Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

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Aerohead93
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Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

Post by Aerohead93 »

Hi I am new to the forums. I recently bought a BCS-462 for my HERMS setup as well as my Fermentation process. I also am building a walk-in cooler for storage of full kegs and for Lagering as well as general overflow grocery storage. My question is: Can the BCS be programmed to monitor a humidity sensor in my walk-in and then start up some fans to keep the coils on my improvised window mount AC unit from freezing up? I read on a separate forum that if you install and run several small fans on the underside of the AC unit's grill (the example used was 7 fans), that it would keep the coils from freezing up if the humidity were to climb too high. I suppose I could probably find a dehumidifier that would work to keep the space minimally humid, but I am looking to try and save some money and utilize the stuff that I already have (other than the Humidity Sensor) to achieve this goal. So if anyone has any insight on the subject I would be greatly appreciative. :)

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clearwaterbrewer
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Re: Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

Post by clearwaterbrewer »

There is no direct humidity sensor for the BCS, but if you drain the condensate off the condenser to outside the cooler, you have made a dehumidifier...
Aerohead93
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Re: Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

Post by Aerohead93 »

Ya I realize that but from what I have been reading when you load the cooler up (especially with liquids or anything with moisture) the coils on the AC have a hard time dealing with that moisture until the AC unit is able to get rid of it to the outside air. That is the reason that some people have added fans to the backside of their AC's removable grill cover (which from what I am gathering works great). I guess what I was trying to accomplish is making it so that the fans only kicked on when necessary instead of running all the time. I may try my hand at building a little circuit board that would interface with a humidity sensor and the fans to accomplish this. Still finishing up the HERMS build so it will have to wait. I will post my progress if anyone is interested. Thanks again for the response...
clearwaterbrewer
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Re: Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

Post by clearwaterbrewer »

It would be easier just to have a good drain so that condensate can leave quickly(could just be proper tilt of the unit), and if you are still worried, place a temp probe to detect icing... but then again, if this window AC is running that hard, you are not going to be happy with the power bill...
Aerohead93
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Re: Humidity Sensors with BCS-462?

Post by Aerohead93 »

Thats a good point....I will make sure that the unit (when installed) has a slight tip to it to allow proper draining. I dont believe that the AC unit will be running all the time to maintain the temperature. We are putting in quite alot of insulation up front in hopes it won't. Judging by what others have experienced I am pretty confident that it won't. With that said I'm sure I still won't like the power bill! The icing up of the coils seems to be the only thing that people have had lasting issues with so I was trying to devise a way to circumvent that and then share with others that might be trying to do the same thing. Thanks again for your input.
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