I’ve been having a problem with this hot CA weather (even though it has been relatively cool this year). I can’t find a cool place in my house for my fermenter with a stable temperature between 65° to 70° F. I am looking into an External overriding thermostat. I would appreciate recommendations and/or plans for installing such a system. Thanks.

If thats what you need let me know. I should be able to get you one a bit cheaper.
An old fridge that doesnt work is good also. Just put jugs of ice in every day.

Thanks for the direction...I will definitely check out the links...I'm lining up an old refrigerator right now. Thanks again.

I do one of the Northern Brewer digital temp controls on a deep freezer. I can lager even during a hot Louisiana summer. Which is pretty sweet seeing as how last summer, before I got the temp controller, I was having trouble keeping temps down enough for brewing ales!

How do I use this thing???
I went with the Johnson Controls Electronic Temp Control (A419ABG-3C) and thought it would be easy enough, just plug it in. But how do I install the thermostat. Do I just drill a hole in the fridge insert thermostat and fill with expanding foam? I am embarrassingly lost? Help?

Be careful drilling holes. You might want to run the probe through the seal of the door. Easy to do and it puts the controller in a place which is easy to see. You could even mount the controller on the door and drilling through the door is no problem. Hope this helps!!

Gary

+1.

I agree totally with the Bluesssman. Be careful when drilling into any fridge/freezer. Safety concerns aside (which they shouldn't be) you could ruin the fridge quick, fast, and in a hurry by drilling through a coolant line.
I use a chest freezer with my controller, and I just close the door on the probe wire. I don't seem to have any trouble with the seal, but gravity does help when using a top loaded chest freezer. If it were me, I'd prolly do the same thing with an upright fridge/freezer, and maybe just make a latch to keep the door closed if it doesn't stay sealed properly.

Thanks to Bluesssman and GuitarLord5000 for the advice, but just like any rookie I just couldn't wait. So, I tried to slip the sensor cable in between the door and seal, however I think the wire gauge was to big. So I picked a corner of the fridge in the rear where I thought I wouldn't hit any coolant lines, closed my eyes, and drilled baby..drilled. Luckily all that I found on the drill bit was Styrofoam. Pushed the sensor through and filled with caulking. I'm going to turn it on this morning and test it. I don't think it will be a problem...thanks for the advice…..I always appreciate it. I not worried about the fridge, the sensor cost more.