anyone have plans for DIY temp controller?

liquidfunk

liquidfunk

Premium Member
My heater and chiller never seem to be friends. I often find them both running together, only to adjust them both with a 3-4 degree spread, only to run into the same problem weeks later. Id like to have an unbiased third party controller that would make the two be friends.

Anyone have plans for a simple DIY temp controller? It wouldnt even have to be adjust able, just set the heater to come on at 77 and chiller on at 82 or something.

Thoughts?
 
You can ebay a johnson controller for around $30 on ebay, it'll do heating and cooling. Make sure to get the remote sensor, and I would recommend some way to keep the probe dry. Maybe place the probe in a condom, suck out hte air, and let it sit in your sump out of sight. You won't need two of them, because if one isn't fighting the other there should be no problem.
 
Most of the ebay items dont seem to have much of a discription. I cant really tell what the heck it is.

that rancho doesnt control both heat and cooling at the same time, so I guess thats not really what I want either.

If someone has a minute, maybe help me find something on ebay, since Im pretty ignorate when it comes to the details of this stuff.
 
I looked on ebay and there really isn't anything on there currently but if you wait a few days..... But right now morebeer.com has them on sale for $50 it is exactly what you need. They might not have it online but if you call them it's in their catalogue. I don't know the product # but if you want it and can't figure it out I'll get it for you just PM me. All you do is plug in your chiller or heater into the temp controller, then plug the temp controller into the wall. Then set the dial you want it to heat or cool to, and put the probe, which is protected by a condom where you want the temp controlled (your sump obviously) and your done.

How this unit works for say a chiller

It will sense the temperature inside of your water, when it raises above the temperature you have set it on it will power the chiller so that it can cool the water. Whenever the water is below the temp you have on the dial the chiller will be basically unplugged. So set the dial to 82 degrees like you were saying earlier and the chiller will not be able to turn on below that temperature. If your heater is going on above it's temperature buy a new one it'll be cheaper than buying another temp controller.

Hope this helps
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=4310927#post4310927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kysmith
You can ebay a johnson controller for around $30 on ebay, it'll do heating and cooling. Make sure to get the remote sensor, and I would recommend some way to keep the probe dry. Maybe place the probe in a condom, suck out hte air, and let it sit in your sump out of sight. You won't need two of them, because if one isn't fighting the other there should be no problem.
Click to expand...


Sorry, I couldn't resist. You use a condom on the Johnson? :lol:
 
I'm was working on something with a digital thermostat for you home heating/cooling. I figured out how to get it to turn relays on and off depending on if the heater needed to be on or fans needed to be on (or a chiller if you had the right relay) but unfortunately when I popped the doo-dad off that measures the temperature and soldered it onto a length of wire to make a temperature probe, when I put the whole gizmo back together, it wouldn't work again. I think I'm going to give it to one of my electrical guru friends and see if he can fix it. If it works, you should be able to get complete temperature control for $50-$75 or so, or even cheaper if you can get the right type of thermostat off of ebay. I've got another one at home too, but it's all solid-state and I couldn't find the hardware that measured the temperature.

Eric
 
I would suggest a dual stage temperature controller like a Ranco. The dual stage controller is for a heater AND a chiller (or 2 heaters / 2 chillers). The existing controllers on the heater and chiller should be set higher (heater) and cooler (chiller) than the Ranco set points and will then be used as a backup. I got a bare Ranco (need to wire yourself) from DIYReef.com for about $110 plus shipping. A single stage controls either a heater OR chiller and is significantly less expensive (kysmith suggestion).
 
I've looked at the Ranco, but if I can DIY myself for cheaper, I get the satisfaction of building something myself. :) What fun is it to spend money on something when you can pull your hair out trying to DIY something. :)
 
Beacuse the ranco has a setable hysterisis and is bullet proof. You couldn't touch the accuracy or relability with a DIY unit without spending 3 times as much on parts and trial and error.
 
Well, there's plenty of very nice skimmers and light fixtures on the market too, and people DIY those all the time. If you can build something that suits your needs and you're happy with it, I say go for it. If I can contrive something that turns fans on in a canopy when the water temp rises to say 78 degrees (or whatever) and it keeps the water from heating up more, I'm happy with that. To each his own.
 
Level controllers are another example. I've got a ReefFanatic unit on one of my tanks that I spent like $80 on. Works great, looks great, I don't give it a second thought. One two other tanks I've got DIY level controllers, one I spend about $30 on and the other I spent about $10 on and they both work great, they're just not as pretty. :)
 
I think your missing the point. Yes you could build a temp controller. However, most people could not do so and come anywhere near what a RANCO or similar unit provides, and certainly could not do so for anywhere near the cost of a RANCO.

Turning fans on and managing a heater and chiller are worlds apart. You fans will not cause a temp swing, nor will they prevent one. A properly designed temp controller will prevent temp swings and will also not cause them.

"level controllers" is a broad term, but again there is a large difference between a float switch and a tem controller that provides hysterisis and precise temp control.

Not trying to argue with you, but rather trying to point you in the right direction. If you have the time and knowledge a temperature controller may be a fun project. I would suggest a PIC or ATMEL microntroller. You will need the parts, the programmer and some time to learn not only the electronics end, but also the programming.

Bean
 
I've got access to all of the PICs and PLCs that I can shake a stick at, and you're right, going that route would cost 3x more than the Ranco, if not much more. We do programming here at work with PID loops and use industrial controllers that would be way overkill for what I'm trying to do. It's also probably more than what liquidfunk was looking for. I think that using the digital thermostat that I've got would suit what I"m looking for just fine, so that's what I'm playing with. I can properly size a relay to a chiller too if I wanted to, but for the time being, I'm thinking that a simple fan to exhaust warm air from the canopy will be fine for my situation. I can get industrial temperature controllers too (Allen-Bradley, Red Lion, Danaher) at work, but it's just no fun. :)
 
I use a temperature controller from Love Controls. I think it is a DTS-something er other. You should be able to Google it up. It is a relatively cheap controller and can handle up to a 1/3hp chiller. It costs around $35 and the probe is a few bucks. I use epoxy to make sure the probe is sealed nicely.

Anyway, it is a nice controller and you wire it just like you would a wall switch. Run power to it and hook up an outlet... you're good to go. The cost was ~$50... to do heating and cooling you would need two of the controllers.

controller.jpg
 
Yeah, xeon. I've seen those before. Slick little units. If they were dual-stage, I'm sure the reefing world would be all over them at that price. :)
 
If you know someone who works in plastics extrusion that may have a old heat controller from an extruder laying around, you can get dual stage control. It will turn power on to your heater or chiller as needed to maintain your set point.
 
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