Help! ATC800 Temp Controller problem

1 year ago | saracen (Moderator)

Help! My ATC800+ has arrived and I’ve set it all up but I can’t get it to run the heater. It is connected to a 100w aquarium heater which has been tested and is working correctly. I know a couple of you use these controllers and if I tell you it is wired exactly as it should be, the temperature display can be set in accordance with the instructions and all the lights work OK, including the light for ‘Heat On’, perhaps you can tell me why there is no voltage at the output terminals on the back. As I understand it, you connect a 240AC supply and the internal relays channel this voltage to the output terminals, and if the red light for ‘Heat On’ is illuminated, then the heater should operate. Am I right, or do you need a separate voltage supply? I can’t think you do, as there is no mention of this in the instructions, but it’s worth asking. Any help around?

If you're not living on the edge..... you're taking up too much space!!

Planning: - To get some more brews on now the weather's a bit cooler
Fermenting: - Ginger Beer experiment
Conditioning: - A normal bitter with Styrians
Drinking: - All of it!!

E-mail: arnyfris@gmail.com

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Responses

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Is the light flashing or constant?

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Hi Nath. I set it all up and got the lights to flash, then set the temp at 19c and the difference at 1c. Now the unit displays the temperature of the water in the FV (Testing water), the On/Off light is constantly on and the 'Heat On' light is constantly on. I think that's exactly as it should be.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

I just found this on the E-bay listing.

Back of the controller - Please note the the controller will only act as a relay switch for your heater/cooler - it will not supply electric power directly from the terminals.

Seems crazy to me. Any ideas how I get power to the output terminals?

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Think I've twigged it. I reckon I will have to take power from the 240AC input terminals to the heater, break one of the wires from the heater and wire the 2 ends to the heater controller terminals.
If I'm right, this has to be the most crazy ape way of doing it. There's no mention of it in the instructions.

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

No, thats rubbish, my tube heater works fine from it. Look here for how I wired mine up -

Mains live to 1,3,9 (bridged)
All Neutrals to 8 Via a block
Heater live to 2
Cooler or fans live to 4
ATC800 sensor 6 & 7

More details here - http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/buiding-a-brewfridge . Lets see if yours is the same and then we can go from there.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Thanks Nath. Mine's not the same as yours. It's an ATC800+, and it only has 8 terminals. Your 5 is my 6, and 1 & 2 are the Refrigeration terminals while 3 & 4 are the Heater terminals. It also has no Earth and the thing's made by KI&BNT, I think in China.
Take a look here.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160490556132&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It's actually working fine as I outlined above, but I don't fancy a fire in the small hours. I think, when I get my head round it, my wiring is doing exactly what yours is.

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Yes, it's the same. Your heater is wired to 1 & 9, and then your Live input is linked to 2. The switching relay will close the Live circuit to the heater across 1 & 2. Thank the Lord for that!! Why can't they just put it in the instructions!?

Thanks for the help, Nath.

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Cool. Just remember that Im certainly no electrician though!

So is it all working then?

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Yes Nath. All working fine. The heater is only 100w and Im testing it on 20lts but it's brought it up from 12c to 18c in about an hour. There are no hot spots. I was a bit worried about that because there is no flow in an FV, unlike an aquarium. The area around the heater could, theoretically, get quite hot, but it hasn't happened. I'm quite pleased with it. I just can't understand why there's nothing in the instructions about wiring it, though. No mention of there being no power from the heater terminals. Thanks.

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Weird about the instructions, but then mine had 2 different ones so it was like 50/50 if I was gonna cause a fire anyway!

Great that there is no hot spots, but remember during fermentation there is plenty of activity and swirling in the fv so that would help even more.

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Thanks Nath. KI&BNT turn out to be the Jiangsu Jingchuang Electronics Co Ltd in Shanghai, and it seems they don't even list the ATC 800 any more, so it's obviously a discontinued line. The instructions are translated from the Chinese which doesn't help at all. Having let it settle overnight, now my thermometer shows 1.5°C below the ATC display. More to worry about. Better get a new thermometer. One thing I did notice, though. I remember Greg saying he taped the sensor of his on the outside of the FV covered by some bubble wrap and it didn't make much difference. I tried it with mine, covering the sensor with a bit of polystyrene, and the actual temperature of the water was 4°c below the displayed temperature.

Nath:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

Weird. I know it will probably make no difference what so ever but have you tried the sensor wires round the other way? Thats the only thing I would do if the new theremometer fails.

Sorry to see your having so many problems mate

Drinkin' - nowt, it's all gone

Plannin'-
Loads a beer after an upgrade!

nathbrew@gmail.com

saracen:

Posted 1 year ago by Moderator

See what a new thermometer shows. Mine is a 25 year old floating Boots thermometer, so it doesn't owe me anything. I can always compensate the settings.

Sorry to see your having so many problems mate

As I once said, the day it rains soup, I'll be the one with a fork!.... and as my old guvnor said, "If it wasn't for bad luck, you wouldn't have any at all!"

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