# Ink Bird Controllers



## BKBrews

Anyone have any first hand experience with these?

Looking at either the ITC-308 or ITC-310. No experience with electronics so whatever is easiest is best.


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## peteru

I've had my ITC-310T for about a week now. I'm still finishing the freezer conversion, but I have been testing the controller with a couple of cubes of water. The controller seems to work fine and as advertised. It's not all that hard to work it, but you definitely need to consult the manual. The user interface is limited by the display and 3 buttons.

Mine came with a 30cm long probe that you can submerge into your fermenter. Since this is a simple controller with a target temperature and separate positive and negative delta, I don't think I'll be doing that. I'll be attaching the probe to the outside of the fermenter so that I get enough ambient influence. My theory is that this approach should prevent overshoot. I guess I'll learn more with experience.

I paid under $60 for it, delivered directly from China. It took less than 2 weeks to get it, which was a nice surprise, since I was expecting the usual 4-8 weeks.

I like it as a quick and easy solution that will get you up and running with minimal effort. I was going to build a small embedded system with WiFi, logging, several probes and advanced temperature control algorithms, then I realised that such a project would delay quality brewing by many months, perhaps even years. Decided to get a turnkey solution and put the fancy project on a list of things to do when I have "spare time".


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## Killer Brew

Great price. Where did you get it from!


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## peteru

eBay. I did a search for Inkbird. Ended up buying from http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/lerway100


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## Batz

I have the ITC-310T, as I have been away working for a few shuts I still have not had time to use it. I did bring it with me so I can have a play with it on my day off, to be honest a quick look at the instructions seemed a bit overwhelming for an old bloke like me.
A 12 year old kid would have it sorted in minutes I'm sure, I'll sit back with a beer or two this Sunday and nut it out.

I do believe it is a good product at a fair price.

Batz


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## BKBrews

Maybe the ITC-308 is a little less complicated?

I don't REALLY need the timing function, because when I learn how to lager I'm not really fussed about having to manually change the settings at each step.


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## peteru

If you don't use the timers, the complexity is about the same. Just one extra setting that you leave at zero. Once you set the number of timers to more than zero, it's not very much more complicated either. Just a temperature and duration for each step.


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## BKBrews

Thanks for the info.

I've just hit them up on ebay to see if they have a deal for forum members and I'll take it from there. If I can get the 308S for about $50 I'll probably just do that.... I just wanted to know if the brand itself made good controllers.


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## huez

I bought 3 of them, got a refund on 2 after a couple of months use. The temperature wouldn't stay steady, would fluctuate quite a bit. This would make the fridge constantly kick on, even with a compressor delay of 10mins it was turning on and off constantly. They worked fine at first as far as i could tell. Only reason i'm still using the third one is because its only hooked up to a heating belt.


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## BKBrews

> I bought 3 of them, got a refund on 2 after a couple of months use. The temperature wouldn't stay steady, would fluctuate quite a bit. This would make the fridge constantly kick on, even with a compressor delay of 10mins it was turning on and off constantly. They worked fine at first as far as i could tell. Only reason i'm still using the third one is because its only hooked up to a heating belt.


Well that doesn't sound ideal....

What other options are there? I don't really want something I'm required to wire, really like the idea of plug and play.


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## Patrick_BCB

I've got three of the Inkbird ITC-310T's and am very happy with them after 10 weeks. I don't use the timer function at all, but at some stage may want to.

Have had zero issues with the controller and like the plus/minus .3 degrees range I can keep my brew at during fermentation. I manually adjust mine as needs be including cc'ing in the fermentation chamber. Tested against some of the other temperature controllers / thermometers I have and found the 0~10 degree range to be more accurate than any of the other equipment I have. Over 10 everything else started to line up.

Love the heating and cooling sockets, especially since my fridges live under the house and the ambient has gone close to 10 some mornings so heating was essential.


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## timmi9191

If youre not using the timers, whats the benefit over an STC-1000?


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## Patrick_BCB

timmi9191 said:


> If youre not using the timers, whats the benefit over an STC-1000?


I may use the timers, it was a feature I thought worth the extra investment.

I have no experience with the STC-1000 - does it automatically switch between heating and cooling? That was a must have feature for me. I had previously purchased a controller that I *thought* switched between heating and cooling to maintain a temperature but unfortunately this was not the case.


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## Mattrox

Patrick_BCB said:


> I may use the timers, it was a feature I thought worth the extra investment.
> 
> I have no experience with the STC-1000 - does it automatically switch between heating and cooling? That was a must have feature for me. I had previously purchased a controller that I *thought* switched between heating and cooling to maintain a temperature but unfortunately this was not the case.


STC 1000 does switch between heating and cooling. But some assembly required as per the thread on the subject. Purely a thermostat.

If you are inclined, the STC 1000+ is a project where a particular version of the STC 1000 is programmed with custom firmware which allows timed temperature profiles for fermentation to be saved. It's hand but 1 degree of difficulty more than "some assembly required".

The timing function is useful.


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## BKBrews

> I've got three of the Inkbird ITC-310T's and am very happy with them after 10 weeks. I don't use the timer function at all, but at some stage may want to.
> 
> Have had zero issues with the controller and like the plus/minus .3 degrees range I can keep my brew at during fermentation. I manually adjust mine as needs be including cc'ing in the fermentation chamber. Tested against some of the other temperature controllers / thermometers I have and found the 0~10 degree range to be more accurate than any of the other equipment I have. Over 10 everything else started to line up.
> 
> Love the heating and cooling sockets, especially since my fridges live under the house and the ambient has gone close to 10 some mornings so heating was essential.


how do these sockets work? I assumed you just plug your fridge into the cooling socket if you aren't using a heat source?

Could I be a pain and ask for a pic of your setup?


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## peteru

Very simple. One socket is heating and it is turned on when the temperature needs to be warmer. The other socket is cooling and it is turned on when the temperature needs to be colder. You can hook up nothing and just use the unit to monitor temperature, you can hook up both to maintain temperature within a range or just hook up cooling or heating to prevent the temperature going too high or too low. Your choice.


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## BKBrews

> Very simple. One socket is heating and it is turned on when the temperature needs to be warmer. The other socket is cooling and it is turned on when the temperature needs to be colder. You can hook up nothing and just use the unit to monitor temperature, you can hook up both to maintain temperature within a range or just hook up cooling or heating to prevent the temperature going too high or too low. Your choice.


makes sense - thanks.

Being in QLD, I really only need something to cool when the temp goes too high.


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## VP Brewing

Would these be suitable to control a HERMS?


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## sp0rk

VP Brewing said:


> Would these be suitable to control a HERMS?


I wouldn't think so, they're a temp controller, not a PID
You don't have the accuracy of a PID, they just shut off a set temp, so you risk still having temp rises


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## BKBrews

They accepted my offer on ebay - got a ITC-308S for $45 delivered. Can't be upset about that and I think it will do the trick.


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## Killer Brew

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AU-PLUG-240V-Dual-Stage-ITC-308S-Temperature-Controller-Pre-wired-Temp-measure/222233209785?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D1b0e97efc914499a8ccd62d21cdda86a%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D322181962638

Is it this one?


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## BKBrews

Killer Brew said:


> http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AU-PLUG-240V-Dual-Stage-ITC-308S-Temperature-Controller-Pre-wired-Temp-measure/222233209785?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D1b0e97efc914499a8ccd62d21cdda86a%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D322181962638
> 
> Is it this one?


yep, that's the one mate.


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## BKBrews

I just had a thought....

If I buy one of the SS Brewtech BrewMaster Buckets.... Can I put the ink bird temp probe directly into the thermowell?


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## sp0rk

My Inkbird ITC-310T just got here
Will report back on it some time soon


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## BKBrews

sp0rk said:


> My Inkbird ITC-310T just got here
> Will report back on it some time soon


How long did it take?

Mine is estimate to arrive between Monday and Friday next week, but I REALLY need it by Friday so I can start my first GF brew next weekend.


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## sp0rk

This is the one I won in the last comp on here (which was drawn mid july...)
I sent them my details on 26/8, they replied saying sorry for the late reply on 30/8 and it appeared in my office just now, was sent via untracked Parcel Post


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## BKBrews

> This is the one I won in the last comp on here (which was drawn mid july...)
> I sent them my details on 26/8, they replied saying sorry for the late reply on 30/8 and it appeared in my office just now, was sent via untracked Parcel Post


Sounds like I'll get it early next week then.

Let me know how the 310 goes! Might give that a go in the future.


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## Patrick_BCB

BKBrews said:


> I just had a thought....
> 
> If I buy one of the SS Brewtech BrewMaster Buckets.... Can I put the ink bird temp probe directly into the thermowell?


You sure can


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## MartinOC

VP Brewing said:


> Would these be suitable to control a HERMS?


At a pinch, yes. I tried it on my system awhile back. The problem is that they don't wait until the target rest temperature is reached before starting a timed rest period. You need to know your system's ramping rate & add the ramping period to your rest period.



sp0rk said:


> I wouldn't think so, they're a temp controller, not a PID
> You don't have the accuracy of a PID, they just shut off a set temp, so you risk still having temp rises


Yep, exactly what I experienced. You get fluctuations above/below the set-point just like an STC-1000. If accuracy is what you're after, a PID is the way to go.


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## BKBrews

I picked it up from the post office this morning and I must say, for $45 and the ease of use, I couldn't be happier. Plugged in and set up within 30 seconds. The only thing they could do better is having either a longer cooling/heating cord or building the heating/cooling sockets into the body. I want to hang it on the side of my fridge, but the socket makes it a bit awkward.

What does everyone normally set the compressor delay at? I left mine at the default 2min until I hear otherwise. I also left it with a 1 degree heating and cooling leeway.


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## peteru

The board with sockets has mounting holes on the back, for a secure fix to the wall. The control unit has a hanging hook. I think the idea is that you mount the sockets board and hang the control unit. You can then pickup the control unit to work it, if required. You always have the option to just loop the cable and mount both side by side. If you don't want to drill, some heavy duty double-sided adhesive tape will do the trick.

I have my compressor delay at 1 min. Cooling delta at 0.6C and heating delta at 1C. The delta temperatures will probably depend very much on the thermal characteristics of the entire system. My setting have so far resulted in minimal amount of cooling or heating cycles. I'm sure if you set the delta values too small, have poor air circulation or mount the probe in a sub-optimal location, you would end up with overshoot and the system would constantly switch between heating and cooling.


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## BKBrews

> The board with sockets has mounting holes on the back, for a secure fix to the wall. The control unit has a hanging hook. I think the idea is that you mount the sockets board and hang the control unit. You can then pickup the control unit to work it, if required. You always have the option to just loop the cable and mount both side by side. If you don't want to drill, some heavy duty double-sided adhesive tape will do the trick.
> 
> I have my compressor delay at 1 min. Cooling delta at 0.6C and heating delta at 1C. The delta temperatures will probably depend very much on the thermal characteristics of the entire system. My setting have so far resulted in minimal amount of cooling or heating cycles. I'm sure if you set the delta values too small, have poor air circulation or mount the probe in a sub-optimal location, you would end up with overshoot and the system would constantly switch between heating and cooling.


Didn't notice the mounting points on the socket - will check that out better tonight. Either way, I'm going to get one of those 3M picture hooks to mount the control unit to the side of my fridge.

I'll leave my compressor setting and cooling/heating deltas at 1 degree and see how it goes. Anything will be better than the fluctuations my brews would have been going through in my cupboard haha.

I also plan on getting a ss brewtech brewmaster bucket before the end of the year, so the temp probe will likely be permanently installed in the thermowell of that.


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## peteru

BKBrews said:


> the temp probe will likely be permanently installed in the thermowell of that.


Do experiment a bit with that. It may not necessarily be the best location when you use a simple temperature controller like this.


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## BKBrews

So I set it up this morning and probably need to play a bit with the fridge itself to get the right level of cooling when it turns on. I set the temp to 19 degrees on the ink bird with a 1 degree +- variance and it appears to drop to 18 degrees pretty quickly and then slowly rise to 20 degrees before quickly going back to 18 when the fridge kicks back in. Don't know what I was expecting but it still doesn't seem like a perfect control!


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## peteru

The location of the probe will be critical. Ideally you want the probe to measure mainly the temperature of the fermenting vessel and it's contents, but you do want some degree of ambient temperature influence.

I positioned the 30cm probe against the side of the fermenter, ensuring that it makes good contact with the vessel for most of the length of the probe. I have not insulated the probe against ambient temperature at all. My fermentation chamber (converted freezer) has an IP55 rated (noisy) fan for air circulation and that makes a big difference to the efficiency of heat exchange and as a result the accuracy of the temperature.

With a converted freezer, there is not much control over the cooling capacity. It just goes hard when it's on. As a result you get condensation and rapid temperature drop.

I did have some choice in terms of heating. I did a bit of research and found out that to raise the temperature of approximately 20-25 litres of water by one degree Celsius in one hour, I would need a heat source somewhere around 25W. I figured I did not really want the temperature to go up any faster than that. I ended up buying a heat cable designed for terrariums, which is moisture proof and the heating segment of the cable is 3m long. The one I ordered from an Australia vendor came with suction cups, which made it very easy to mount the heat cable on the plastic insides of the freezer. Having the heat source evenly distributed over a large area and completely flexible allows various options, including wrapping the cable around the fermenter if you need to get more heat into the vessel.

Also, be aware that this is a simple controller, so you are never going to get a steady ambient temperature. You would need a much more complex system for that. However, when you take it into perspective, ambient variations of 2C are perfectly fine for fermenting beer. As long as you can dissipate the excess heat produced by the fermentation and compensate for cold ambient temperatures, your beer should be fine. A fermenter left in the back room at my place would see ambient fluctuations of 20C or more and worse still, it would be impossible to keep the wort/beer under about 25C for most of the year.


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## BKBrews

> Do experiment a bit with that. It may not necessarily be the best location when you use a simple temperature controller like this.


 


> The location of the probe will be critical. Ideally you want the probe to measure mainly the temperature of the fermenting vessel and it's contents, but you do want some degree of ambient temperature influence.
> 
> I positioned the 30cm probe against the side of the fermenter, ensuring that it makes good contact with the vessel for most of the length of the probe. I have not insulated the probe against ambient temperature at all. My fermentation chamber (converted freezer) has an IP55 rated (noisy) fan for air circulation and that makes a big difference to the efficiency of heat exchange and as a result the accuracy of the temperature.
> 
> With a converted freezer, there is not much control over the cooling capacity. It just goes hard when it's on. As a result you get condensation and rapid temperature drop.
> 
> I did have some choice in terms of heating. I did a bit of research and found out that to raise the temperature of approximately 20-25 litres of water by one degree Celsius in one hour, I would need a heat source somewhere around 25W. I figured I did not really want the temperature to go up any faster than that. I ended up buying a heat cable designed for terrariums, which is moisture proof and the heating segment of the cable is 3m long. The one I ordered from an Australia vendor came with suction cups, which made it very easy to mount the heat cable on the plastic insides of the freezer. Having the heat source evenly distributed over a large area and completely flexible allows various options, including wrapping the cable around the fermenter if you need to get more heat into the vessel.
> 
> Also, be aware that this is a simple controller, so you are never going to get a steady ambient temperature. You would need a much more complex system for that. However, when you take it into perspective, ambient variations of 2C are perfectly fine for fermenting beer. As long as you can dissipate the excess heat produced by the fermentation and compensate for cold ambient temperatures, your beer should be fine. A fermenter left in the back room at my place would see ambient fluctuations of 20C or more and worse still, it would be impossible to keep the wort/beer under about 25C for most of the year.


Can you explain why having it placed in the thermowell might not be the best place for it?

I keep thinking that it would definitely be the best place, because the ambient temperature will fluctuate so much with the on/off of the fridge cooling. If installed in the thermowell where the vessel/wort fluctuates far less, there will be much less intervention from the controller. The fridge ambient temp might be 20 degrees which would normally kick the fridge back on, but the wort may be optimal at 18 and nothing needs to be done. As the wort will fluctuate far less, you could keep the variance as low as +- 0.5 degrees each side.

What am I missing?


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## peteru

In my case, the cooling is done by a freezer, so dropping the ambient temperature down to -10C is something that can happen very quickly. Outside the fermenter the air is constantly circulated by a fan, so there should be minimal hot/cold spots and fairly good heat exchange. Stainless steel will be even better at heat exchange. On the other hand, the contents of the fermenter are not being agitated and there will be a temperature differential between various locations. Chances are that the outside bottom part of the contents will be much cooler than the top layer near the center. By the time the probe inside a thermowell reads the target temperature, you might have rapidly dropped the temperature on the walls of the fermenter so much that the yeast will go to sleep and flocculate. Of course, with a freezer, you are also looking at a very rapid temperature drop - again something that is not great for the yeast. You want fairly gentle temperature variations during fermentation.

It's better to have a number of short runs that move you towards a target temperature slowly. You do not want to get to target quickly, possibly overshoot and then have the heater fight the temperature the other way.


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## TwoCrows

You should adjust you thermostat to minimum. Small amount of temp decline.
If this doesn't work then you really need a fridge not a freezer to control wort temp.

If I set my controller to 0.5 degree each side of optimum and also adjust my fridges thermostat control , I can control my temps to 0.5 degree. Overall !! It doesn't drop below my optimum temp. Doesn't get any better then that..


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## Camo6

Sucks when the airlock freezes when crash chilling too. (Pun intended)
I drop temp in a few stages. Gives the compressor a bit of a rest too. Get good results just insulating the probe on the side of the BB.


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## peteru

The Inkbird controller is the thermostat. There is no point in fiddling with the fridge or freezer thermostats. The compressor is either on or off, it doesn't spin any slower or faster when you change thermostat temperature. Setting the appropriate delta values on the Inkbird combined with sufficient air circulation and appropriate probe positioning is all that is required. As I said, it works well for me with the probe positioned against the side of the fermenter. The temperature of the wort/beer is within 1C of the target and more importantly there are no wild temperature swings. The compressor and heater are not running very often, so the system seems stable, rather than oscillating, so I'm happy.


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## TwoCrows

Quote : The Inkbird controller is the thermostat.

My inkbird is the power control or switch only....


You are correct, the compressor is running , but the duration controls to ultimate temperature outcome.
I have no need for fans or heaters to achieve a 0.5 overall temp discrepancy.
The fridge may run longer to cool and then ramp back up , works well.
Imagine a graph long cool short heat , then long cool short heat.


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## BKBrews

> Quote : The Inkbird controller is the thermostat.
> 
> My inkbird is the power control or switch only....
> 
> 
> You are correct, the compressor is running , but the duration controls to ultimate temperature outcome.
> I have no need for fans or heaters to achieve a 0.5 overall temp discrepancy.
> The fridge may run longer to cool and then ramp back up , works well.
> Imagine a graph long cool short heat , then long cool short heat.


That was my understanding of how it works as well.....


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## Camo6

But you still want the fridge or freezer's thermostat on the coldest setting so it doesn't overule the controller's operation.


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## Killer Brew

BKBrews said:


> I picked it up from the post office this morning and I must say, for $45 and the ease of use, I couldn't be happier. Plugged in and set up within 30 seconds. The only thing they could do better is having either a longer cooling/heating cord or building the heating/cooling sockets into the body. I want to hang it on the side of my fridge, but the socket makes it a bit awkward.
> 
> What does everyone normally set the compressor delay at? I left mine at the default 2min until I hear otherwise. I also left it with a 1 degree heating and cooling leeway.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1473116316.918724.jpg


Good to hear. I now have the same one on its way to me also.


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## TwoCrows

It doesn't need to be at the coldest setting, the inkbird is only a switch and not the thermostat, it just may need more time to cool and not overshoot the desired temp.


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## TwoCrows

My inkbird switches on at 19.5 degrees and cools for about 7 minutes and then switches off at 19 degrees . Ramps up to 19.5 degress in 30 minutes and then switches the power on.


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## BKBrews

If the Inkbird was the actual thermostat the fridge wouldn't turn on and off. A fridge that only utilises the internal thermostat doesn't ever turn off - it just gets the fridge to the input setting and holds it there.

The inkbird just controls whether the fridge is on or off depending on the input temperature. If the temp reaches the highest allowed (e.g. 20 degrees), the fridge will kick back on and start cooling (at the FRIDGES thermostat setting). If the temp reaches the lowest allowed (e.g. 18 degrees), the fridge then turns off as to not go below this setting. It will naturally rise back up to 20 degrees while off before starting the process again.


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## Camo6

TwoCrows said:


> It doesn't need to be at the coldest setting, the inkbird is only a switch and not the thermostat, it just may need more time to cool and not overshoot the desired temp.


If you've got a fridge set to four degrees and your controller set to one degree then your fridge thermostat won't allow the compressor to reach the lower temp.


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## Killer Brew

Set your fridge thermostat as low as it goes. This will be the minimum temp that you will be able to achieve regardless of what your controller setting is.


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## BKBrews

I guess that's why you need to play with it and work out what's best for your setup.

If you're exclusively fermenting ales that need to be 18 - 20 degrees then there's no need to have your fridge thermostat at the coolest setting. Having it at the lowest setting might actually be more beneficial, as it drops between the variances slower than having it set really cold. If you're lagering/cold crashing then yes, you'd want to set your fridge thermostat at the coolest setting to ensure you can reach the desired temp.


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## Batz

The Inkbird measures the temperature inside your fridge, if it's to warm it switches the fridge on until the temperature is cold enough then it switches the fridge off. I'm not sure what you think a thermostat does that is different to this.


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## BKBrews

Yeah, you're right. I'm mainly just bringing up the fridge thermostat settings because obviously the lower you have these, the harder your fridge is going to work to get there as quick as possible. Or am I incorrect in believing that's how it works?


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## Camo6

The fridge thermostat will turn the compressor off at the set temperature. Turning it up or down won't change the rate at which the compressor works, it will just change the temp the compressor shuts off at.
Turn the fridge thermostat to it's coldest setting and let your controller make all the decisions. Simple.


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## BKBrews

Glad we got that out of the way..... Thanks (everyone).


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## SBOB

BKBrews said:


> Yeah, you're right. I'm mainly just bringing up the fridge thermostat settings because obviously the lower you have these, the harder your fridge is going to work to get there as quick as possible. Or am I incorrect in believing that's how it works?


its not a dimmer switch
Its just an on/off switch... so you want to set it to the coldest possible so the external controller (Inkbird) is the new on/off switch as its smarter and tighter temperature control than your fridge thermostat


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## Mattrox

BKBrews said:


> Yeah, you're right. I'm mainly just bringing up the fridge thermostat settings because obviously the lower you have these, the harder your fridge is going to work to get there as quick as possible. Or am I incorrect in believing that's how it works?


It takes the same power to cool from temp x to temp y. 


If temp y is way lower than ambient, sustaining that temp works the fridge more.

If you set the fridge thermostat too high you won't be able to cold crash to 2 degrees.

Set the fridge thermostat lowest and let the controller do the work.


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## TwoCrows

Post #50 works well for me.

Post # 2 is using or wanting to use a freezer to ferment and allowing it to cool to -10 wont help his wort temps to well.

If cold crashing and or lagering , then the thermostat at its lowest setting. I normally use a different fridge as I put a new brew in the fermenting fridge.


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## peteru

I'm not sure whether a few of the posters in this thread actually know how a thermostat works, but it is basically an on/off switch. Most domestic fridge / freezer thermostats are pretty dumb and inaccurate. The Inkbird temperature controller with it's cooling socket is a much more accurate and smarter version of that. It performs exactly the same job as a thermostat, but it's a better one. If you adjust your fridge/freezer such that it's thermostat turns the compressor off while the Inkbird controller want it on, you have just introduced an unnecessary complication into your system. Once you task the Inkbird with controlling the temperature, you don't want the fridge/freezer thermostat to do anything except keep the compressor on. You could simply disconnect the thermostat and just wire the compressor to always on. Turning the thermostat to the coldest setting is a simpler option that will mostly achieve a similar result.

The fridge/freezer thermostat will usually measure the ambient temperature of the appliance. Most commonly there will be a capillary probe mounted somewhere on the back wall or under one of the shelves. Again, you can do better with the Inkbird controller because you have more control over where you position the probe. Positioning the probe against the object you want to cool makes more sense than measuring the temperature of the back wall.

Another factor to consider is the cooling capacity of the appliance. A fridge may have the capacity to remove enough energy to cool 25 litres of beer by 5C per hour, whereas a freezer could drop that temperature by 15C. Unless you are cold crashing, you probably want a gentler rate of change, which means multiple steps to drop the temperature. This is where the ITC-310T has an advantage over the 308. This is also where the probe positioning makes the difference.

If the probe is inside the fermenter, your compressor will keep cooling non-stop (i.e. at the fastest drop temperature rate it can achieve) until it gets to the target temperature. The difference between the fridge temperature and the beer temperature will be as big as possible until the beer reaches the target temperature. Then the cooling will stop. It is possible that due to the remaining temperature differential, the beer temperature will continue dropping and you will get overshoot.

If the probe is on the outside of the fermenter and the ambient temperature contributes partially to the readings, you are effectively measuring the "average" of the beer and fridge temperature. This means that as you start approaching the target temperature the difference between the beer temperature and fridge temperature will start getting smaller and smaller until they are the same. However, on the way there, you will reach points where the the "average" temperature is at your target and the compressor will turn off. This will result in a gentler rate of change, which is desirable as far as fermentation goes.

If you had a more sophisticated controller then taking a reading in the thermowell may well be more appropriate. If you could have multiple inputs you would also want a reading of the fridge temperature. A more sophisticated controller could allow you to control the rate of change and take into account the lag. The Inkbird controllers are not that - they are essentially just better thermostats and so you need to take the temperature at the right spot.


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## moonhead

Finally got my ITC-308 up and running this week. Have to say, super easy and straight forward, would recommend. Compared to how much time and effort it would have taken to get an STC1000 up and running, i'll gladly pay the extra $30 (not even considering how much all the additional parts needed to build a full STC1000 controller would cost).

Haven't had it switching the cooling yet, it's been too cold! But for heating it, well, works. (it's a pretty simple device, not sure what else to expect!)

I'm using a heat pad for heating, so it's a very gentle/slow heat, for that reason I'm finding almost no overshoot with the heating. Currently got the heating delta set at 0.5 degrees, will need to keep an eye on this over the warmer months I think, see how much my fridge overshoots in the cooling. NFI what to set the cooling to yet... will need to see how well the temperature holds I think.

Glory shot, mounts nicely to a wall -


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## sp0rk

TwoCrows said:


> Post # 2 is using or wanting to use a freezer to ferment and allowing it to cool to -10 wont help his wort temps to well.


Uhhh, that's not what's going to happen at all...
I ferment in a stand up freezer and have it set to the lowest setting (on the freezer)
My temp controller (which has now been replaced by an ITC-310T) turns the freezer off before it reaches -10
Probably have a good read of the explanation a few posts up from yours, it explains the facts well


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## Andy_27

Another vote for the 310T here. I've used it on my first brew for a week now and have had no problems. It controls the temp well, it only used the cooling point initially to bring the wort down from 20 to 19 degrees. I'm about to cold crash today so I'll see how it goes down to 2 degrees. The other difference between the 308 and 310 is the 310 has a 'Super Capacitor' whatever that does. The inkbird site has a comparison of each model:

http://www.ink-bird.com/product/detail/p/ITC-310T_Programmable_Outlet_Thermostat/id/15

It is a little tricky to set up, especially without using the manual, but once you work out you have to hold the 'Set' button after selecting 'C' for celsius to lock in your setting, its straightforward.


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## Crakkers

Andy_27 said:


> The other difference between the 308 and 310 is the 310 has a 'Super Capacitor' whatever that does.


Super capacitors are usually used as back-up 'batteries'.
So in the case of the 310, it's probably there to keep your timer settings while the unit is unplugged.


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## sp0rk

Well, I've finally gotten around to using the ITC-310T I won
Great unit and it's keeping my fermentation within 0.5°C of the set temp (or so it says)
I only have one complaint
The plastic casing is low grade plastic
I have my controller hanging off a hook made of galv wire, I turned the unit around to see the face and snapped the hanging tab on the top
Changing to glass reinforced plastic would only add a few cents to the price and would greatly enhance it's strength


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## peteru

I'm a little concerned about the longevity of the plastic as well. My controller is in a covered area outside, which means it will be exposed to UV. I wonder how long it will last. Perhaps I need to apply some SPF30+ sun screen to it regularly.


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## Martin Reeves

I've started using the ITC308 this week with my heat belt around my fermenter in the shed (during cold Melb winter), set at 12 degrees with 0.3 differential value. After the first night, the fermenter temp was bang on 12 degrees, but after night two it dropped to below 10 degrees. It's currently heating back up to 12 degrees. I'm wondering why it dropped so low if the differential was 0.3? I've got the heat belt quite high on the 25l fermenter (with 10l of wort) so perhaps the ambient temp drop overnight exceeded the heat increase from the belt and it has taken longer to correct? I'm thinking that I lower the heat belt closer to the wort so the heating kicks in quicker and I lose less temp? Thoughts? Hope this makes sense. Cheers.


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## S.E

Martin Reeves said:


> I've got the heat belt quite high on the 25l fermenter (with 10l of wort)


You want to put the belt low near the bottom of the fermenter below the level of the wort. If you have it above the level of the wort it will only heat the air at the top of the fermenter which won’t be enough to keep the brew warm if it is just standing in a shed and not in something small and insulated like a fridge.


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## Martin Reeves

S.E said:


> You want to put the belt low near the bottom of the fermenter below the level of the wort. If you have it above the level of the wort it will only heat the air at the top of the fermenter which won’t be enough to keep the brew warm if it is just standing in a shed and not in something small and insulated like a fridge.


Cheers, will adjust and monitor.


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## Hangover68

Being this cold you need to wrap a towel or an old yoga mat around it to keep the heat in, my laundry is around 12c and the heat belt struggles to maintain temp without a cover of some sort.


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## Alhoare

So cold resorted to using a small fan heater in the ferment fridge. This worked a treat but don't think it is a great long term solution.


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