Inkbird Itc-308 alternative to Coolbot?

[AZMDTed]

I've never come close to having an ice issue in my 16 months of use of my inkbird on a 5k btu window AC unit. During the hottest months the AC only runs for about 3 minutes every half hour. Gets the room back to 58 just fine. I don't think it's on long enough to ice up.

 

[we5inelgr]

I've never come close to having an ice issue in my 16 months of use of my inkbird on a 5k btu window AC unit. During the hottest months the AC only runs for about 3 minutes every half hour. Gets the room back to 58 just fine. I don't think it's on long enough to ice up.

In my limited time using the Inkbird, ~3 months, I too have not had any issues with ice. In fact, I've never seen any evidence of anything that looks like ice building up and it was over 100 in my garage (where my coldbox is) for several weeks while I was running the AC at 65.

I think it's true that if an "oversized" AC unit is used, it gets the little room cooled down quick enough that icing doesn't become an issue.

Love the Inkbird. Great price comparatively and performs exactly as expected.

 

[Bembel]

I am in shock!

How big are the cold boxes you are cooling?

I am using a 5k BTU GE analog A/C to try to chill a tightly sealed off and well insulated corner room of my cellar, its probably 12 feet by 6 feet, with a 10' ceiling, when I moved the thermal wire /thermostat bulb away from the fins to the side of the AC to trick the unit to keep cooling and left it on for just 12 hours the entire unit was encased in ice, this is in Boston in 75F temps - not humid. Im amazed that using an Inkbird without a second temp controller linked in series to shut it off when the fins get below say, 40F, has not caused the same ice.

But the point of my response, you dont need to spend $300 on the Coolbot, you can get a room down to 35F using Inkbirds to accomplish the same thing with a small heater to trick the thermostat, OR , you can build you own using an Arduino and some open source code, The Inkbirds are simpler

 

[Bembel]

What am I doing wrong?

So I disconnected both inkbirds (one that keeps shuts off when the fans start to freeze) and just plugged the AC into one, set the temp at 55F and kept the heating on the AC thermostat so it would run and the inkbird would shut it off at 55F, and within 90 minutes the fans were covered in ice?

Im at a loss????

Its currently 62F outside

beginning to thing the GE AC is lacking, but my total CF is 700, that's a walk in closet?

 

[AZMDTed]

My room is about 280cf. I think for chilling purposes your 5k AC unit is probably too small to have a quick cool down without condensing, and freezing, the humidity. Your dual solution is good idea for your set up.

 

[stickman]

Are you saying it had to run for 90 min to cool the room to 55? I agree with AZMDTed, you don't want the cycles to be that long. Depending on initial room temp, a 5k unit should run maybe 5 to 15min for your size room at 55F, if it is well insulated and sealed.

 

[mainshipfred]

Mine is much smaller 170 CF and I haven't had a problem and using the cheapest 5k I could fine. The humidity stays around 65-70. I agree your 5k may be too smal or faulty, but if your solution works just leave it.

 

[we5inelgr]

My coldbox is approximately 6.5' x 4.5' x 7' with a 6,150 BTU unit (was a good deal). Definitely over sized. I'm sure insulation has a significant impact as well.

My A/C, even in the summer when it was 100+ in the garage, was only running for maybe 5 to 7 minutes to keep it cool at 65. Now, during Malo, i've got it set to 70F and the garage temp is around mids 80's...the A/C runs for less than 5 minutes now.

 

[Flavad]

DIY Coolbot alternative

If you connect an AC to a temp controller without contingency to control the ice build up on fins within a day your AC will be a block of solid ice

No need to hook your AC up to another temp controler, you can mimic the coolbot with two inkbirds / STC controllers connected in a series and a 5 volt light bulb and 5 volt power supply - 40$ at most

This is from a similar thread in HomeBrewTalk - I wish I had thought of this!

Makeshift Coolbot

It uses two STC-1000 units in series, as stated in a previous post, but instead of connecting the a/c unit, the STCs trigger a small 5v light bulb.
I used two STC-1000 units, a 5v light bulb and a 5v power supply (old cell phone charger).
First, I connected the +wire from the power supply to the light bulb. Then ran the -wire to the first STC COOL relay; from there it goes to the second STC's COOL relay in series, and finally to the other pole in the light bulb. Cover the light bulb with foil, attach the A/C unit's temp probe to this fixture and cover with foil again.
Place the temp probe of either STC inside the A/C's evaporator fins, set the STC to 32. This will prevent the evap from freezing out. Use the other unit's probe as your room temp sensor, set it to whatever your target temp is.
Set your A/C to the coldest setting.
The idea is, just like with the coolbot, to trick the A/C into thinking the room is warmer than it really is, by heating the A/C's probe with the light bulb or whatever heater you want to use, while the STCs monitor both room and evaporator temperature and relay or cut power only to the light bulb. This way there's no need to mess with the A/C unit in any way, and you can use whatever A/C you want.

Good luck, when it comes to DIY projects involving fermenting, the beer nerds web sites are full of info!

I have a question with the wiring. On the STC cool relay do you run power to one side and the neutral to the other, or neutral on both sides of the relay? I know this is an old post but would appreciate any help for a newbie. Thanks

 

[winemaker81]

If I were in your position, I definitely wouldn't sell it. Its value is far greater than what you'd get for it. The previous posters have shared excellent ideas. I suggest holding onto it for a few years before making a decision, because I can think of so many potential uses for it, and I'd love to have one myself. It would be unfortunate if you got rid of it and then regretted it a few years down the line after you've gained more experience.

This is a 4 year old thread and most of the participants have been absent for most of that time.