Inkbird temperature controller: which power / capacity?

[javert]

I'm looking forward to acquiring an Inkbird controller to both improve the control over fermentation temperature and do the cold crash after it ends (apparently it's possible since the temperature range includes 0 °C).
The specs of the Inkbird controller don't mention volume of beer. Assuming room temperature is about 20°C (68 °F), are 1200 W enough for a volume of about 70 L (19 gal)?
On aquariums the rule of thumb is 1 W per liter but don't know if it still applies here.

 

[mongoose33]

That's because the volume isn't relevant to what the Inkbird does. How are you planning to crash it? Refrigerator? Glycol chiller?

What matters is what the cooling unit draws in watts. There's likely a surge at startup. Volume of beer doesn't matter. What matters is whether your heating or cooling system is sufficient to do the job with 19 gallons of beer, and whether the wattage draw is within the range of the Inkbird.

That said, I use an Inkbird to control my keezer (which is a chest freezer). It's the ITC-308 Inkbird. I also use it for a refrigerator in which I can control ferm temps as well as crash, and i have the Spike version which controls my glycol chiller.

 

[hotbeer]

Volume is only going to affect the amount of time it takes to change the temperature. So unless you have to drop or raise so many degrees in a set amount of time, then your only real concern is to not use a cooling or heating device that exceed the output rating of your Inkbird, which is about 1100 - 1200 watts for the various models that have been out there.

 

[Bobby_M]

It more depends on the ambient temps and how much higher the beer,temp may need to be. 50 watts might be plenty. Certainly not more than a couple hundred.

 

[mongoose33]

It more depends on the ambient temps and how much higher the beer,temp may need to be. 50 watts might be plenty. Certainly not more than a couple hundred.

To extend, you can also affect that by insulation around the fermenter. Spike's smallest fermenter heater is 80 watts; the largest is 400.

In the winter my garage--where I do my brewing and fermentation--can drop to 40 degrees or lower. Sometimes the heater may struggle to overcomes that. To deal with it, I will do something like wrap a moving blanket around the fermenter if necessary.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Worth pointing out that these days the Inkbird to go for is the ITC-310-B, which is the Wifi one that can do multisteps - they always do Black Friday/Prime Day discounts of 30% off or so, which takes the ITC-310-B down to very little more than the "regular" ones like the 308.

And I wouldn't worry about power - I assume they use the same electronics in the 230V ones in most of the world and in the 110V ones for more primitive countries. The only difference volume makes to a given power is how quickly it heats/cools - as long as you're putting more heat in than the wort loses (or vice versa), then you will achieve your target temperature, and 1200W will be more than enough for adjusting fermenter temperature.