More Questions ....

Got more questions for you, sorry, I'm full of questions ......
In your video "Fermentation Fridges and Temperature Controllers - How To" you show your 4th controller - which has the STC and a mechanical relay which you use for controlling the fermentation refrigerator and also for controlling the elements in your mash/brew-pot. You said that it operated on 12 volts and provided 220volts to the elements and you had tried an SSR and it put out too much heat. Is this relay the same as a contactor?
I know some here use the SSR and right behind that they use a contactor - the reasoning is that if an SSR fails, it fails in a closed position, allowing power to still flow, but if a contactor fails, it fails in an open position, cutting off the power so I like your plan better - NO SSR! and no excessive heat, requiring heat sinks, fans, etc ......
Do you know the manufacturer and the stock or item number for that one you use? I've been scouring Ebay and they don't give much information on voltage in and voltage out, just what type of relay or a stock number, which is the reason I'm bugging you again. A manufacturer name and item number will help me to Google the part so I can order a couple of them. I want to use an STC and relay to control my sparge/HERMS kettle, and the same on the mash/boil kettle.
After looking at PIDs, SSRs, contactors, timers and such I can see that it will be much better for me to use the STC and relays - economy-wise. I can go to WalMart or KMart and buy a cheap timer for a couple of bucks, rather than pay $200 for a fancy timer like KAL uses for the Electric Brewery.
I'd also like to know your opinion of putting a couple of step-down transformers (one 12v for the relay and one 24v for the pump) into the box. will this add a lot of heat or not?

Thanks, just what I needed - I'll get something similar on Ebay or Amazon, but hopefully here in the U.S.. Try clicking on the shipping info for those items - NOT what I expected! ROFL
BTW, forget the question about the setp-down transformers, I'll just look for a relay that is 110v! Thanx
MT2sum

Here's another;
In your video "Element Controller for Home Brew Boil Kettle - Cheap and Easy" do you use a separate potentiometer/controller on each element? The best 120v element that will fit my 8 gallon brewpot is 1650W, so I need to know whether I will want to have two potentiometer/controllers or not! I'm torn between using two 1650's @ 120v and a single 4500W @ 240v.......... 3300W v. 4500W might mean a quicker brewday with the 240V.
In your video " Fermentation Fridges & Temperature controllers, you use a different kind of controller .... which uses an STC 1000 and a relay. I bought an STC 1000 which has 240v in and then I jump to a 240v in relay which switches to a 240v out to control the single 4500W element. I'd like to figure out how to post my wiring diagram - modified from P-J of Homebrewtalk.com here in the US. I've eliminated the PIDs and substituted the STC1000, added a volt/amp/watt/energy meter, a 120v to 12vDC stepdown unit to run a 12v pump, added some lites, breakers, etc. for my personal comfort and so on ..... I'd like your input - I've added a pump for constant re-circulation and a VAWE meter to keep track of the power usage. I may just send it to the email address as an attachment and if you think it's worthwhile, you can then post it to your website!
Eventually, I plan to conjoin two of the diagrams - (one for the HERMES//HLT/SPARGE kettle, and one for the Mash/Boil kettle), but that will probably have to be a bit in the future, I have to get at least one of the systems running before I get too much into this..