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wine cooler incubator

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Faithhaven

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i have a wine cooler that i would like to convert to a queen bee larvae incubator. most diy projects are done by people with minimal or no electronic knowledge. So I thought I would seek advice from the experts. the temperature the larvae require is 92 degrees and approximately 50% humidity. The present thermostat has a maximum temp of 62 degrees. Is there a way to modify the temperature range and if necessary add a heater. The external temps can be high as I live in the desert and we are all experiencing the present drought conditions here in California. The usual configuration is a 40 watt incandescent light bulb, for heat, a fan, for convection, a bowl of water, for humidity and a stable thermostat +- 1 degree. Any assistance in this project will be appreciated.
 
The present thermostat has a maximum temp of 62 degrees. Is there a way to modify the temperature range
Make/model ?
 
That's the cooler model. Does the thermostat inside it have a separate make/model number?
 
I removed it. It's pretty basic. I don't see any method of adjustment other than the adjustment nob and a resistor. There is a led light and switch
 
Hmm. Maybe replace the thermostat with one settable at 92F. I have a 2-AAA cell powered Horstmann DRT2 digital room thermostat (for our house heating system), which can be set from 5C to 35C (41F to 95F). Temperature hysteresis is +- 0.5C (+- 1F). It has a single-pole-double-throw volts-free relay for connecting a heater/cooler. Something like that perhaps (although it must be mounted in a dry location)? Try googling for thermostats.
The external temps can be high as I live in the desert
So if the temp goes above 92 you are going to need the cooler function as well as the heater. That may require two thermostats with more precise set points so that you have three states: 1) heater on, 2) cooler on, 3) both off.
 
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I am looking at the Sestos Dual Digital PID temperature controller, 2 omron relay output 100-240 v D1S-vr-220 supports multi sensor inputs ( K, S, WRE, T, E, J, B, N, CU50, PT-100. But i don't know what all those letters mean. could you interpet for me:)
 
Coincidentally my son-in-law is building a queen bee incubator and is using a D1S-VR-220 with a type K sensor for heater control. I had that exact controller in my hand only last week! The various letters stand for different types of thermocouples (check out Wikipedia).
Important: That version is for SSR control, so you'd also need an SSR. If you want dual mechanical relays the model is D1S-2R-220.

Edit: I presume, but can't see from the controller's description, that the temperature trip points for the main output and the alarm are independent?
 
My wine cooler uses a peltier thermoelectric cooler device model TEC1-12706 to cool. My understanding, is that the device has a cool side and a hot side. By reversing the polarity, the cool and hot side also reverse. Is there a way to take advantage of this. I think if we get this solved your son-in-law and I will have an economical, efficient and clean method of propagating queen bees. Please include schematic.
 
Is this a better unit
AGPtek® Universal Digital PID Temperature Controller RNR Control Out Dual display For Fahrenheit(F) and Celsius(C)

  • This is a bid for a dual display universal digital programmable temperature controller
  • Supports many type of thermocouple sensor.
  • It can be powered by 90-265V AC/DC or 18-30V AC/DC, Comsumption5VA. DIN

Product Description
Specifications
Display: Dual display for Fahrenheit(F) and Celsius(C)
Range: -1999 to 9999 (depends on the input signal)
Main output: Relay,Normal open, AC 250V/3A DC 30V/3A COS¦Õ =1
PID cooling/heating control( can choose normal alarm output by software)
Alarm Output: 1 RELAY: capacity AC 250V/3A DC 30V/3A
7 different Dual Output combinations with:
Accuracy: 0.2%
Input: Thermo Resistor: PT100, Cu50
Thermocouple: J,S,K,E,Wre3 ~ Wre25
Dimension: DIN: 1/16 (48mmX48mmX80mm)
Weight: about 150g
Individually programmable PID control parameters.
P, I, d, controlling period, digital filter coefficient, and more¡ (for control theory experts only)

SSR control ready to connect external Solid State Relay to handle High current. Applications.
Compact design:DIN 1/16, great form-factor to be included/build-in to your product.
Apply with step control,1 independent PID control for heating/cooling over temperature,pressure,level,flowm,etc..Widely used in auto system in line of light industry, chemistry, machine, metallurgy,ceramics,pertrification industry, or temperature control and adjust system of food & beverage; oven; furnance, plastic extruder heating process etc;
One key operation, Auto-tuning PID/ Fuzzy PID control.Easy operation,Reliable performance

Input: TC(K, J,S,E)/ RTD (Pt100,CU50)universal input, or 4- 20mA/0-10V signal from standard pressure/level transmitter, (24V/30mA supply available for standard transmitter)

Control output: RELAY SSR SCR 4-20mA 0-10V (If 4-20mA output,you can choose PID control or analog output)

Alarm output: 2 lines output,7 kinds of alarm mode: high / low / high deviation / low deviation/ interval / out of interval /breakage alarm

Package Includes:
1 x TA4-RNR PID Temperature Controller
 
I really can't say which is 'better'. Both controllers appear generally similar, but their write-ups don't give enough info. For example, how much temperature hysteresis is there between the output relay switching on and it switching off? Is the hysteresis adjustable? Is the Alarm temperature setting (not the relay) independent of, or linked to, the main output temperature setting?
Someone with practical experience of these controllers would be better qualified to advise, but I'd be happy to help with a schematic for Peltier control once the above info (at least) is known. Looks like you'll need a circuit with two temperature set points and which will reverse the Peltier voltage (~12V @ 6A) and provide an off state.
My son-in-law's incubator will be simpler than yours, since outside shade temperatures >92F are extremely unlikely in the UK and a cooler won't be required.
Personally, if I were building an incubator, I'd be tempted to do it on the cheap and use a thermistor-plus-two-comparators analogue circuit (with no display and needing calibration) instead of the PID control. Whether or not that would give a sufficiently stable temperature would be a matter of trial and error (hopefully no error ;)).
 
Hi Faithhaven,
Have a look at:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/anyone-use-thermoelectric-peltier-cooler-heater-fermenting-348853/

and in particular at CrazyCranium's image link:

https://imgur.com/a/7UxID

He's using a 10K thermistor as the sensor and an Arduino controller & breadboarded display. The controller appears to be an off-the-shelf item. Might this sort of thing work for you ?

As an aside, given the inefficiency of Peltier coolers, I was thinking of a scaled down desert cooler (aka evaporative cooler, as in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler). You would have a piece of cotton gauze stretched across a frame. One side of the frame would open into the queen bee's bedroom, the other would be outside the box with a PC or similarly small cooling fan, blowing air into the box. The bottom of the gauze would dip into a trough of water. The temperature controller would switch the fan on and off as necessary. This solution would also take care of the humidity requirement.

For heating, how about threading a thin nichrome wire into the gauze, as a heating element. Again, the fan would be used to transfer heat & humidity into Her Majesty's bedroom. In this manner, the same means can be applied for both heating & cooling.
 
For info on how to program your controller I suggest you download this instruction manual
**broken link removed**
This manual was recommended by my son-in-law. It relates to a different brand, but I understand most of it applies to various brands/models.
 
Great!!!!!!! finally instructions that are written well, complete and concise. Much gratitude for navigating me through this confusion, Alec_T
 
You're welcome. Hope you can now set things up as you want. That manual indicates at Section 5.6 that the Alarm relay and main control relay/SSR can be used for combined heating/cooling, albeit only if PID control is abandoned (?) and with the heater (bulb) and cooler (fridge) being separate units rather than a reversible Peltier device. Time to plough through the manual in more detail to see if a reversible Peltier solution is feasible ;).
 
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