Digital Temperature Controller: My Installation

Discussion in 'General Equipment discussion' started by JimmyHD, Mar 9, 2020.

  1. JimmyHD

    JimmyHD

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    Hi fellow fishkeepers,

    I recently needed to buy a new pump and, while shopping online, I came across a digital temperature controller on special. So I bought it. I tell my wife that it's never a good deal if you buy something on special that you don't need, but obviously this doesn't apply to fish equipment. :tt2:

    It was the "STC 1000 Digital Temperature Controller". I'm not trying to promote any specific retailer, but, if you ask me, I'll tell you where I got from and price. Or Google it. It's really just a digital thermostat and controller with relays that you program/control based on the reading from the thermostat.

    1_LI.jpg
    So this is it after installation (ignore the web of wires behind it).

    20200308_120605 (2).jpg
    A closer view.

    So far, it seems to be working very well. I have set the temperature setpoint to 24° with a tolerance of 0.5°, so it turns on at 23.5°. Because it controls the heaters, I set the internal not-very-accurate thermostat on the heaters way up. I have two heaters, I think a 300 W and a 200 W.

    Okay, so it wasn't strictly necessary and is a bit of a gimmick, but I've gotta say it works really well. Keeps the temperature tightly in the range of 23.5-24° and gives a nice digital display of the current temperature. It also has a relay for a chiller but I'm not fancy enough to have one of those, although summers in Gauteng can get warm...

    Just thought this might be interesting to anyone who likes tech in the hobby or to someone specifically looking for something like this.

    Jim.
     
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  3. TheGrissom

    TheGrissom

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    I have 2 of these on my systems and can vouch for them. I found another type (just cant remember its name now) that comes with a plug so you can plug a heater into it without having to cut the cord. Was about R200 more expensive but I hated wiring everything together so worth it in my case.
     
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  4. OP
    JimmyHD

    JimmyHD

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    Interesting. Your one with the plug sounds like it has proper AC pass-through. The STC 1000 only has a relay so you still need to wire the heater to mains supply. More complicated, but still okay.
     
  5. TheGrissom

    TheGrissom

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    Its an InkBird ITC-308
     
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  6. top dog

    top dog

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    I use the stc 1000 as well
    Find them the easiest to program out of the cheap thermostats, also like that they can take 2000watts
    Wiring space not great, but it works
     
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