Rheostat/ or What?

[Big Lar]

Good morning, Heres the deal, I run my water/anti mix out of a small dorm fridge, and my temp of my mix gets a bit too cold after extended running of the setup, I would like to find a way of turning the unit off automatically when the temp of the fluid mix gets down to 40f, then back on when it gets to about 50f. How can I accomplish this, I get tired of having to go over/ open up the fridge, shut it off/ then do the reverse a while later... Any input will be Highly appreciated.

 

[dkozloski]

Any good electrical supply store should be able to furnish you with a thermostatic switch either adjustable or a fixed value.

 

[compudog]

I regular household thermostat will work fine. But you need a couple of other things. First you need a relay that can be controlled by the thermostat. The relay should be sized to handle the full-load amps of your refer. You can find the amps listed on the back but a relay that will switch 15 amps @110 volts AC should be sufficient. Put the thermostat in the fridge connecting it's output to the line side of the relay's coil. When the t-stat reaches the high setting, it will close it's contacts and energize the relay coil. closing the contacts and firing up the fridge. Routing the wires to the t-stat is your biggest problem, but if they are thin enough, I'd go right through the hinge side of the door. I can post more info if this is kind of what you had in mind.

 

[Big Lar]

Thats what I am looking for 🙂 I will pm you later to figure it all out, I have a hole cut in the back allready, where my water lines go in and out, it's just a small dorm fridge, so I expect the amp output isn't very high, Thanks all for the replies 🙂