STC-1000 mounted in wall - any concerns?

[mwill07]

My fermentation chamber sits in an unfinished portion of my basement. I decided it would be pretty slick to hard-wire it directly to the wall.

Of course, after spending all day getting this hooked up, the paranoid voice in my head says, "how do you know this is safe? Is the STC-1000 UL rated for in-wall use? Certainly, this isn't up to code"

of course, this isn't inside a finished wall. what it's mounted against is a papery sheating the drywallers put up in the un-finished portion of my basement after we finished it - to make it per code and pass inspection, I guess. Fire-blocking, I presume. The other side is open with fiberglass. All of the runs are using Romex 14-2, terminations are all made inside junction boxes, and everything seems to be on the up and up - my only concern is the integrity of this cheap, Chinese thermostat.

I did put a switch on it so I can keep power off of it while not in use, and it is on a 15A circuit.

Am I just being paranoid? Anyone else done something like this?

 

[Steveg229]

If it is mounted inside of a junction box then you should be just fine.

 

[IslandLizard]

As long as it is in a junction box I don't see this being much different than a $3 dimmer switch.

Did you connect the 14 gauge Romex leads directly to the screw terminals of the STC, or use stranded wire pigtails and wire nuts?

 

[mwill07]

As long as it is in a junction box I don't see this being much different than a $3 dimmer switch.

Did you connect the 14 gauge Romex leads directly to the screw terminals of the STC, or use stranded wire pigtails and wire nuts?

both. some of the lines I connected directly, and used 14 GA stranded pigtails for some. The lines going to the outlet were direct-connected to the Romex.

 

[IslandLizard]

As long as there's no excessive stress on the circuit board and terminals from the solid copper Romex conductors, it should be OK. That's why I'd prefer using stranded pigtails and wire nuts.

I really like your idea. It looks so clean and pro! And no dangling wires everywhere.

I've seen some builds where they include the STC into a freezer lid, or a fridge door. This is a nice step up for permanent locations.

 

[mwill07]

As long as there's no excessive stress on the circuit board and terminals from the solid copper Romex conductors, it should be OK. That's why I'd prefer using stranded pigtails and wire nuts.

I really like your idea. It looks so clean and pro! And no dangling wires everywhere.

I've seen some builds where they include the STC into a freezer lid, or a fridge door. This is a nice step up for permanent locations.

that was my plan, but I scored the perfect fridge on letgo last friday. This is the fridge when it was new. I got it for $50, 10 yrs old. There is a dent in the door and the icemaker is missing, and the control module needed snapped back in place (which probably means it was dropped or something). But the freezer module came out like a charm, giving plenty of space for a carboy (or 1/4 keg for when I get around to fermenting in stainless). I didn't want to cut up the nice SS door for an external thermostat.

 

[IslandLizard]

that was my plan, but I scored the perfect fridge on letgo last friday. This is the fridge when it was new. I got it for $50, 10 yrs old. There is a dent in the door and the icemaker is missing, and the control module needed snapped back in place (which probably means it was dropped or something). But the freezer module came out like a charm, giving plenty of space for a carboy (or 1/4 keg for when I get around to fermenting in stainless). I didn't want to cut up the nice SS door for an external thermostat.

You should have gotten 4 of those at that price.