Variac thermostat setup

Tornad2020 said:

I understand that situation could happen very easy to where did you get the red one from?

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If you search ebay theres a million of them, mine was from some eastern block country, cost about £55 , same ones from loads of sellers. All made in china but they work great.

The variac won't automatically switch due to the temperature though, you would need something like I described to wire in the thermostat.

Looks like be getting done manually or fork out for the smscom hybrid for £285 as i am confused what i would need or how to set it up

Tornad2020 said:

Looks like be getting done manually or fork out for the smscom hybrid for £285 as i am confused what i would need or how to set it up

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The wiring would be quite simple but that doesn't make it easy, especially to do it clean and proper.

A pre built solution thats plug and play is probably what you want.

I could easily build something for you but since you are overseas shipping would be costly.

If i knew actually what i needed with a instructions i could build something but i think the plug and play option be the easy option

I have a day night thermostat by autopilot and my fans plugged into that. It has adjustable deadband and a light sensor so can switch to lower temps at lights off. It does not turn the fan speed up or down just on or off.

Renfro said:

The wiring would be quite simple but that doesn't make it easy, especially to do it clean and proper.

A pre built solution thats plug and play is probably what you want.

I could easily build something for you but since you are overseas shipping would be costly.

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How much would u think would cost you to build?

Renfro said:

Thats not technically a variac. It's a multi tap transformer, so it has pre set "speeds" that you can choose from, assuming thats what the switch is for on the front.

It looks like it's wired to plug into power source and the fan plugs into it. I don't see where the thermostat / temperature probe would go though. Need more information.

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The image shown with the transformer and pcb looks like the basic model. Those unpopulated spots for relays and some kind of suppressor (?) cap, make me think it would be straightforward to upgrade for basic thermostat control. Pity there are no pcb diagrams.

Various vendors selling these, with a choice of models rated for amperage/function. Seems the main manufacturer is Belgium/EU based.


Found some pics here. Wiring model/options pamphlet.

The simplest route would be to just plug into an inkbird or similar, but then only have control of on/off for one selected speed.
Ideally it would be nice to utilise that pcb, to perhaps have control of two possible speed options.

I own the five click variac pictured at top, it might be 50% at its lowest but trust me the fan seems to run more like 30%.

Do they not already sell an all in one control unit rather than doing diy? Allround id prefer not to wire if possible.

I didnt like the hum on the sms and have blown a couple already but you can dial down too low and that seemed to overload somthing.

2Hearts said:

I own the five click variac pictured at top, it might be 50% at its lowest but trust me the fan seems to run more like 30%.

Do they not already sell an all in one control unit rather than doing diy? Allround id prefer not to wire if possible.

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Do you want to regulate temperature like the original poster? Why not try plugging your auto-transformer box into an inkbird or similar?

The KKmoon controller has terrible reliability, according to reviews. Another option is an STC-1000, best to read online to see who sells the more reliable clones, but that isn't plug and play.

Tornad2020 said:

You got something like this @coreywebster

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This is like the box in your first post, with an STC-1000 mounted into front cover and wired up to transformer.

I would ideally like something that would regulate the speed but if has to be an i will look what a stc 1000 is thanks for the reply

I have found the stc-1000 there cheap enough you think it would be easy enough to wire in?

Tornad2020 said:

I have found the stc-1000 there cheap enough you think it would be easy enough to wire in?

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Probably lot of info available on brewing and reeftank forums.

I bought a variac....it said it would stop fan motor hum......it didnt. - STELTHY

FADING-SILHOUETTE said:

I bought a variac....it said it would stop fan motor hum......it didnt. - STELTHY

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Does your hum ye? What fan are you using with it ?

This is what I use to control my Fans
You wont get any hum with this baby.

FADING-SILHOUETTE said:

I bought a variac....it said it would stop fan motor hum......it didnt. - STELTHY

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Thats very surprising. The main reason people use variacs and auto-transformers is to have no hum. Are you sure you were sold one? Do you still have it?

Tornad2020 said:

Does your hum ye? What fan are you using with it ?

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Mine does ..I have the grey one that plug into the mains with the fan plugged in thback of it it has a temp probe and oC tuner and manual speed select.... But I still get the droning humm...I hve mine setup or did have it set up on a 5 inch Systemair rvk fan.... - STELTHY