STC 1000 thermostat

[Outlander]

Has anyone used the STC 1000 in a warming cabinet. If so can you give me the correct wiring diagram for this. I've been led to believe that the diagram that come with it may be wrong.

 

[oliver90owner]

Loads of information/threads on www.brewukforum.co.uk and likely other fora where close temperature control is necessary.

Useful piece of kit as a on/off thermostat for heating and/or cooling. There are several variants, some with 5A rated contacts and others with 10A rating

For heating I use a dimmerstat, rather than one of those but I shall acquire one for cooling fermentations.

My high temp vivarium dimmerstat controls up to 45 degrees Celsius. Not used it for melting honey (just put a 14kg bucket in the l*dl jam maker a few minutes ago). One normal temp range viv controller maintains an old chest freezer at a minimum temp fo my wine store. They will control up to 600W maximum. Not sorted the max temp control on that one, as yet.

RAB

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Has anyone used the STC 1000 in a warming cabinet. If so can you give me the correct wiring diagram for this. I've been led to believe that the diagram that come with it may be wrong.

Wiring diagram was fine for me - but you do have to sit down, look at it and think as it is a bit on the basic side.

 

[dickndoris]

They are a great bit of kit. As said, they come in 5 or 10 amp but also 110v and 240v. Often very cheap from Amazon and often the same unit with different stickers on. I have two now. One in my large cabinet with a panel heater and one for my ickle cabinet yet to be built with a flexi heating element built into the floor. The link above explains all you should need via the home brew boys.

 

[Anduril]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24575&page=4 This link is Herefordshire honey's STC1000

 

[Outlander]

Wiring diagram was fine for me - but you do have to sit down, look at it and think as it is a bit on the basic side.

As you say simple but what just got me wondering as I'm no heating engineer is the wiring diagrams on these sites show heating and cooling on opersit pins unless I've missed something.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

As you say simple but what just got me wondering as I'm no heating engineer is the wiring diagrams on these sites show heating and cooling on opersit pins unless I've missed something.

Likewise I struggled to begin with did you get the STC1000 from ebay the black and red version? If so they all look the same.

One of the tips Id say is over on http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2804 they are high resolutions photo if you click on each photo and look you can see the wiring and just copy it, just double check EVERYTHING before plugging in and make your use an RCD switch and its enclosed in a box of some sort with no wires touching.

 

[itma]

As you say simple but what just got me wondering as I'm no heating engineer is the wiring diagrams on these sites show heating and cooling on opersit pins unless I've missed something.

I'm not sure I understand your question, which might mean you don't either!


There are two contacts for "heating" and two different contacts for "cooling".

Ignore all "cooling" contacts and settings (for making a warming cabinet). If you want to cold ferment lager, that would be different.



Treat the "heating" contacts as though they were on a switch* that would switch your heater on and off (that's exactly what they are!)

/// A switch - inside the box those contacts may be either connected together ("on") or not ("off"). It ain't a power supply socket.

If that is confusing, ask (or pay) someone to put it together for you. It is quick and simple, but it is mains electricity you are dealing with, so get it right and don't take chances.

 

[Blacky50]

Good bit of kit once I'd worked out the wiring. Use 1 on a warming cabinet and another on my greenhouse heater for winter heating.

 

[Outlander]

I understand my question. I had noticed that on some forums the have wired the heating and cooling opposite to the instructions on the unit. It had been mentioned on one of the brewing forums but not explained. Was just wondering why that's all.

 

[itma]

I understand my question. I had noticed that on some forums the have wired the heating and cooling opposite to the instructions on the unit. It had been mentioned on one of the brewing forums but not explained. Was just wondering why that's all.

I'm sorry but I really don't understand what you mean by "wired opposite".

Do you mean they have connected the heater to the cooling terminals?

 

[Outlander]

I'm sorry but I really don't understand what you mean by "wired opposite".

Do you mean they have connected the heater to the cooling terminals?

Yes sorry. On some of the diagrams that have been put up they have wired pins 7 and 8 as the heater and 5 and 6 as cooler. The diagram that come with the device pins 7 and 8 as cooler and 5 and 6 as heater. Any way, I've wired it as the very in depth manual as showed and it works. Now if I only knew how to set it up.

 

[maddydog]

Looks like my project for the next few weeks. B and q have chopped up asheet of exterior 12mm ply for me and I've treated it to 3 coats of yacht varnish. Gonna make up a box this wknd and line it with kingspan. Then get my head around wiring up the stc1000 and a greenhouse heater. Should be fun

 

[oliver90owner]

L*dls jam makers will soon be making a reappearance, I would think.

Forty quid and a 10l bucket of honey can be melted in quite a short time.

My old warming cabinet is going to the recycle heap as soon as honey is all in 10l buckets, unless the larger diameter buckets will fit in one or the other, in which case even sooner. The jam maker will get a coat of flexible insulation when I see some. The Burco boiler(s) can double up as a second (and maybe a third later) honey warmer on low heat setting with my high temperature vivarium controller.

There again, perhaps I could convert the insulated box into an egg incubator, using another vivarium heater controller!

RAB

 

[Outlander]

All wired up on the bench and working. STC fitted into a maplins box. Tomorrow will wire up cabinet

 

[herefordshirehoney]

L*dls jam makers will soon be making a reappearance, I would think.

Forty quid and a 10l bucket of honey can be melted in quite a short time.

My old warming cabinet is going to the recycle heap as soon as honey is all in 10l buckets, unless the larger diameter buckets will fit in one or the other, in which case even sooner. The jam maker will get a coat of flexible insulation when I see some. The Burco boiler(s) can double up as a second (and maybe a third later) honey warmer on low heat setting with my high temperature vivarium controller.

There again, perhaps I could convert the insulated box into an egg incubator, using another vivarium heater controller!

RAB

Do the lidl jam makers have good enough temp sensors to control water temp?

 

[oliver90owner]

Do the lidl jam makers have good enough temp sensors to control water temp?

Just been and checked against my standard temperature probe.

Within two or three degrees Celsius, so reasonably accurate and sampling points were not the same.

Precision is good. Not seen the temp reading more than one degree adrift of set point once up to speed.

Not really interested in accuracy as I can cope with that.

Far better than a mechanical thermostat, which I believe, was the case with the earliest model.

So the answer is a resounding yes. There is no reason why it shoud be worse than an STC1000 for this application. It is , after all, only melting honey.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

Do the lidl jam makers have good enough temp sensors to control water temp?

Just been and checked against my standard temperature probe.

Within two or three degrees Celsius, so reasonably accurate and sampling points were not the same.

Precision is good. Not seen the temp reading more than one degree adrift of set point once up to speed.

Not really interested in accuracy as I can cope with that.

Far better than a mechanical thermostat, which I believe, was the case with the earliest model.

So the answer is a resounding yes. There is no reason why it shoud be worse than an STC1000 for this application. It is , after all, only melting honey.

Sounds good and easy to process small volumes. If they are out again please mention it here incase I miss it, although the 25 odd 30lb buckets I've got would be a nightmare to transfer to 10lb only drawback but for new stuff wouldn't be an issue!

 

[oliver90owner]

You don't seem to read posts properly. 10l buckets. Standard size. Metric - they don't make them in Imperial any more! Hold about 14kg honey at a push. Most of mine are 265mm of rpc origin. Larger sizes are 317's.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

You don't seem to read posts properly. 10l buckets. Standard size. Metric - they don't make them in Imperial any more! Hold about 14kg honey at a push. Most of mine are 265mm of rpc origin. Larger sizes are 317's.

Fair point I did scan it at speed sounds even better as im on 10l buckets already