Home of the BrewNosers

Anybody have any advice on these things?? I'm looking at a couple of products from Johnson but not sure exactly what to order. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!

What do you want it for?

mr x wrote:What do you want it for?

I'll probably be buying two: one to convert a chest freezer into a cellar-temperature area for cask conditioning. The other for a small fridge to lager.

The Rancos and Johnson's work, but so do the aquarium controllers from eBay.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1723&hilit=aquarium+controller" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mr x wrote:The Rancos and Johnson's work, but so do the aquarium controllers from eBay.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1723&hilit=aquarium+controller" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do the aquarium ones require any wiring?? The Johnson units look pretty straightforward, which makes them appealing to my lack of electronics knowledge. I'd have to think that there is a big price difference as well. I've never seen the Ranco ones at all.

Yeah, you have to fab the box, but it's not really complicated. IIRC, unless you are getting a prewired Johnson from Morebeer, you need to do the same amount of wiring, but you don't need a box with those.

Johnson sells their simple controllers on Amazon for a very reasonable price: http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls- ... B0002EAL58" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mr x wrote:Yeah, you have to fab the box, but it's not really complicated. IIRC, unless you are getting a prewired Johnson from Morebeer, you need to do the same amount of wiring, but you don't need a box with those.

I'll look into the aquarium controller a little bit more before I make a decision. Thanks for the advice Rob!!

I don't think .com will ship to .ca though for amazon.

mr x wrote:I don't think .com will ship to .ca though for amazon.

They will for a lot of things. I bought a lot of Xmas gifts on .com because they were cheaper. You just need different accounts for each site.

jeffsmith wrote:Johnson sells their simple controllers on Amazon for a very reasonable price: http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Controls- ... B0002EAL58" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is certainly a better price than the one from MoreBeer.com. I've ordered stuff from Amazon.com before but had to pay a stupid amount of duty on it.

The ace up my sleeve is BBrianBoogie and his electrician's diploma. Since he loves Belgian beer, maybe I can bribe him with a sixer of Stella.

Interesting, I've never paid a dime of duty on stuff from Amazon.com. Though I always choose the free/supersaver shipping which is usually USPS.

jeffsmith wrote:Interesting, I've never paid a dime of duty on stuff from Amazon.com. Though I always choose the free/supersaver shipping which is usually USPS.

I always pick USPS too, but the last time I ordered from there I bought a bunch of war documentaries and basically ended up paying double. I've always gotten the impression that duty is applied pretty randomly though, so sometimes you get burned and sometimes you don't. Long live free trade!!

I went with the very cheap "found on eBay" temperature controllers for my keezer and my HERMS. Aquarium controller for the keezer, cheap PID controller for the HERMS. Both work like a charm and I have not had any issues in the three years I've had them.

mr x wrote:I don't think .com will ship to .ca though for amazon.

What they won't sell you is most books. But the other stuff on .com is usually fine. Most books have different publishers in the US and Canada (even if they're both subsidiaries of the same company) and the publishers only have the legal right to sell in one or the other country.

I'm pretty sure I tried to buy electronics and they said no way, but I was using my .ca profile. Maybe as jeff said, make a new one.

mr x wrote:I'm pretty sure I tried to buy electronics and they said no way, but I was using my .ca profile. Maybe as jeff said, make a new one.

I do have an active account on .com. Maybe I'll order from there and just cross my fingers on the duty thing. I'm actually a little shocked at how difficult it has been to find one of these in a store locally.

Did you check all our homebrewing online retailer links? You'll find them in H&V stores, or through DME, but be prepared for sticker shock.

Newfie_Brewer wrote:I went with the very cheap "found on eBay" temperature controllers for my keezer and my HERMS. Aquarium controller for the keezer, cheap PID controller for the HERMS. Both work like a charm and I have not had any issues in the three years I've had them.

I've been combing Ebay for these for a while now but have found getting a good deal on one has been tough. I'm a bit of cheapskate, so I definitely am always looking bargains. I just have been finding them hard to come by. Sounds like you came out pretty lucky, though!!

mr x wrote:Did you check all our homebrewing online retailer links? You'll find them in H&V stores, or through DME, but be prepared for sticker shock.

I have checked out all of the links on here and you're right - they are a little rich for my blood. Some places I have no qualms paying a bit extra (like Hop Dawgs, who have great service) but on this one I'm going to try to get a deal. I paid big money for my chiller and mill for the sake of convenience, but I'm not in a huge hurry for this. I've actually done quite well cask conditioning my beer in plastic polypins out of a small fridge. I'm just looking to increase my storage space so I can start doing some actual casks.

IanCompetent wrote:

Newfie_Brewer wrote:I went with the very cheap "found on eBay" temperature controllers for my keezer and my HERMS. Aquarium controller for the keezer, cheap PID controller for the HERMS. Both work like a charm and I have not had any issues in the three years I've had them.

I've been combing Ebay for these for a while now but have found getting a good deal on one has been tough. I'm a bit of cheapskate, so I definitely am always looking bargains. I just have been finding them hard to come by. Sounds like you came out pretty lucky, though!!

Search "110V Digital LCD Thermostat Temperature Regulator Controller Aquarium Fish Tank" at ebay.ca....$13.46 CAN with free shipping. It will be coming out of Hong Kong so it will take 3 weeks.

I went the ebay aquarium controller route, and while it works perfectly, by the time I bought a project box, a 14ga extension cord and some other bits I was pretty close to the price of the controller from NG. I think I ended up paying almost $80 in the end, and they want $89 +tax. Mine was also a fair amount of work.

I did pay extra to get a controller from a supplier in Canada rather than Hong Kong.

Yeah, if you have to buy all the odds and ends, it will start adding up.