Ive been using Inkbird ITC-308 temperature controllers for a few years and have been generally pleased with their performance. After years of fermenting in my basement or in a swamp cooler I finally moved to a ferm chamber with a Johnson Control A419 controller. The JC served well for a few years but a couple of accidents sent it to an early grave. I looked at Inkbird, BrewPi, and BlackBox to replace the dead controller and, based on price, I decided to try the Inkbird 308. I didnt mind having to manually adjust temps and the price was hard to beat compared to the more feature-rich devices. I ended up liking the 308 so much that I now have three of them dedicated to fermentation and kegerator use.
The occasional lager, with step temp increases, would send me to reading up on BlackBox and BrewPi development but I couldnt justify the cost (even when going the DIY route). When it was time to change temps, either for a diacetyl rest or crashing a finished beer, Id just set a reminder in my calendar and manually adjust temperatures each day.
After answering a few ferm chamber posts on /r/homebrew I was approached by Inkbird with the offer to review their newest programmable timer. I only provide honest reviews, seriously, but I know free offers can cloud a review and anyone reading such a review can doubt the reviewers sincerity. Keep reading or not, your call, but I dont work for the company and this is truly my honest opinion.
The Inkbird ITC-310T-B is a dual-relay programmable timer and temp controller available for around $50 USD. In researching the timer it would seem the latest version, which Im reviewing, removed the date and time settings of earlier models and has a few small interface differences. The device provides for up to 12 temperature steps (the non-B version only does 6) each with an independent duration and various alarm/actions upon step completion. You can repeat these programmed cycles up to 999 times if you have the need for multiple temperature change cycles.
Unboxing is purely a no-frills affair. Plain cardboard box with the timer, a business-card sized warranty card, and a small manual written in stilted English. The whole thing looks exactly like the Inkbird 308 with the exception of the faceplate color.
The device itself seems to be well constructed and should survive a few drops and spills. Im unsure how well the internals are put together as, unlike the 308s, I havent pulled apart the 310. Id say it compares favorably to Johnson Controls although it doesnt have the industrial heft and construction of those controllers. Then again, its at least half the price of a comparable JC device. The control box has three cords coming out the base: the power cord, a controller box with receptacles for heating and cooling devices (your ferm chamber/cooling device and a heat source/ferm-wrap), and the long temp probe cord with a solid metal cover over the probe itself. A hook is molded into the top of the device for mounting.
After plugging in the controller and stepping through the menus I realized this is not just a glorified 308. The various options quickly had me RTFM and trying to decipher/translate/scratching my head about how to program the thing. Maybe Im slow (ok, I am slow) or I had a few too many homebrews, but the manual takes some interpretation and correlation of graphs to understand all the functions. Not to spoil the ending, but my major complaint is with the manual. For the US market it needs a solid re-write by a competent English tech writer. Kudos to the author for trying, but it falls short in clearly explaining how to program the device. There are some useful charts including a workflow but I could have used a more straight-forward, example-driven manual.
I found a post on HBT for a different model and a YouTube video (in German) for the previous revision of the 310. Between these and the charts in the manual I pieced together the workflow and finally got it working. Not saying it takes a lot of intelligence to program, just that the documentation is lacking.
After getting comfortable with the interface I realized this is actually a pretty feature-rich box. Options include maintaining a set temperature indefinitely, a la the 308, continuously increasing temps for a set duration (continuous mode), and cycling temps up and/or down for a set duration but only counting the time specific temps are reached (target mode). There are options for alarms and actions after each step and these can be programmed separately for each stage.
Once I figured out what each menu item represented, and the correct way to set up temperature steps, I programmed a slow rise for a California Common I had just slightly under-pitched. Im sort of following Marshall Schotts lager xmbt with vitality starter as guidance since it fit my situation and would would allow me to test the Inkbord on a month-long ferment (always build a big starter for a lager!). I decided on a slow rise, using continuous mode, and stepping from 62F to 68F for several days to fully attenuate, resting for 5 days, then crashing to 50F to lager before fining and packaging. These are just guesses on my part, Ill take readings along the way obviously, but thanks to the high-temp fermenting SF lager yeast I figure I have some flexibility. The ITC-310 made multiple temp changes easy to set-and-forget and so far has worked as advertised.
Regardless of my janky fermentation, once I figured out how to program the device it was a simple task to create and modify programmed stages. Ill see how well the 310 holds up over time but so far I like the flexibility and ability to create complex temperature workflows.
Pros
- Price
- Flexible step programming
- Long probe cord
Cons
- Clarity of manual
- Lack of wireless monitoring/control
BONUS: I put together a walk-thru of how to program the box so hopefully other equally-slow brewers wont have to struggle quite so much.
Sláinte!
The occasional lager, with step temp increases, would send me to reading up on BlackBox and BrewPi development but I couldnt justify the cost (even when going the DIY route). When it was time to change temps, either for a diacetyl rest or crashing a finished beer, Id just set a reminder in my calendar and manually adjust temperatures each day.
After answering a few ferm chamber posts on /r/homebrew I was approached by Inkbird with the offer to review their newest programmable timer. I only provide honest reviews, seriously, but I know free offers can cloud a review and anyone reading such a review can doubt the reviewers sincerity. Keep reading or not, your call, but I dont work for the company and this is truly my honest opinion.
The Inkbird ITC-310T-B is a dual-relay programmable timer and temp controller available for around $50 USD. In researching the timer it would seem the latest version, which Im reviewing, removed the date and time settings of earlier models and has a few small interface differences. The device provides for up to 12 temperature steps (the non-B version only does 6) each with an independent duration and various alarm/actions upon step completion. You can repeat these programmed cycles up to 999 times if you have the need for multiple temperature change cycles.
Unboxing is purely a no-frills affair. Plain cardboard box with the timer, a business-card sized warranty card, and a small manual written in stilted English. The whole thing looks exactly like the Inkbird 308 with the exception of the faceplate color.
The device itself seems to be well constructed and should survive a few drops and spills. Im unsure how well the internals are put together as, unlike the 308s, I havent pulled apart the 310. Id say it compares favorably to Johnson Controls although it doesnt have the industrial heft and construction of those controllers. Then again, its at least half the price of a comparable JC device. The control box has three cords coming out the base: the power cord, a controller box with receptacles for heating and cooling devices (your ferm chamber/cooling device and a heat source/ferm-wrap), and the long temp probe cord with a solid metal cover over the probe itself. A hook is molded into the top of the device for mounting.
After plugging in the controller and stepping through the menus I realized this is not just a glorified 308. The various options quickly had me RTFM and trying to decipher/translate/scratching my head about how to program the thing. Maybe Im slow (ok, I am slow) or I had a few too many homebrews, but the manual takes some interpretation and correlation of graphs to understand all the functions. Not to spoil the ending, but my major complaint is with the manual. For the US market it needs a solid re-write by a competent English tech writer. Kudos to the author for trying, but it falls short in clearly explaining how to program the device. There are some useful charts including a workflow but I could have used a more straight-forward, example-driven manual.
I found a post on HBT for a different model and a YouTube video (in German) for the previous revision of the 310. Between these and the charts in the manual I pieced together the workflow and finally got it working. Not saying it takes a lot of intelligence to program, just that the documentation is lacking.
After getting comfortable with the interface I realized this is actually a pretty feature-rich box. Options include maintaining a set temperature indefinitely, a la the 308, continuously increasing temps for a set duration (continuous mode), and cycling temps up and/or down for a set duration but only counting the time specific temps are reached (target mode). There are options for alarms and actions after each step and these can be programmed separately for each stage.
Once I figured out what each menu item represented, and the correct way to set up temperature steps, I programmed a slow rise for a California Common I had just slightly under-pitched. Im sort of following Marshall Schotts lager xmbt with vitality starter as guidance since it fit my situation and would would allow me to test the Inkbord on a month-long ferment (always build a big starter for a lager!). I decided on a slow rise, using continuous mode, and stepping from 62F to 68F for several days to fully attenuate, resting for 5 days, then crashing to 50F to lager before fining and packaging. These are just guesses on my part, Ill take readings along the way obviously, but thanks to the high-temp fermenting SF lager yeast I figure I have some flexibility. The ITC-310 made multiple temp changes easy to set-and-forget and so far has worked as advertised.
Regardless of my janky fermentation, once I figured out how to program the device it was a simple task to create and modify programmed stages. Ill see how well the 310 holds up over time but so far I like the flexibility and ability to create complex temperature workflows.
Pros
- Price
- Flexible step programming
- Long probe cord
Cons
- Clarity of manual
- Lack of wireless monitoring/control
BONUS: I put together a walk-thru of how to program the box so hopefully other equally-slow brewers wont have to struggle quite so much.
Sláinte!
