Inkbird 308 general settings

Halfacrem · Jun 30, 2016

I've rigged up my brew fridge and I'm running it through the Inkbird. Seems to be working fine at the moment. Just need to get some beer in it. Might have to wait until Monday.

Just a couple of questions for those that use one of these.

What parameters do you use for the Heating/Cooling differential? I've set mine at 2 degC, simply because it suggests that in the instructions. Also, I've set the compressor delay to 3 minutes. Again, simply because it has this in the instructions. Any feedback based on real world use would be appreciated.

I've noticed that the reading is 2 degC higher than my digital thermometer, so I'll have to run some calibration against the inkbird. Other than that, all looks good.

chuffer · Jun 30, 2016

2 degrees is quite a big swing imo. If your target temp is 20, it will drop to 18 before the heater kicks in. Conversely it will rise to 22 before the cooler kicks in. So your range is 4 degrees. I don't have mine at connected to a cooler but have it set to 0.5 so it will drop to around 19.5 before heater kicks in.

Halfacrem · Jun 30, 2016

chuffer said:
2 degrees is quite a big swing imo. If your target temp is 20, it will drop to 18 before the heater kicks in. Conversely it will rise to 22 before the cooler kicks in. So your range is 4 degrees. I don't have mine at connected to a cooler but have it set to 0.5 so it will drop to around 19.5 before heater kicks in.

Cheers. I will adjust downwards. I've noticed already that on the cooling cycle, the temp dropped to 3 degrees below the target temp, probably because the compressor was on for quite some time to drop the temp from 2 degrees over target. Thanks for info. What about compressor delay? I understand it's there to protect the compressor from cycling on and off too regularly. 3 minutes too long?

chuffer · Jun 30, 2016

Halfacrem said:
What about compressor delay? I understand it's there to protect the compressor from cycling on and off too regularly. 3 minutes too long?

Not sure, it's something I would have deffo paid more attention to if I had a brew fridge so perhaps someone who has one may be able to assist there.

chuffer · Jun 30, 2016

On another forum someone explained the function as:

The more times your fridge compressor turns on and off, the shorter it's life will be. the difference in fridge lifespan between 1 degree and 3 degrees of variance may be very significant.
Most devices like this have a way to say IF (temp is out of range) AND (it's been a minimum of x minutes) THEN (turn on the fridge.)

So, the higher the delay = longer fridge life but more potential for temperature overshoots. Conversely, reducing the delay will keep the brew in a narrower range but you might kill your fridge quicker

Halfacrem · Jun 30, 2016

chuffer said:
Not sure, it's something I would have deffo paid more attention to if I had a brew fridge so perhaps someone who has one may be able to assist there.

Ahh, yes, re read your first message again.

meryvn · Jun 30, 2016

I've set my compressor delay to 10 minutes, every time I check my fridge it is never on and the temperature is within 0.5C of the target. My difference is set at 0.5C also.

I do have my fridge in the garage so there isn't much outside heat to increase the fridge temperature, I also have a 12cm fan running in the fridge permanently to keep the air moving.

Sent from my XT1092 using Tapatalk

Notlaw · Jun 30, 2016

Did you bypass the thermostat Halfacrem? Trying to find out if I need to or not.

Halfacrem · Jul 1, 2016

Notlaw said:
Did you bypass the thermostat Halfacrem? Trying to find out if I need to or not.

Not on the Fridge. That would be way beyond my capability. In fairness, the plug was pushing me to the limit :)

chuffer · Jul 1, 2016

Notlaw said:
Did you bypass the thermostat Halfacrem? Trying to find out if I need to or not.

Would you need to do something like that? I thought the inkbird simply switched the power socket to the fridge off when necessary

Notlaw · Jul 1, 2016

Halfacrem said:
Not on the Fridge. That would be way beyond my capability. In fairness, the plug was pushing me to the limit :)

:lol: fair enough! I might not bother then. Going to fit a fan in there though to prevent hot/cold spots. Got a couple that I "liberated" from the redundant gear in the server room at work. Busy making a stir plate as well. None of it has cost me anything so far :thumb:

Notlaw · Jul 1, 2016

chuffer said:
Would you need to do something like that? I thought the inkbird simply switched the power socket to the fridge off when necessary

From what I've read, I think you only need to do that if you're wiring the fridge directly into a controller. I assume that means like an STC1000 or something.

Inkbird · Jul 12, 2016

chuffer said:
2 degrees is quite a big swing imo. If your target temp is 20, it will drop to 18 before the heater kicks in. Conversely it will rise to 22 before the cooler kicks in. So your range is 4 degrees. I don't have mine at connected to a cooler but have it set to 0.5 so it will drop to around 19.5 before heater kicks in.

Hi, for the HD,CD value on the ITC-308,we suggest to set more that 1 because this is an ON/OFF thermostat, not a PID temperature controller.

The below is the information we got from one of the Inkbird customer.

As most brewing setups, if you do want accurate temp control. (The controller you've ordered is a simple on/off target set point controller btw) you will need to use a solid state relay to (pulse width modulate the element) and a proper PID (proportional, integral, derivative) controller to drive it.

You'll find with what you have it's not the temp probes fault for over any shoots. It's the latent lag times in action = effect between the heater, fluid and temp probe. Which is where the PID controller and SSR will be learn (auto tune function) and then be able to predict temp ramp ups/downs.

the on/off controller may overshoot by 1C or so where as a PID controller runs off an algorithm designed to maximise efficiency when doing industrial sized heating jobs, so if tuned in correctly will heat up to the target without overshooting.

Inkbird · Jul 12, 2016

What about compressor delay? I understand it's there to protect the compressor from cycling on and off too regularly. 3 minutes too long?[/QUOTE]

3 mins is a default setting for most of the devices. This is to protect your fridge. Of course you can set"0" if you do need a delay.:)

Soton · Jul 12, 2016

I don't have a inkbird but use a STC1000, which is pretty much the same thing other then I had to mount it in a box with plug sockets
With the STC its normally recommended to set the cooling it at 5 minutes and the heating at 2 or 3 minutes delay, the heater won't be effected by it being turned on and off so often
I have brew fridge in a shed and its cooling is set at 5 minutes and I have never seen the temperature more then .5 out. If you think about what you are trying to do is stop the inkbird turning the fridge on for say 10 seconds then switching the heater on for ten seconds then back to the fridge ect ect,
If you tape the temperature probe to the outside of the fermentor and cover it with bubble wrap or some insulation to help stop the probe from reading the air temperature so you are making it read the fermentor temperature, then when your brew is up to the set temperature if say its 5 gallons of brew, thats quite a mass to heat and cool so it will then become a very stable temperature and very little heating and cooling should be needed to keep it correct for fermentation, largering and crash cooling
I hope that reads as if it is in plain english and dose not seem a lot of gibberish

Halfacrem · Jul 12, 2016

Soton said:
I don't have a inkbird but use a STC1000, which is pretty much the same thing other then I had to mount it in a box with plug sockets
With the STC its normally recommended to set the cooling it at 5 minutes and the heating at 2 or 3 minutes delay, the heater won't be effected by it being turned on and off so often
I have brew fridge in a shed and its cooling is set at 5 minutes and I have never seen the temperature more then .5 out. If you think about what you are trying to do is stop the inkbird turning the fridge on for say 10 seconds then switching the heater on for ten seconds then back to the fridge ect ect,
If you tape the temperature probe to the outside of the fermentor and cover it with bubble wrap or some insulation to help stop the probe from reading the air temperature so you are making it read the fermentor temperature, then when your brew is up to the set temperature if say its 5 gallons thats quite a mass to heat and cool so it will then become a very stable temperature and very little heating and cooling should be needed to keep it correct for fermentation, largering and crash cooling
I hope that reads as if it is in plain english and dose not seem a lot of gibberish

Yes, I've found that to be the case. With the probe attached to the fv with a sponge fixed over it, the temp has remained very consistent so far :thumb:

Aphid · Dec 8, 2016

Soton said:
I don't have a inkbird but use a STC1000, which is pretty much the same thing other then I had to mount it in a box with plug sockets
With the STC its normally recommended to set the cooling it at 5 minutes and the heating at 2 or 3 minutes delay, the heater won't be effected by it being turned on and off so often
I have brew fridge in a shed and its cooling is set at 5 minutes and I have never seen the temperature more then .5 out. If you think about what you are trying to do is stop the inkbird turning the fridge on for say 10 seconds then switching the heater on for ten seconds then back to the fridge ect ect,
If you tape the temperature probe to the outside of the fermentor and cover it with bubble wrap or some insulation to help stop the probe from reading the air temperature so you are making it read the fermentor temperature, then when your brew is up to the set temperature if say its 5 gallons of brew, thats quite a mass to heat and cool so it will then become a very stable temperature and very little heating and cooling should be needed to keep it correct for fermentation, largering and crash cooling
I hope that reads as if it is in plain english and dose not seem a lot of gibberish

Apologies for asking about something you posted a while ago, now.
My Inkbird ITC-308 arrives tomorrow (all being well!) and I am anticipating the settings I might use. You mention a cooling delay of 5 minutes and heating delay of 2-3 minutes. Does that mean the STC1000 is set up differently? The Inkbird refers to both heating and cooling differential measures in degrees centigrade. What CD and HD temperature settings would you suggest?

Dozzer · Jun 5, 2019

Should the fridge be ramped up to 11 or just medium setting?

-Bezza- · Jun 5, 2019

Dozzer said:
Should the fridge be ramped up to 11 or just medium setting?

Set your fridge to its coldest possible setting (I've no idea if that's 1 or 11) as the Inkbird will take control then. If the fridge thermostat is set too warm, its own thermostat will cut in before the Inkbird does and you'll not get cold enough.

Dozzer · Jun 5, 2019

Thank you, I was wondering why it was taking so long to cool the growler full of water

Inkbird 308 general settings

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