Fridge thermostat wiring question

[Rushman]

Bought a fridge only to use as fermentation chamber. I needed to remove the thermostat box. I will be using an external 2 way temp controller to set Temps via main power cord.

How do I wire the positives, neutral and green ground to bypass and get compressor on 100% of the time?

 

[odie]

Why did you remove the t-stat? With the power supply wired into an external controller all you do inside is just turn the t-stat control to "on". Either min, max or anything in between since you are going to use the external controller with it's own temp sensor to control power to the fridge.

 

[Rushman]

I removed it to make my Spike CF-10 fit

 

[odie]

OK. well figure out which two wires complete the t-stat circuit and join them I think? 4 wires? Is one for a light?

 

[Rushman]

Yes. My yellow and gray touch to complete circuit... what do I do with the ground and white neutral from light?

 

[Rushman]

 

[day_trippr]

You can cap the white (neutral) wire - the only reason they ran that to the thermostat housing was to enable a light.
The green and yellow safety ground can be capped as well - you don't have anything in there to protect a user from a failure that puts live power on the housing, and that was the reason that wire existed.

All you need is to run the grey and yellow wires through the Cool relay and you should be good to go...

Cheers!

 

[duncan.brown]

I would do a ground continuity test on the yellow/green wire and, if it's good, use it to ground the fermenter. Especially if you can't get the old wiring out of the fridge chamber and those wires are going to be floating around in there. Also, make sure the whole unit is plugged into a GFCI. And if you're not trained, always consult a qualified electrician to check what you have done.

 

[duncan.brown]

@day_trippr do you think that plywood will hold when the fermenter is full?

 

[day_trippr]

Well...that looks like 1/4" plywood. I never use that for anything. And I can see it's already flexing with the empty fermenter.
Not an encouraging sign. Can you add lateral support from leg to leg?
Like 2x3's or something that can pick up some of the load?

Cheers!

 

[duncan.brown]

I can see it's already flexing with the empty fermenter.

That was my thought as well. Without bracing (or thicker plywood) I could see the fermenter legs going through the 1/4" plywood.

 

[Rushman]

There are 2x4 braces under the plywood. It is loaded, bubbling and solid.

Thanks Guys,