I'm just speculating, I have no idea. But it's hard to imagine you could screw up such a simple function with hardware.
Jackdaw - that is the same manual I have. I had to set my dip switch for the refrigerator to have an offset based on the measured temperature after it had been stabilized. With the standard setting the measured temperature was a few degrees above 33 degrees F in the overcool mode so I set the offset to account for that in accordance with the manual.
Amen. It is shameful. They have a video out there that speaks about the automatic overcool function while some added fine print on the video states that you must switch it manually. Pathetic.
OK. Maybe I'm stupid but are we talking about the same Isotherm ISEC system? Mine works perfectly, no manual switchover, no fine print. Did Isotherm come up with something else while I wasn't looking? Please enlighten me.
I have a Isotherm Compact 2010 with the Smart Energy Control (blue) . I paid a extra $100 for the feature and have had it since February. I had to have the module replaced on delivery due to a circuit on its board fried. The second module has worked intermittently and over the last several months will only cool to 44 degrees no matter the setting or if it is in the power saving mode. It has also wouldn't go any warmer than 28 degrees for a stretch
I contacted support service in Florida once again and they admitted the module is sensitive to vibrations and recommends switching it out to a standard thermostat that removes the module. When he said that I just about crapped myself. I couldn't resist asking him what the system was marketed for. They are sending it to me at no charge. At this point I'll eat the 100 buck I spent just to not waste my time messing with dip switches and wiring. I would not recommend the Smart Energy Control system. There customer service is very nice and informative though. If I had bad customer service from the beginning I would have returned the whole thing. They did try to blame it on poor power but I shut that down after explaining my 4 AGMs and a 4ft, 10 gauge lead. That's when he talked about the system sensitivities.
I contacted support service in Florida once again and they admitted the module is sensitive to vibrations and recommends switching it out to a standard thermostat that removes the module. When he said that I just about crapped myself. I couldn't resist asking him what the system was marketed for. They are sending it to me at no charge. At this point I'll eat the 100 buck I spent just to not waste my time messing with dip switches and wiring. I would not recommend the Smart Energy Control system. There customer service is very nice and informative though. If I had bad customer service from the beginning I would have returned the whole thing. They did try to blame it on poor power but I shut that down after explaining my 4 AGMs and a 4ft, 10 gauge lead. That's when he talked about the system sensitivities.
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Bawlmer, ISEC is different from ITC. Further up in this thread is a photo of the ITC control unit. So far no one has reported having a functioning ITC unit. Furthermore, Isotherm also states that the system does not function automatically as advertised. I think it is safe to say that the Isotherm ITC system simply does not work. Sailors beware. Vendors take note.
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This is the same unit I have. I left the DIP switches in the default position, and it controls 100% of the time at 41F. My thermostat is near the bottom. I've never played with the offset switches. There does not seem to be an explanation of the offset settings. Maybe I'll just flip then in binary sequence and see what happens.
I'll also check the voltage at the controller. It would be possible that too-small (or an issue with the) wiring would not allow it to see the trip value. I'll check the DIP switch as well.
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Jackdaw, When you say "This is the same unit I have" do you mean the digital version that was shown by the original poster (the ITC) or do you have the ISEC version with the rotary switch (with the numbers and an arrow on it)? It is the ISEC version with the rotary dial (simple non digital readout) that has the dip switches. There may be dip switches for the digital version but I am not familiar with that particular piece of equipment.
The explanation for how to set the dip switches for ISEC is contained in the pdf file that was posted earlier, including the correct positions for using it as a refrigerator or as a freezer (different dip switch settings) and also the settings to adjust for difference that may exist between the thermostat sensor and the actual measured temperature. It takes a long time to stabilize so make sure your temp is stable before you do the dip switch thing.
Also, the wiring is a good thing to check too. I have a 10 ga wire for the power supply. Like you noted, it may be that the controller isn't seeing the correct voltage to kick into the over cooling mode. Good luck. Smokey
I have the same ISEC with the rotary switch. I have a digital thermometer probe in the box next the ISEC probe, and it shows rock steady 41F. So that works. If I set the box to freeze, it will happy go down to almost zero. So that works. I have at least 10G wire. I'll play again. Maybe I'm back in the mood to get frustrated! ;^)
On my typical voyage, I run under power for the first 2 hours. That leaves a high battery voltage even after engine shutdown. I noticed my fridge does not decide its on lower voltage until I get almost across the bay. Depending on many factors, it is quite possible your fridge never detects lower voltage and goes into saver mode.
Yes, 10 g for the whole fridge and controller, but it is a new ISOTHERM unit and draws very little current compared to my old unit which was run with the same 10 G wire. The wire run is not very long (about 5 feet one way) and the system seems to work as designed, including going into the overcool mode. My fridge goes down to about 33-34 degrees (at the bottom of the fidge measured with a digital temp gauge) when in overcool and stabilzed.
By the way, I believe you can add an ISEC controller to several models of the Danfoss compressors. Look on their web site. I don't think I would go with the ITC digital version based on what I read here but each to his own. Jackdaw, I hope you get your's resolved because I think its a good system when you get it tweaked.
Isotherm sent me the standard thermostat. Hooked it up and the system runs like it should with the 4ft, 10 awg straight from the battery. Hooked it up to the circuit i ran from the breaker and amp meter and it had issues. I replaced it with a 8 awg circuit and we will see how our goes after i get everything back th together.
The original wire which was probably 12/14 was about 14ft long of poor quality causing the system was cycling every couple seconds. All is good now with the 8 gauge. I can't remember the maker of the compressor but it is the common one that is used now.
I just installed the isotherm 2301 and bought the ITC with it. Trying to understand the functions of the ITC brought me to this post. I too was a little misled about the function of the ITC and the “automatic” overcool. I too was lead to believe what the original poster thought. Essentially the ITC would work similar to the ASU fridge being able to store extra cold energy when it detected excess power (ie higher voltage). But now I think I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the way the ITC is programmed. But the manual is still very poorly worded/translated. There are essentially 3 different modes the ITC will operate in.
Econo Mode: Will ignore battery voltage and just run at low rpm(2500) but may not be able to hold set box temperature at this low power setting.
ITC Mode: Will vary between low rpm and high rpm based on battery voltage setting. If battery voltage is in low power range it may not be able to hold box temperature but when it detects the extra volts it will “automatically” kick into high and drop the box back to set temperature.
Overcool mode (must be manually activated in settings): Will run at high rpm regardless of battery voltage and will drop the box 3°c lower than set tempature, basically in this mode you are saying box cooling takes priority over battery voltage.
Now that I understand these 3 modes I don’t think its poorly programmed, this is what the engineers intended. It’s just poorly misleading as to the way it works. Sooooo my plan is to leave it in ITC mode and if I remember i’ll Push the down arrow a few times in the morning to drop the box temp while my solar is charging, and at sun down push it back up a few times essentially doing what I though overcool would do.
Econo Mode: Will ignore battery voltage and just run at low rpm(2500) but may not be able to hold set box temperature at this low power setting.
ITC Mode: Will vary between low rpm and high rpm based on battery voltage setting. If battery voltage is in low power range it may not be able to hold box temperature but when it detects the extra volts it will “automatically” kick into high and drop the box back to set temperature.
Overcool mode (must be manually activated in settings): Will run at high rpm regardless of battery voltage and will drop the box 3°c lower than set tempature, basically in this mode you are saying box cooling takes priority over battery voltage.
Now that I understand these 3 modes I don’t think its poorly programmed, this is what the engineers intended. It’s just poorly misleading as to the way it works. Sooooo my plan is to leave it in ITC mode and if I remember i’ll Push the down arrow a few times in the morning to drop the box temp while my solar is charging, and at sun down push it back up a few times essentially doing what I though overcool would do.
IMHO it is not a poor translation of the manual nor is the system operating as the engineers intended. Rather, it is a failed design that the manufacturer refuses to correct. The manual provides the battery voltages that should trigger the system out of overcool, depending on your programming choices for battery protection level. Overcool does not work as described in the manual under battery protection level. That is not a translation problem. The engineers failed to build a system that works as intended. The manufacturer does not care. You will find that trying to operate the system by manually switching from ECO mode to ITC and back depending on whether your engine is running is not practical. Many cruisers often run the motor when the wind slows and turn it off when it picks up. With this failed design you must run below and push a button every time you start or stop the engine if you wish to experience the benefits of overcool. Not practical and certainly not as advertised. An honest manufacturer would be ashamed of this product's actual performance and would direct his engineers to correct it. An honest manufacturer would certainly not continue to lie about the product features in its advertising for years. Pathetic.
This seems like a simple programming fix, if the engineers did intent for overcool to take priority over battery voltage then add a few more lines of code that make it an option for overcool to be automatic. I could see why some users would want overcool to not be automatic. Their food takes priority over their batteries life. Maybe you have some very expensive fish or something then yeah you will say ‘I don’t want that to spoil.’ But you’re right this isn’t the way most cruisers operate. So I am going to operate it on the highest battery protection setting in ITC mode. So that way it will kick the compressor up to high when my solar or engine are producing power. And it should run on low (2500rpm) all other times automatically without me having to touch anything. However if I do think about it I can always push the temp button down a few clicks when I know I have extra power. And back up when I don’t.
I wonder if I could find a computer programmer that could write those lines of code to make overcool automatic like it should be.
I wonder if I could find a computer programmer that could write those lines of code to make overcool automatic like it should be.