Inkbird itc-308? $35 gets you wired, 2 stage temp controller.

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chuckcomm said:
Keep us updated please :tank:
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Well it's working perfectly so far though I'll need to go overnight to see for sure. There is a 40 watt appliance bulb in there right now and that is working. A slow reacting low power heat source sees to be the key. I may make the paint can heater after all because it could simply sit on the shelf instead laying in the basket. The inside walls are all smooth so there is no place to clamp this fixture.

image.jpg
 
It's working great, I just cold crashed the small batch with the hops. Didn't need the heat lamp for that though. Now it's warmed back up to 66 and a couple of brews are fermenting in there again. At some point I may do what Jwin suggests and put a ceramic reptile bulb in there or something like that to take up a little less I'm.
 
I'm at the point where I'm ready to use my 308 for my ferm chamber and have been kicking around what to use for a heat source. I agree that the low, slow heat source is the key to dealing with the 308. I plan to use a reptile bulb and the lamp Johow posted. I'm going to do some trial runs with water in the Speidel to get all my setting where I need them first.
 
I recommend taping the probe to the outside of your fermenter instead of in a well inside the fermenter.
 
doug293cz said:
It does have a programmable compressor turn on delay time (0 to 10 minutes), but no minimum running time. You can find the manual here: http://www.ink-bird.com/product/detail/p/ITC-308_Outlet_Thermostat_Temperature_Controller/id/12 (need to click on the "Download" tab a ways down the page.)

Brew on :mug:
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This will be my first time using this device on my first keezer build where my kegs (store bought, not homebrew) were freezing. I am using a 14cuft freezer, is there a compressor delay time you can suggest for this? Also should I have my freezer setting up all the way using this device?
 
RyPhil21 said:
This will be my first time using this device on my first keezer build where my kegs (store bought, not homebrew) were freezing. I am using a 14cuft freezer, is there a compressor delay time you can suggest for this? Also should I have my freezer setting up all the way using this device?
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I have always set my compressor delay time to 10 minutes, which is the max allowed. The longer the delay, the less wear and tear on your compressor.

The freezer temp control can be set to any temp less than the temp you want the ITC-308 to maintain. Setting the built-in freezer thermostat to just above freezing (if you can) will provide a "fail safe" to prevent the beer from freezing if the ITC-308 malfunctions (although their reliability seems to be quite high.)

Brew on :mug:
 
Johow said:
I recommend taping the probe to the outside of your fermenter instead of in a well inside the fermenter.
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I do that now with my current A419 set up. I use a block of one inch thick hard foam insulation left over from my keezer collar build. I heated a screwdriver up and laid in to the foam forming a cozy recess for the probe and then bungee the foam block to the side of my Speidel. It's worked really well so far with my A419 settings for cooling.
 
Hi brewers, this is my first real post!
Im using this controller for the first ferment in my new 7cuft freezer. Installation and set up was a breeze. The flow chart provided made it super ez and intuitive. I taped the probe into a jar of water and set that on a piece of wood on the shelf of the freezer. Bought a cheap hair dryer and put that in the metal rack hanging in the freezer. I did have to calibrate the unit with a digital thermometer so it jived with the jar of water temp. Pitched yeast last night in 2 better bottles and set the temp at 63. This am the fermenters are at 75 so I dropped the temp setting to 59. I had a feeling the ferment temp might get too high but Im still learning this system. I will see how the ferment temp looks later today.
 
Hoofer said:
Hi brewers, this is my first real post!
Im using this controller for the first ferment in my new 7cuft freezer. Installation and set up was a breeze. The flow chart provided made it super ez and intuitive. I taped the probe into a jar of water and set that on a piece of wood on the shelf of the freezer. Bought a cheap hair dryer and put that in the metal rack hanging in the freezer. I did have to calibrate the unit with a digital thermometer so it jived with the jar of water temp. Pitched yeast last night in 2 better bottles and set the temp at 63. This am the fermenters are at 75 so I dropped the temp setting to 59. I had a feeling the ferment temp might get too high but Im still learning this system. I will see how the ferment temp looks later today.
Click to expand...

By using the jar of water, you are regulating the fermentation environment, but not the fermentation. That will be up to you to do manually. As fermentation slows, the two temperatures will be more similar. Be sure you don't accidentally crash your beer on the 4th day like I did.
 
Hoofer said:
Hi brewers, this is my first real post!
Im using this controller for the first ferment in my new 7cuft freezer. Installation and set up was a breeze. The flow chart provided made it super ez and intuitive. I taped the probe into a jar of water and set that on a piece of wood on the shelf of the freezer. Bought a cheap hair dryer and put that in the metal rack hanging in the freezer. I did have to calibrate the unit with a digital thermometer so it jived with the jar of water temp. Pitched yeast last night in 2 better bottles and set the temp at 63. This am the fermenters are at 75 so I dropped the temp setting to 59. I had a feeling the ferment temp might get too high but Im still learning this system. I will see how the ferment temp looks later today.
Click to expand...

As you have found out, the probe in a jar of water is not a good way to control fermentation temperature. Fermentation generates heat, so the fermenting beer heats up above ambient temperature. That's why the probe in a jar of water doesn't work. The best way to control fermentation temp is to tape the probe to the side of the fermenter with a little insulation on the outside of the probe. Insulation can be a folded wash cloth or paper towels, a sponge, a thin piece of foam, etc. This way you are measuring the beer temp directly, and now the controller can control the beer temp, not the air temp.

Brew on :mug:
 
The challenge, when using a freezer, is keeping the temperature from swinging to much.
I think using a direct heat source, like a wrap, can help with this.
It takes a lot of energy to heat/cool a 60l fermenter.
 
Jwin said:
By using the jar of water, you are regulating the fermentation environment, but not the fermentation. That will be up to you to do manually. As fermentation slows, the two temperatures will be more similar. Be sure you don't accidentally crash your beer on the 4th day like I did.
Click to expand...

For sure, I will be watching it like a hawk!
 
doug293cz said:
As you have found out, the probe in a jar of water is not a good way to control fermentation temperature. Fermentation generates heat, so the fermenting beer heats up above ambient temperature. That's why the probe in a jar of water doesn't work. The best way to control fermentation temp is to tape the probe to the side of the fermenter with a little insulation on the outside of the probe. Insulation can be a folded wash cloth or paper towels, a sponge, a thin piece of foam, etc. This way you are measuring the beer temp directly, and now the controller can control the beer temp, not the air temp.

Brew on :mug:
Click to expand...

Jwin said:
The challenge, when using a freezer, is keeping the temperature from swinging to much.
I think using a direct heat source, like a wrap, can help with this.
It takes a lot of energy to heat/cool a 60l fermenter.
Click to expand...

These two posts point out both sides of the coin. When I bought my Inkbird, I thought that wanted to measure the beer temp, so I also bought a thermowell to insert into the beer for the temp probe. I don't have a fridge or freezer, so I use my 10 gallon igloo with about 2.5-3 gallons of cold water, regulated by a pump circulating the water through an ice bath. The inkbird turns the pump on and off. What I found was that by the time the water had cooled my beer down to the temp where I wanted it, the water surrounding the carboy was so cold that the beer just kept cooling, overshooting my desired temp by 2-3 degrees. So for my setup, it works best to monitor the water temp around the carboy. I think the water regulates beer temp a lot better than air in a fridge. I keep the thermowell in the beer, and rarely does it rise even a full degree above the water temp.

So, say my Inkbird temp setting is 62 degrees. I have my differential set at 1, so as soon as the water hits 63 it kicks on the pump. At this time the beer is just a few tenths above 63. The pump runs until the water temp is back down to 62, shuts off, and by the time the water has stabilized, it may be around 61.5-61.7. Even in the heat of fermentation, this cycle only occurs about once an hour, and once the ferment has settled down, only 3-4 times a day.

I'm in no rush to buy or build a fermentation chamber, as I think this is doing a better job, due to the superior heat transfer abilities of water over air.
 
TxBigHops said:
These two posts point out both sides of the coin. When I bought my Inkbird, I thought that wanted to measure the beer temp, so I also bought a thermowell to insert into the beer for the temp probe. I don't have a fridge or freezer, so I use my 10 gallon igloo with about 2.5-3 gallons of cold water, regulated by a pump circulating the water through an ice bath. The inkbird turns the pump on and off. What I found was that by the time the water had cooled my beer down to the temp where I wanted it, the water surrounding the carboy was so cold that the beer just kept cooling, overshooting my desired temp by 2-3 degrees. So for my setup, it works best to monitor the water temp around the carboy. I think the water regulates beer temp a lot better than air in a fridge. I keep the thermowell in the beer, and rarely does it rise even a full degree above the water temp.

So, say my Inkbird temp setting is 62 degrees. I have my differential set at 1, so as soon as the water hits 63 it kicks on the pump. At this time the beer is just a few tenths above 63. The pump runs until the water temp is back down to 62, shuts off, and by the time the water has stabilized, it may be around 61.5-61.7. Even in the heat of fermentation, this cycle only occurs about once an hour, and once the ferment has settled down, only 3-4 times a day.

I'm in no rush to buy or build a fermentation chamber, as I think this is doing a better job, due to the superior heat transfer abilities of water over air.
Click to expand...

Yeah, water will transfer (add or remove) heat from a fermenter much more efficiently than air. Therefore the optimal placement of the controlling thermal probe will be different.

For a fermenter in a chest freezer, putting the thermal probe in a thermowell in the fermenter is not optimal. By the time the beer reaches the setpoint, the surrounding air will be much cooler/warmer than the beer, and that will then cause under/overshoot in the beer temperature. The placement of the thermal probe on the side of the fermenter allows more rapid thermal response because the probe will actually measure a weighted average of the beer and ambient temperature. This prevents the ambient from deviating too far from the setpoint. With the probe somewhat insulated from the ambient, the beer temp will be weighted more heavily than the ambient, but the further the ambient gets from the setpoint, the more effect it has on the temp probe, which is what you want to happen. Many homebrewers have concluded that an insulated probe on the side of the fermenter is optimal for a fermenter in an air ambient. I purposely left all of these complicating issues out of my previous post.

Brew on :mug:
 
I've been thinking of purchasing an Inkbird ITC-308 but I'm unclear on somethings even after reading this thread.

I currently do not have a fermentation chamber but was thinking of using a plant germination mat as my heat source to keep my wort temp above a minimum level. Then once I hit my max temp have the Inkbird cut off the heat source and let it sit at ambient temp until it hits that minimum again.

I ferment in my basement and temps during the day, while at work, and at night while sleeping go below 65.

Can the Inkbird be used this way or do I need a cooling source as well? It's not ideal but my hope is it will allow me to stay within a range if it's possible.
 
BWBrew said:
I've been thinking of purchasing an Inkbird ITC-308 but I'm unclear on somethings even after reading this thread.

I currently do not have a fermentation chamber but was thinking of using a plant germination mat as my heat source to keep my wort temp above a minimum level. Then once I hit my max temp have the Inkbird cut off the heat source and let it sit at ambient temp until it hits that minimum again.

I ferment in my basement and temps during the day, while at work, and at night while sleeping go below 65.

Can the Inkbird be used this way or do I need a cooling source as well? It's not ideal but my hope is it will allow me to stay within a range if it's possible.
Click to expand...
It works fine for that. Tape the sensor under some insulation to the side of the fermenter and away you go.

This of course assumes the mat does not have a digital control that has to be reset each time it looses power.
 
So I have my second batch fermenting right now using a chest freezer and the inkbird. Its a Orange English ale. Still using the probe in the jar of water. Set the differential at 3 degrees. Lesson learned from the first batch is to set initial temp at 57, that kept the first days ferment at 64 to 66. After the first 48hrs I bumped to 59 and ferment held at 64 to 66. Slowly I have bumped the temp to a current 65 degrees and its holding fermentation temp right at 68 degrees, nine days in. Note I am still using the small blow dryer inside the freezer for the warm side of temp control. So far so good. Just added dry hops. It smellls gooood!
 
Can anyone tell me what the temp probe OD is? I want to use with a compression fitting for my conical.
 
I don't think you could use the standard one with a compression fitting. But the new stainless one might work well.
 
Johow said:
Well it's working perfectly so far though I'll need to go overnight to see for sure. There is a 40 watt appliance bulb in there right now and that is working. A slow reacting low power heat source sees to be the key. I may make the paint can heater after all because it could simply sit on the shelf instead laying in the basket. The inside walls are all smooth so there is no place to clamp this fixture.
Click to expand...

Would a heat belt be more efficient/easier to implement? Like this one;

http://www.truenorthbrewsupply.com/pages/product-catalog-detail/Brew_Belt?previous_url_id=2
 
To provide an update, I finally got around to setting up my 308 in the ferm freezer and I'm impressed with it. I'm using the cheap shop lamp from Home Depot and a 100 watt Zilla reptile bulb from Petco for my heat source. My garage temperature averaged 38 degrees during my two day testing period and this bulb performed well. I'm using a block of foam insulation over the probe and have it attached to the side of my Speidel with a bungee cord. After testing, there is a .5 degree variance between the probe and the actual temperature of the liquid inside. Very acceptable in my book.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452352186.587305.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452352201.076142.jpg

Be prepared to be overwhelmed by all of the different bulbs at the pet store. They run as much as $40 a bulb. This one was $8. It works great and emits a purple uv type glow so the carboy users won't need to fear any bright light harming the beer.
 
Mordhaus said:
To provide an update, I finally got around to setting up my 308 in the ferm freezer and I'm impressed with it. I'm using the cheap shop lamp from Home Depot and a 100 watt Zilla reptile bulb from Petco for my heat source. My garage temperature averaged 38 degrees during my two day testing period and this bulb performed well. I'm using a block of foam insulation over the probe and have it attached to the side of my Speidel with a bungee cord. After testing, there is a .5 degree variance between the probe and the actual temperature of the liquid inside. Very acceptable in my book.

View attachment 328725View attachment 328726

Be prepared to be overwhelmed by all of the different bulbs at the pet store. They run as much as $40 a bulb. This one was $8. It works great and emits a purple uv type glow so the carboy users won't need to fear any bright light harming the beer.
Click to expand...

If it emits uv of any kind, it's bad. you may want to just put a piece of foil over it. Idk, but the packaging may tell if there is any uv output.
 
Jwin said:
If it emits uv of any kind, it's bad. you may want to just put a piece of foil over it. Idk, but the packaging may tell if there is any uv output.
Click to expand...

It's not actually uv. It's just an incandescent bulb with dark glass.

"Ideal for tropical and desert habitats; the bulb provides ambient heat in which the photons emitted by the filament never escape the dark tint, heating the air inside the enclosure to create the warmth needed for a healthy reptile environment. The bulb is made from glass containing rare earth black phosphors, which simulates the moon’s natural glow for nocturnal viewing without disturbing the reptile’s day/night cycle."
 
VIDEO OF ITC-308 FREAKING OUT

I just recently received my first ITC-308 temp controller. The first thing I did after opening it was to calibrate it in a glass of crushed ice and water. I found it was over 0.5 degrees off and decided to correct this in the settings. When I went to do so, my 308 began doing what you see in the video. No amount of unplugging and replugging fixes it. It may stop for a few seconds and seem normal, then it goes right back to doing this.

Anyone ever experience this?
 
Did you try restoring it back to the factory settings? I believe the manual has instructions on how to do so. Otherwise, contact Inkbird. I'm sure they'll send you another unit.
 
Mordhaus said:
Did you try restoring it back to the factory settings? I believe the manual has instructions on how to do so. Otherwise, contact Inkbird. I'm sure they'll send you another unit.
Click to expand...

Every time it does this it resets the settings, I think it's stuck in a reset loop or something. I contacted Inkbird, and I can always get an exchange from Amazon.
 
Jwin said:
@inkbird. Any plans to make a high voltage model we can use for electric brewing?
Click to expand...

Higher Voltage? Our pre-wired thermostats all are 100 - 240V. Is it ok for you?

Or you meant the larger electric current? We are researching to wire the PID thermostats with F display. We think PID thermostats are good for larger electric brewing. It will be released after we test well.
 
inkbird said:
Higher Voltage? Our pre-wired thermostats all are 100 - 240V. Is it ok for you?

Or you meant the larger electric current? We are researching to wire the PID thermostats with F display. We think PID thermostats are good for larger electric brewing. It will be released after we test well.
Click to expand...

:what: I meant wattage. Sorry, it was a long day. Shouldn't post right before bed.
Would love to see you guys put out a PID in a box, ready to use/brew.
 
Bumping the thread for a question...

I noticed that earlier in the thread there was a wiring issue with the unit. Without having to read through all 28 pages, can anyone answer whether or not this issue has been fixed? I wanted to purchase one from Amazon and wanted to make sure that it will be up to code. Thanks in advance!
 
VolDoc said:
Bumping the thread for a question...

I noticed that earlier in the thread there was a wiring issue with the unit. Without having to read through all 28 pages, can anyone answer whether or not this issue has been fixed? I wanted to purchase one from Amazon and wanted to make sure that it will be up to code. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I bought mine through Amazon a couple months ago and it had the updated wiring.
 
VolDoc said:
Thanks for the quick reply! I would imagine there is a picture out there of what the correct wiring is supposed to look like?
Click to expand...

Check here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=536763&page=8

Scroll down 5 posts to Inkbird's post, it has a pic of what it shouldn't look like and more. The 308 I received actually was having a different issue, but they replaced it overnight and were very easy to work with.
 
blacklabel8829 said:
Check here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=536763&page=8

Scroll down 5 posts to Inkbird's post, it has a pic of what it shouldn't look like and more. The 308 I received actually was having a different issue, but they replaced it overnight and were very easy to work with.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks a bunch. So when I place the probe in the fermentation chamber, should it be in the fermenting liquid, or will taping it to the side of the vessel suffice? I really just want to ferment around a consistent 65-68 ambient depending on the beer.
 

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