I went for the smartPID as a controller for a number of reasons.
I had settled on Brewfather as my recipe software of choice so wanted something to integrate with that via wifi if possible.
I wanted to be able to install it to the can and not have it external requiring extra plugs and cable.
I wanted a kit that meant I didn’t have to find other bits and pieces to make it work or fit properly.
smartPID ticked all of the boxes, yes it was way more expensive than other options but to me seemed a more complete solution. I was happy to pay for the fact that it was brew specific kit that someone had spent time and money on developing and offering integration with other software as well as a standalone controller app for android.
You can dial in the PID settings yourself or it has an auto tune function to get you started in very little time.
Brewfather integration transfers the recipe at the click of a mouse so there’s no double handling of programming mash steps / boil and hop additions - it even runs cooling and whirlpool timers with temps per your recipe with alarms for each step.
If you want you can go manual mode programming each step as you go. It controls the pump automatically but you can override that with manual control either via the panel or software.
overall it’s pretty versatile, it’s taken a couple of brews to get my brain out of the old controller programming habits and get dialled in but I’m happy with it so far.
instead of the double sided tape to fasten it to the can I used sika and clamped it nice and tight which made for a better finish in my opinion.
