly. Unless you're really good with tinkering with electronics I'd stick with the 2nd one. Good luck!
     
    #2 Davl22, Jun 5, 2013
  3. averse

    averse Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2012 Ohio

    Thanks. Anyone else have any insight?
     
    #3 averse, Jun 7, 2013
  4. Rudy

    Rudy Initiate (0) May 11, 2012 California

    I have been using the latter one as well since about March of this year. I also have an upright freezer that the previous owner left here that I wanted to convert to a beer cellar. The only issue I have had with mine is that I have to set it to about 48 to keep the temperature in the fridge at 50-52.
     
    #4 Rudy, Jun 10, 2013
  5. averse

    averse Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2012 Ohio

    I ended up going with the first one (the A419) for the digital controls. My only question problem is with the sensor failure option. If there is a problem I obviously want the controller to power off the freezer condenser. So do I set the SF (sensor failure) to 0 (output relay de-energized) or 1 (output relay energized)? I don't know if it's saying energize the controller (therefore keep the freezer from freezing) or energize the freezer (therefore cause freezing). Can anyone help with this?
     
    #5 averse, Jun 19, 2013
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