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Review on πŸ”Œ Efficient Cooling Control with BN-LINK Digital Thermostat for Fans 40-108F 8.3A 1000W by Kaushik Sokolowski

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Good product but limitations need to be understood

I am a home brewer and I bought two controllers to control two chest freezers. Both chest freezers are small (3.6ft3 and 5.0ft3) and have low operating currents (1.7A and 2.1A respectively). I bought my first controller 3 years ago for a 5.0ft3 chest freezer and it worked great. I bought a second controller for a 3.6ft 3 freezer 3 months ago and it only lasted a month before failing. BN-Link's customer support is excellent (one of the reasons for the 4 stars) which is why I received a refund for a defective unit. The question arises: was the controller really defective, or did it fail because the start-up current (or pulse current) of the freeze compressor was higher than the rated current of the controller? After scouring the web, I've found that typical freezer inrush currents are in the order of 13A (even for small chest freezers like mine), which is above the controller's 10A current rating. However, my other controller has been with me for years A slightly larger freezer hasn't worked, and when I called GE they said the inrush current for the freezer was only 2 or 3 times the operating current (and thus within the controller's specs). ). So it's hard to say what really happened. My conclusion is that this particular controller may not be the best choice for controlling a freezer or other motor/compressor device that may have high inductive starting current. To be safe, I replace the failed controller with a 15A model instead of a 10A.

Pros
  • βœ“ VARIOUS APPLICATIONS: Our thermostat controller can be used for cooling, fermentation, greenhouse fans and more, maintaining the ideal temperature range for a variety of environments.
Cons
  • Exorbitant price