Ss BrewTech FTSs Controller

[Morrey]

What is the dependability rate on these controllers?

I am using one to control glycol coolant and had it set at 65F where it was steady for a week. I tried to adjust my temps during fermentation and the controller wouldn't accept the new temp. I did a reset, turned it off, unplugged it...and all the normal things, nothing. It is keeping 65F as a set point and not accepting temp changes up or down.

The controller is maybe 2 years old...is reliability a common concern?

 

[boasist]

Mine is fairly new, but I had no issues with accepting temp or anything.

I do hear that SS has great support though, have you reached out?

 

[quijiba]

What is the dependability rate on these controllers?

I am using one to control glycol coolant and had it set at 65F where it was steady for a week. I tried to adjust my temps during fermentation and the controller wouldn't accept the new temp. I did a reset, turned it off, unplugged it...and all the normal things, nothing. It is keeping 65F as a set point and not accepting temp changes up or down.

The controller is maybe 2 years old...is reliability a common concern?

Odd. I have 4 of them and haven't had this issue. I would shoot them an email and see what they say. They are pretty solid in the customer service department for just about everything.

 

[yourlastchance89]

Ss is very good at their customer service and relations. That said I had my controller crap out after only a few months. I contacted Ss, told them my problem, and had a new one all in less than a week. I believe they put a year warranty on all their products. If yours falls outside of that I'd reach out and see what they can do

 

[Morrey]

I am using an Inkbird to get me patched up until Ss reaches out with advice.

I found a female to female barrel coupler so I connected the FTSs DC pump plug to the AC power supply plug and bypassed the controller. The controller is basically in-line between the pump and AC power supply, so I bypassed the FTSs controller. From there I plugged the power pack into the Inkbird's AC cooling receptacle so the Inkbird is now controlling the pump. This works fine and I spent $28 on the Inkbird on a sale recently.

Yeah, the FTSs controller is well out of warranty, and if faced with the purchase of a new controller, this Inkbird works perfectly.

Am asking this since I have two more of the controllers and hoping they are not a weak link in the chain.

 

[boasist]

I use a brewpi to manage my pump/heater. That said, I have two controllers available if you need one. A dual stage and a single stage. If you wanted one for backup...just saying.

You can't beat the programming of the brewpi. That's what I disliked about the ftss controller. If I wanted to raise the temp I had to be there all the time or just ramp it all of the way up. With brewpi, I can raise it 4 degrees over the course of 24 hours. I love it.

The gray graph is the glycol chiller, the top graphs are the beer. It's a slight workaround until brewpi gets fully updated to work with glycol and multi chamber. But it's working great as is.

 

[Metzen]

I am using an Inkbird to get me patched up until Ss reaches out with advice.

I found a female to female barrel coupler so I connected the FTSs DC pump plug to the AC power supply plug and bypassed the controller. The controller is basically in-line between the pump and AC power supply, so I bypassed the FTSs controller. From there I plugged the power pack into the Inkbird's AC cooling receptacle so the Inkbird is now controlling the pump. This works fine and I spent $28 on the Inkbird on a sale recently.

Yeah, the FTSs controller is well out of warranty, and if faced with the purchase of a new controller, this Inkbird works perfectly.

Am asking this since I have two more of the controllers and hoping they are not a weak link in the chain.

Do you have a link for the female to female barrel coupler?

 

[heckels]

I've had two for a couple years and have had no issues. Hopefully it's a fluke.

You did hit "set" first, right? 🙃

 

[Morrey]

Do you have a link for the female to female barrel coupler?

Sure, I got this on Amazon for like $2.95

Jacobs Parts DC Coupler Female to Female F/F 5.5mm x 2.1mm Barrel Jack Power Connector Plug for LED / CCTV

JACOBSPARTS

JacobsParts DC Coupler Female to Female F/F 5.5mm x 2.1mm Barrel Jack Power Connector Plug for LED / CCTV

 

[Morrey]

I've had two for a couple years and have had no issues. Hopefully it's a fluke.

You did hit "set" first, right? 🙃

LOL...yeah, maybe I wore the set button out pressing it!!

 

[Morrey]

I use a brewpi to manage my pump/heater. That said, I have two controllers available if you need one. A dual stage and a single stage. If you wanted one for backup...just saying.

You can't beat the programming of the brewpi. That's what I disliked about the ftss controller. If I wanted to raise the temp I had to be there all the time or just ramp it all of the way up. With brewpi, I can raise it 4 degrees over the course of 24 hours. I love it.

The gray graph is the glycol chiller, the top graphs are the beer. It's a slight workaround until brewpi gets fully updated to work with glycol and multi chamber. But it's working great as is.

Sure that's a nice offer, and I'd like to have a single and a dual FTSs backup contollers. If you PM me, we should be able to work out a price to make it worth your while.

The Inkbird controller I am using is a decent FTSs controller substitute, but it offers no other programming flexibility like your system has.

I like the idea of a BrewPi but don't have much knowledge of that system. Is it run by a laptop that can be controlled via wifi?