Brooder Temperature Control

[jdurand]

This is from the early days of using our 3D printer. We've since acquired more printers and gotten a lot more complicated.

The top is held on by screws threaded into nuts. The nuts are slipped into a fitted slot in the side of the bosses in the base.

I engraved the acrylic panel in front of the controller box on my milling machine. Overkill but when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a thumb.

this one isn't showing the picture???
Temperature_Control-2.JPG

inside the box


Here's a closer look at putting a nut in a slot. Instead of 3D printing, the slot could be made on a mill. This is to hold a temperature probe for the above controller

[DIYer]

Thanks jdurand! We've added your Temperature Controller to our Electronics category,
as well as to your builder page: jdurand's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Temperature Controller by jdurand

tags: electronics, controller

[metric_taper]

I've found these STC-1000 temperature controllers on eBay in Fahrenheit temperature display. They have several models, some with a separate cold and heat output relay contacts. Yours appears to use the programmable single output relay.
I use these with solid state relays as the 10 amp relay I was using to drive a 1200 watt heater did a flame out, that came close to burning the house down. The printed wiring board failed.
They are great simple controllers. For those folks that don't know about them, they let you set the differential cutin down to .1degree. For AC use they have a time delay that is some models is changable, but the intent is to let the system pressures equalize between cycles.

[jdurand]

I've found these STC-1000 temperature controllers on eBay in Fahrenheit temperature display. They have several models, some with a separate cold and heat output relay contacts. Yours appears to use the programmable single output relay.
I use these with solid state relays as the 10 amp relay I was using to drive a 1200 watt heater did a flame out, that came close to burning the house down. The printed wiring board failed.
They are great simple controllers. For those folks that don't know about them, they let you set the differential cutin down to .1degree. For AC use they have a time delay that is some models is changable, but the intent is to let the system pressures equalize between cycles.

A couple of notes on these.

They're made by more than one company, they all look more or less the same but aren't. Some are in F, some in C. Some have 0.1 degree resolution, some have 1 degree. Some have two relays, some have one. Some have an alarm beeper.

etc.

An important thing I've found, at least one brand with a switch mode power supply (SMPS) that's marked 100-240V, 50/60Hz has very poor isolation. The temperature sensor is connected to one side of the power mains. !!!! As long as the thin wire to the sensor isn't damaged and the tiny amount of insulation between the sensor leads and the metal tube it's glued into are good, then you don't have an issue. For me I'm sticking with the transformer ones and the DC input ones.

If you can solder, you can convert any of these to DC input by simply bypassing the power supply.

also, you can remove the relay and directly drive a big solid state relay by jumping the relay coil contacts to the output terminals.

[Scotsman Hosie]

[QUOTE=jdurand;133876]...when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a thumb.
/QUOTE]

Ha – I'm going to remember that one!