Inkbird ITC-308 Sucks

[mongoose33]

Maybe we should take up a collection for a new one?

 

[kh54s10]

Maybe we should take up a collection for a new one?

He won't want it - the ITC-308 sucks.....

 

[brewbama]

Actually, if you read what I wrote, I said I replaced the probe and it works great ...for now. Save your pennies for a reading tutor.

 

[kevink]

but a solitary occurrence does not indicate a trend

To be fair, this is not a solitary occurrence. 11% of the reviews on amazon give the 308 one star. That's pretty bad in my opinion. Most of those one star reviews are due to failure.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Max-...d=1563732153&s=gateway&sr=8-3#customerReviews

 

[Bobby_M]

To be fair, this is not a solitary occurrence. 11% of the reviews on amazon give the 308 one star. That's pretty bad in my opinion. Most of those one star reviews are due to failure.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Max-...d=1563732153&s=gateway&sr=8-3#customerReviews

A lot of those one stars are from people who claim it too complicated. LOL.. One says "the unit shows heating even though I am plugged in to the cooling outlet". Never under estimate consumer stupidity. Having sold over 500 units, I have a pretty good insight into failure rates when they are sold to homebrewers. Maybe im mistaken but we homebrewers typically have a more educated view of temp controller behavior. Again, I have six running full time on kegerators, unitanks, glycol units, etc and havent had a single fail. I must be so lucky.

 

[kevink]

A lot of those one stars are from people who claim it too complicated. LOL.. One says "the unit shows heating even though I am plugged in to the cooling outlet". Never under estimate consumer stupidity. Having sold over 500 units, I have a pretty good insight into failure rates when they are sold to homebrewers. Maybe im mistaken but we homebrewers typically have a more educated view of temp controller behavior. Again, I have six running full time on kegerators, unitanks, glycol units, etc and havent had a single fail. I must be so lucky.

There were a few reviews that seemed like operator error, not a lot. The majority of the one star reviews were from people who stated that it worked fine for a few months and then crapped out. Go read the reviews again.

 

[Dland]

A little off topic of the 308 sucking, but are the sensors OK to immerse in liquid, say a glycol bath?

Am in process of making a glycol chiller out of window AC unit and want to use one of the 308s I have to actuate the fan & compressor. I figure I'll use another one with sensor on fermentor to run the glycol pump.

 

[verboten]

I have one immersed in my reservoir, it’s been there for about 4 months no issue yet. But, I will hopefully be installing a thermowell soon.

 

[Smellyglove]

A little off topic of the 308 sucking, but are the sensors OK to immerse in liquid, say a glycol bath?

Am in process of making a glycol chiller out of window AC unit and want to use one of the 308s I have to actuate the fan & compressor. I figure I'll use another one with sensor on fermentor to run the glycol pump.

This is the reply I got from Inkbird when asking if the probe for 310 (same as 308, i must believe, they look at least the same) in late 2016

"Yes, the probe of the ITC-310T is submersible with its IP68 protection rate."

 

[Dland]

I was thinking for a thermowell I'd pinch off some 3/8 copper tubing and solder the end.

I have one immersed in my reservoir, it’s been there for about 4 months no issue yet. But, I will hopefully be installing a thermowell soon.

 

[Smellyglove]

I was thinking for a thermowell I'd pinch off some 3/8 copper tubing and solder the end.

You can get premade thermowells in SS. And when using a thermowell you should use some thermal paste, because the air inside the well will act as an insulator.

 

[S-Met]

There were a few reviews that seemed like operator error, not a lot. The majority of the one star reviews were from people who stated that it worked fine for a few months and then crapped out. Go read the reviews again.

I trust amazon (and most open forum) reviews about as much as I trust a politician. After wading through BS, I often conclude that the universe is winning the race on creating the bigger idiot.

 

[Bobby_M]

you kind of skipped over the infamous st1000 units for $10-15 that you had to build an enclosure for too but I agree with what your saying here.

Agree but you did have to adopt Celcius or paste a chart nearby. I still can't do it in my head unless it's zero or 100.

 

[kevink]

I would spend $100 more to save having to convert C to F. F that noise.

 

[passedpawn]

My experience so far is it sucks - lasted 13 months. Imagine if my review described the experience of others - what a weird world that would be! So when I say it sucks, that's only my experience. Obvious, right?

I won't regurgitate my experience here, but to summarize, it died, inkbird pointed me to their new and improved model (The probe cable is replaceable on the new one), I bought, I'm happy again. It's not enough money to worry about. Here's the details: When your Inkbird controller decides to have a 6° offset and you're cold-crashing - UGH. If this one dies in another year, I'm done with them.

Besides the Inkbird, I've got 2 other temperature controllers. They are old (10 yrs +) still work like the day I got them. One is a Johnson Controls A19, the other is a Controls Products. The first is super simple to use, no electronics, just turn the dial and hope you get within a few degrees of the temperature you want. The latter one is similar in features to the inkbird,but a lot more expensive and I had to wire my own cords into it which was a big hassle.

I'd probably still recommend the Inkbird, with caveats, until something more reliable pops up.

 

[day_trippr]

It might be worth noting the IP ratings are for fresh water, not beer.
I don't think direct-immersion of controller probes is worth the down-side risk...

Cheers!

 

[Dland]

I have the Johnson A-19 running my 12 keg chest freezer 'kegorator'. It always works and does just one thing, which I like. It does rely on start delay circuitry in freezer. Did not want to trust all that beer and amps to cheap micro controls.

The the 308s have served me well running fermwrap heaters though.

 

[augiedoggy]

Agree but you did have to adopt Celcius or paste a chart nearby. I still can't do it in my head unless it's zero or 100.

True, but but I also had bought a bunch of them that had Fahrenheit readout as well before I went with stc1000+ units which also had it. Now they all sit in a shoebox since I swapped them all out for brucontrol but one. (running a wine chiller converted to a fridge for cornies)

actually the first time I saw the inkbird name it was on an stc1000 clone with F readout.

 

[kh54s10]

To be fair, this is not a solitary occurrence. 11% of the reviews on amazon give the 308 one star. That's pretty bad in my opinion. Most of those one star reviews are due to failure.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Max-...d=1563732153&s=gateway&sr=8-3#customerReviews

Yet 71% give it a 5 star rating. 82% 5 or 4 star. I don't see that as confirmation in any way that the product sucks.......

 

[kevink]

You're missing the point of why I posted that. I posted that because someone said that this was a solitary occurrence. Clearly it was not. You can see it as confirmation that the 308 sucks or you can disregard it. Neither is wrong. Buy and use what you want. There is not really a whole lot more to be said or argue about.

 

[kh54s10]

Your situation as well as OPs are unfortunate, but a solitary occurrence does not indicate a trend and the sheer number of members here with no direct affiliation with the company defending them leads me to believe these are isolated incidents. My history with the company has een nothing short of satisfactory.

You're missing the point of why I posted that. I posted that because someone said that this was a solitary occurrence. Clearly it was not. You can see it as confirmation that the 308 sucks or you can disregard it. Neither is wrong. Buy and use what you want. There is not really a whole lot more to be said or argue about.

The reply that you are quoting could have been worded better. And you zeroed in on two words and missed the message. I highlighted it for you.
You saw only "solitary occurrence" I see the plural. I also don't see "isolated incidents" to mean only the two mentioned.

Just going by the Amazon ratings. 82% positive, 4% neutral, and 14% negative...... I don't see how anyone can argue that the product sucks.

Yes, their experience with the product did suck. And in one case it was more of a customer service issue.

 

[brew703]

I have two ITC 308's. One running my ferm chamber and the other my keezer. The one in my keezer is submerged in a pint jar filled with the gel from the freezer packs. it's been like that for over a year now with no issues yet. The one I had to fix used to be taped to the side of my fermentor. I now use a Brewbucket and use a thermowell.

I did have one probe fail (under the warranty period) and Inkbirk sent a new one. I had to have a friend replace it (dont know how to solder) which was a PITA to say the least. It does seem to work now. Their customer service is good and usually responds within a day. Reach out to them for a replacement.
I also have a JC A419 which has been relegated to backup duty.

 

[Bobby_M]

The reply that you are quoting could have been worded better. And you zeroed in on two words and missed the message. I highlighted it for you.
You saw only "solitary occurrence" I see the plural. I also don't see "isolated incidents" to mean only the two mentioned.

Just going by the Amazon ratings. 82% positive, 4% neutral, and 14% negative...... I don't see how anyone can argue that the product sucks.

That doesn't even account for the issue of unhappy customers being way more likely to post a review than those who are happy.

 

[snarf7]

I've had no trouble with mine. What I did was seal a pvc pipe with water in it and drill a small hole in it just big enough for the probe, glued it in place and I can arrange it so it's in the exact center of chamber. I have secondary thermometers including a quick read laser one that I've used to verify and it's perfect within a degree.

 

[brewbama]

The reply that you are quoting could have been worded better. ....

Dude, why is it so important to you that people say things the way you want them to and don’t agree with you — that in their opinion of a product and it’s mfr don’t agree with yours? I just don’t get that you cannot allow people to have a contrary opinion to yours. ...and say things that you believe should have been said another way.

Some experiences have led some folks to have a high opinion of the mfr and the product. That’s OK. Others have had different experiences and so have different opinions of that mfr and product. That’s OK, too.

 

[kh54s10]

Dude, why is it so important to you that people say things the way you want them to and don’t agree with you — that in their opinion of a product and it’s mfr don’t agree with yours? I just don’t get that you cannot allow people to have a contrary opinion to yours. ...and say things that you believe should have been said another way.

Some experiences have led some folks to have a high opinion of the mfr and the product. That’s OK. Others have had different experiences and so have different opinions of that mfr and product. That’s OK, too.

It is all in the statement that the INKBIRD ITC-308 SUCKS. That was not put forth as just one persons opinion. And is not supported by the masses. I have had faulty products in the past. I don't go online and say that product sucks, unless it is proven that most people are having problems with it. Which is clearly not the case with the Inkbird. Just calling attention to the misinformation.

And I will ask, why are you so vociferous in spouting that the product sucks when the numbers show that it is not the case?

 

[augiedoggy]

It is all in the statement that the INKBIRD ITC-308 SUCKS. That was not put forth as just one persons opinion. And is not supported by the masses. I have had faulty products in the past. I don't go online and say that product sucks, unless it is proven that most people are having problems with it. Which is clearly not the case with the Inkbird. Just calling attention to the misinformation.

And I will ask, why are you so vociferous in spouting that the product sucks when the numbers show that it is not the case?

Justified or not, its his opinion and his thread about said opinion.

I get where your coming from myself, I really do but I think you more than made your case here... This is no different than others threads started by people who were unsatisfied with thier experience with a product... some are just letting off steam, some are looking for compensation or free stuff from said manufacturer or whatever but at the end of the day this is more or less a big chatroom where people should be able to state opinions, biased or well informed or not.. just as you had the opportunity to share yours on this matter.

The information I found useful in this thread is that the older temp probes inkbird sold were prone to failure as that was confirmed by a few sources here.

 

[kh54s10]

Justified or not, its his opinion and his thread about said opinion.

I get where your coming from myself, I really do but I think you more than made your case here... This is no different than others threads started by people who were unsatisfied with thier experience with a product... some are just letting off steam, some are looking for compensation or free stuff from said manufacturer or whatever but at the end of the day this is more or less a big chatroom where people should be able to state opinions, biased or well informed or not.. just as you had the opportunity to share yours on this matter.

The information I found useful in this thread is that the older temp probes inkbird sold were prone to failure as that was confirmed by a few sources here.

I would agree with that if there was included "In my opinion Inkbird sucks" The words in my opinion were omitted.... Or "My Inkbird sucked"

If no one disagreed, someone not familiar with the Inkbird could assume that it is a bad product.

And if I didn't get push back reiterating that it sucks, one reply would have been all that I made.

 

[brewbama]

Sorry my friend. You don’t get to choose my words to express my thoughts. My words described my experience. ...whether the masses (or you) agree with it or not.

 

[kh54s10]

Sorry my friend. You don’t get to choose my words to express my thoughts. My words described my experience. ...whether the masses (or you) agree with it or not.

Well then stop making the blanket statement that the Inkbird sucks. Just like saying America sucks. That is not a majority opinion. And not true.