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JOE RICH
Blackhawk Christian School
7400 East State Boulevard
Fort Wayne. IN 46815

Low-Cost Water-Bath Temperature CI

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Publication Date: July 1, 1992 | doi: 10.1021/ed069p568

Gary D. Mercer
Boise State University
Boise, ID 83725

This article describes the construction of a temperature

controller for the student laboratory that is low-cost, totally solid-state, and reasonably precise. When combined
with a magnetic stirrer or small circulating pump, the unit
will control a 1- to 4-Lwater bath with a precision of a t
least M.2 T over an ambient temperature range of 20-80
-C. The cost of construction, including the heater and enclosure, is less than $30. I have also found satisfactory results using the wntroller for keeping a constant air temperature (M.2 ~ C in
) a closed chamber, although the
controller was not specifically designed for this.
Construction
The controller is constructed around the popular LM741
operational amplifier acting as a comparator to control the
heater through an optocoupler with a triac. The heater is
an inexpensive 200-W "coffeecup" heater generally available a t discount department stores. All electronic components are readily available from most electronics parts
outlets.' Figure 1shows the schematic diagram.
The heating coil and thermistor should be mounted together to form a single unit. The leads of the thermistor
should be soldered to the ends of a two-conductor cable.
(Twenty-twogauge stranded speaker wire works well.)

'Possible sources are Radio Shack (localstore);Jameco Electronics, 1355 Shoreway Road. Belmont. CA 94002 ($50.00 minimum
order);or JDR Microdevices, 2233 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA
95124 ($10.00 minimum order).

Figure 2. Photograph showing the reiationship between the heater

and the thermistor.
The connection is then insulated using 118-in. heatshrink tubing so that one end covers the thermistor up to
the tip and the other end is above the water line. The
thermistor should he 0.5 cm from the heater coil and directly above it for the most stable operation. These two
should be taped or banded together at the handle of the
heating coil so that they will not move relative to one another during use.
Figure 2 shows the heater-thehnistor assembly that I
constructed. The figure also shows that the plug was removed from the end of the heater in my version. Then both
its leads and the thermistor leads were wired to a 5-pin
DIN connector.
The panel temperature control (5-kQ potentiometer)
should be wired so that it will be a t its lowest temperature
setting when the control is in the extreme counter-clockwise position. This can be done by connecting the thermistor lead to the right-hand terminal and by connecting the
4.7442 resistor to the left-hand terminal, as viewed from
the shaft end.
Operation
The controller is used with a magnetic stirrer or small
circulating pump, for example, a fish tank pump or an
evaporative air-cooler pump. The bath vessel can be a
large evaporating dish, a beaker, or a flat-bottom plastic
bowl.
Before the controller can he used it must be calibrated.
Immerse the heater and sensor in the water bath. Then
turn the unit on, and set the panel temperature control to
50% of its maximum position. Then adjust the calibration
trimmer (50-kR potentiometer) so that it regulates at 35
T. The controller will now show a usable temperature
range of about 20-80 ' C . The temperature range can be
shifted by simply readjusting the calibration trimmer. The
controller is now ready for use.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the temperature controller

568

Journal of Chemical Education

Modification for Air-Temperature Control

Modification of the controller for controlling air temperature is done by simply substituting a light bulb for the
immersion heater and a fan for the stirrer. Again, the sys-

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank the College of Arts and Sciences at

Boise State University for funding to complete this project
through a minidevelopment grant program.

Downloaded by UNIV NACIONAL AUTONOMA MEXICO on August 27, 2015 | http://pubs.acs.org

Publication Date: July 1, 1992 | doi: 10.1021/ed069p568

tern is set up so that the thermistor is reasonably close to

the light bulb (2-4 cm). For a cardboard-box enclosure
(about 0.1 m3) that is kept at about 10 O
C above ambient
temperature, I found a 50-w bulb and a 4-in. "muffm" fan
to be quite adequate.

Volume 69 Number 7 July 1992

569