Using a window airconditioner to regulate temperature in my fish room

[emartin]

My fish room is an outside-addition to the house (3 of the walls and the roof are outside walls). The house is old, so there's a small radiator in the room and cooling has to be done with a window air conditioner unit.

My question is... Is there a device I can plug my air conditioner into (and the device into the outlet), that will automatically turn on/off the air conditioner if it gets too hot in the room? The air conditioner is a cheaper one, it isn't digital (uses dials to set the temperature and fan speed).

And it's old, so if having it turn on/off all day will that shorten its lifespan or it shouldn't? I know people connect window AC's to light timers so they only go on when they come home from work...

But are there any devices that will automatically cut the power to the AC unit if the room temperature rises above say 80F? I'm figuring that would be a much cheaper alternative versus having heaters on all the tanks and using the AC to keep the room to a cool temperature just for me while I'm in there.

[m1ke715m]

you can set the dials to turn the ac on and off.. my ac for instance i put on low cool and then if i want it to turn on and off i set the dial to like 7 on a range of 1-10.. it will turn the compressor on and off when the compressor is off it will blow air but not cold air.. some air conditioners are more accurate with this.. some go on and off no matter what setting you put it on.. some like to stay on more often..i know if you turn the dial down thou u will hear the compressor kick off.. time it see how long it takes to go back on.. this can be used to make a rough estimate of when its 80 in the room... even the digital ones arent that accurate... it also depends on the size of the room and the btu's of the unit (british thermal units) the higher the btu's the more cool the room will get quicker.. and that will throw off your estimate... you really have to just play with your dial on your ac and see what works for you

[emartin]

I already tried setting the dial to low cool (low power that is, not lower temperature) and the lowest fan speed and it still keeps the room too cool (69F).

I'm looking for a device that will automatically power up the AC and keep it on until the temperature is where it should be again, and then power the AC back off.

[Pete]

These smell like the kinda thing you're asking for:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

[fischfan13]

These smell like the kinda thing you're asking for:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

Pete has his computer set up so that if anyone says "British" he responds.:neener:

[emartin]

These smell like the kinda thing you're asking for:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E7NYY8/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt
I just found the first link on my own when you posted this. The second one looks good too, I like the long probe cable it has. I might go with the Lux brand one though since it also works for portable heaters. It also looks like the Ranco one is a bad choice for air conditioners as it doesn't have a wait-time for air conditioners (for the compressor to turn off) before providing power again.

Thanks!


Pete has his computer set up so that if anyone says "British" he responds.:neener:

:lol:

[Pete]

It's true.

But long probes don't excite me. j/s.

[Tony]

Hey Ed - Those products that Pete posted look like they'll do the trick. Just make sure that they're rated for the wattage/amperage that your A/C is pulling. It should say it on a label on the back of the unit.

[emartin]

Received the thermostat outlet today (the LUX WIN100), didn't get a chance to set it up but will this weekend. Should work though, can't wait to see how accurate the thermometer on it is. Thanks for the help everybody!

[Pete]

c'mon get on it.
I might want one for my bedroom :D

[philk]

not sure about these outlety thermostats but all you need is a relay a transformer and any low voltage thermostat. you can put the thermostat anywhere in the room and just pull a wire over to the transformer and relay to turn on and off the ac

[emartin]

Going to set it up tomorrow, will let you all know how it works. I'm expecting it to do the job just fine.

[emartin]

c'mon get on it.
I might want one for my bedroom :D

Sorry for the late reply, I've had it running for a few days now and it appears to work rather well. The thermostat on the unit seems to be very accurate, I compared it with an analog thermometer and a digital thermometer and all have the same readings.

Now I just got to see how long it lasts...