Analog or Digital

[bub]

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6468
Here is the thread.
BUB

[BN Pacifist]

Exactly how big of a difference does the 3.5 degree differential make? I've been meaning to purchase a digital controller, but then I just received an analog one as a gift. I guess I could sell the analog one on ebay and just buy a digital model, but that's a lot of work, and I really don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I was planning on taping the probe to the carboy (with insulation) like Jamil says, but I'm worried that the 3.5 degree swings in temp will end up being worse than just leaving the ambient fridge temp constant which I can more or less achieve even without a controller.

[bub]

1 Analog is better than nothing (I have one)
2. Analog tends to be a bit more "fragile" The little tube can get kinked fairly easily
3. I would let the sensor "free ball" too if you aren't doing 2 stage cooling, just dial it down a little bit so that the ferm heat is accounted for..
4. I think the 3 degree range isn't so bad, for ales... I think you MIGHT notice it a bit more in a lager though.

BUB

[Bugeater]

I have a couple of analog controllers. In my fermentation fridge I tape the probe to the outside of the carboy with insulation over it. Since the dial on the controller is so small, it is difficult to set a particular temperature. To deal with this I took a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer I wasn't using and taped the outdoor probe for that to the carboy right next to the controller probe. This gives me a nice easy to read digital readout of fermentation temperature at eye level instead of me having to get down on my old creaky knees to squint at what the controller says. I also found out that the dial on my controller is almost 5 degrees off.

If you have to buy the external thermometer then you would be better off buying the digital controller. I got my thermometer as a gift so this worked great for me. I have the same setup on my kegerator.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[BN Pacifist]

That's a great idea Wayne. Also, I've sampled some of you beer, so I know it must work well.

[Brandt]

I have a question about how to hook up the Ranco 111000 digital controller. Say I want to set the fridge to 50f but the outside air temp is often less than that... How would I go about warming it up? I have a brew belt heater. I could use a light bulb in the fridge. Essentially, I have a way to heat, a way to cool (both 110v) and only one temp controller. Is there a way to hook up one controller to both appliances?

[DannyW]

I think that is the part number for the single circuit model. It will either heat or cool but not both at the same time.

When the outside temp gets too low, unplug the fridge from the controller and plug in your lamp or lizard heater or whatever you have for a heat source. With the menu button on the front of the controller you can cycle through until it says "C1". Then hit the up or down arrow and it will say "H1". Then it will turn on when the temp drops below the set point, which is the opposite of what it does when it cools.

[Brandt]

thanks Danny. That's exactly what I was looking for. Of course this applies only to a few weeks out of the year that the temperature drops below 50 here, so it's not a big deal for me to make the switch on the daily during those days.

I assume there's a similarly priced controller which does both a heat and a cool cycle?