What do you have going emjay? I am excited to see just how much more complicated it could be... Here i was thinking adding a cooling light, wiring up my temp probe through a mono jack, and adding an extra outlet was as uptown as it got!
This would be good to know if someone could chime in. I also soldered my keezer fan which is AC.
I wouldn't see how it could be bad but I don't know much about electricity. My only work with electricity was soldering chips onto boards in boy scouts and working on car radios and speakers.
mccumath said:What do you have going emjay? I am excited to see just how much more complicated it could be... Here i was thinking adding a cooling light, wiring up my temp probe through a mono jack, and adding an extra outlet was as uptown as it got!
At the very most, you just need to make sure your soldering isn't too thin anywhere. It's the same idea as wire gauge really... the minimum thickness increases as the power requirements do.
If you're just soldering wire leads to each other (eg instead of using wire nuts), there really shouldn't be an issue, as the wire itself is obviously sufficient... in this case, the solder is more useful as a mechanical joint than as an actual conductor anyways.
The box I'm working on is really more complicated than any that I've seen here, and soldering is pretty much necessary in my case. Soldering is definitely still appropriate for AC, and is often unavoidable, depending on what you're doing.
r8rphan, Hey thanks for the info. Thats a great Idea. From the picture, they do look airtight! But maybe I'll give your idea a try. Thanks!
mccumath said:Well emjay, I will be curious to see what all you have planned. I have thought about putting in a power switch for ease of shutting down the unit when changing out my keg/stocking other beverages into the fridge, etc. so that it does not run continuously while the door is open. Only have 1 neon light for cooling, as this is what the controller will be primarily used for until I get the bright idea that I need a fermentation chamber. Right now, need a grain mill and a couple more kegs first...
Voltin - I know it does, but that takes away from the "bling" factor! It also lets me know when it heats and cools on the temp controller screen display, but I added a neon light for when the cooling comes on for kicks. Don't do much electrical work, so these projects are always fun!
voltin said:I can see that . On my controllers I used a IEC320 C14 Inlet to connect the power. There is variant that includes a switch and/or a fuse:
Problem with your post is, in one more page, it's going to start being overlooked just like everything else that gets overlooked every time somebody repeats a question. It's the kind of thing that's really only useful in the OP (or at least linked to by the OP.)
Thanks for the offer. I found an old laptop charger that is 110v to 12v 1A. I am going to use that in place of the 220v transformer.
Radio Shack sells many different types of relays. The only way to know how to wire yours is by using the data sheet that came with your relay. This will give you the "pinout".so I can't find the answer in the thread (and I'm probably just showing my utter lack of grasp of electronics), but how exactly do I connect the wires to the RS relay to have a fan shut on and off with both cooling and heating?
Sorry for the stupid question, but I've been through the thread several times and google is failing me .
TIA.
Radio Shack sells many different types of relays. The only way to know how to wire yours is by using the data sheet that came with your relay. This will give you the "pinout".
There has already been one instance in this thread of someone using somebody else's schematic for what was supposedly an identical relay, only to find out the pinout was not the same.
If you are electronically challenged, why not just get another fan, and hook up separate fans to cooling and heating? Simpler, same functionality, and with a built in emergency spare. There are muffin fans hiding in all types of devices that get thrown out, and even if you have to buy one, it isn't much more than a relay.
naiserie said:so I can't find the answer in the thread (and I'm probably just showing my utter lack of grasp of electronics), but how exactly do I connect the wires to the RS relay to have a fan shut on and off with both cooling and heating?
Sorry for the stupid question, but I've been through the thread several times and google is failing me .
TIA.
cwi said:RS = Radio Shack.
At least that is what I took it to mean. If he knew enough to know which tech jargon term to use for his relay, he would not need to ask how to wire it.
I know that's what RS means, but I don't necessarily agree with you. I know what the jargon means, but if I don't have the proper datasheet, I'm going to be nearly as in the dark about how to wire it as somebody who knows almost nothing about relays.
I've been waiting for a mod to approve my reply to cwi for a few hours. at least that's what the forum software told me...reposting now in case it was a glitch?
I use a relay to do the same thing. But it sounds like you might not even have the correct type. The most common relay is known as a Form A or "normally open" (NO) relay, often described as either SPST, or DPST.
But that won't work for your purposes. Technically it's possible to use two of those though. But really, you want a non-shorting (break before make) changeover/transfer relay, which will be SPDT or DPDT.
sorry if I wasn't clear enough and thanks for your help, I've been waiting for a mod to approve my reply to cwi for a few hours. at least that's what the forum software told me...reposting now in case it was a glitch?
I know the pin layout etc, I'm just not clear on how to physically attach the wires to the relay.
relay:http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049721
wiring diagram: http://www.ubermick.com/images/wiring_fermenter_full.gif
Like, is solder the only option? Is there a connector of some kind I can use?
Again, sorry for stupid questions and not spelling it out explicitly. Thanks for your help.
This method has a high probability of losing contact over time, either by physically loosening, or corrosion working its way into the interface due to the low contact pressure. How long it takes depends on how hostile the environment it is subjected to is. Works great for a quick fix, though.If you don't mind going really ghetto, you can thread the wire through the holes in the contacts and bend them around to get the wires relatively secure, and use electrical tape or heatshrink tubing to isolate the contacts and ensure the wire stays in place.
Crimp connectors are an option too. But personally, I would just take the opportunity to learn to solder.
Twice the space? I thought we were talking about <4" inch fans and chest freezers. If an ideal spot existed and space was an issue, the two could be ganged together.As for why pay more to avoid using two fans, I would do the same. I got my relay for a bit cheaper, but still. I like to keep things neat and even flashy if I can, and using two fans just seems a bit ridiculous, not to mention it ends up using twice the space, and if you've got an ideal spot for a fan, you probably wanna use that for everything.
Wild Duk said:Has anyone tried a brewbelt for the heating cycle. Just wondering if it would work better than a heat light, or not
Has anyone tried a brewbelt for the heating cycle. Just wondering if it would work better than a heat light, or not
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