Inkbird Heater Controller Failure

[Jekyl]

Whether your controller is malfunctioning or not will be easy to figure out. The second your tank gets too hot an alarm will go off. Rely on the controller.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Set one heater to 77 to 78 degrees. The other to 76 to 77. Will make a primary heater and a back up
Edit: those are settings on the inkbird

Good info thanks. I've got a feeling my old 150 is acting as primary and the new 300 secondary

 

[Jekyl]

You have the 2 plug inkbird right? You can pick which one you want and set it up accordingly. I was wary of my inkbird at first also. However 2 years later it has never failed me and saved my tank once already.

 

[jser388]

I'm currently hating my brand new inkbird controller. It's set for 78 and the tank is 75.7 right now and neither heater is On

I am in the nearly same boat as you,i hate this thing

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

You have the 2 plug inkbird right? You can pick which one you want and set it up accordingly. I was wary of my inkbird at first also. However 2 years later it has never failed me and saved my tank once already.

Correct I have two plug two probe and cannot find in the settings how to prioritize heaters

 

[Jekyl]

Set your primary heater for the desired temp of 77 to 78
Set your other one to 76 to 77
Unless it drops to 76 degrees the secondary won't turn on.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have zero trouble with mine and have heater set to 78. Its working along with chiiler unit and tank is always 78 deg

 

[Eralc]

Just installed InkBird 306a with Eheim 100w.
high temp alarm set to 77.5 and low set to 76.
When temp is reached the InkBird turns the heater off (which seems all good). But then when it drops below 76 instead of switching the heater back on it just sends an alarm (which never stops!) The only way to stop the alarm is to drop the low temp setting below the current temp reading.

 

[DarkReefer]

Just installed InkBird 306a with Eheim 100w.
high temp alarm set to 77.5 and low set to 76.
When temp is reached the InkBird turns the heater off (which seems all good). But then when it drops below 76 instead of switching the heater back on it just sends an alarm (which never stops!) The only way to stop the alarm is to drop the low temp setting below the current temp reading.

You probably need to adjust the alarms. I have mine set to several degrees above and below to avoid general fluctuations.

 

[elysics]

Just installed InkBird 306a with Eheim 100w.
high temp alarm set to 77.5 and low set to 76.
When temp is reached the InkBird turns the heater off (which seems all good). But then when it drops below 76 instead of switching the heater back on it just sends an alarm (which never stops!) The only way to stop the alarm is to drop the low temp setting below the current temp reading.

Did you change the actual temperature settings or just the alarm settings? The alarm settings don't tell it when to switch on, just when to shout at you, switching on and off are separate settings

Need to set temp 1 and temp 2 to the start heating and stop heating temperatures you want

 

[mdb_talon]

Set the heaters to 85. The inkbird will control them. Otherwise the setting on the heater could be wrong

This works until the inbird fails. Should have the heater set slightly higher than the inkbird but not high enough to damage tank if inbird fails

 

[EricR]

The cheapest ITC-306T has a minimum 1.0 degree F on/off variance ... so, for example, you could maintain 77.0 - 78.0 degrees F.
The nicer ones like ITC-306A, ITC-306S (heating/cooling) have minimum 0.5 degree F variance ... so, for example, 77.0 - 77.5 degrees F.
*at least that's how the ones I have work,,, never had a problem controlling Eheim glass heaters (set a couple of degrees higher which would only come into play if the InkBird failed ON for some reason)

The on/off variance is a setting, as are many other things,,, plus the temperature reading can be calibrated if necessary.

Anyway, some of the complaints about 3 degree temperature swings are puzzling unless settings need to be looked at or just plain faulty units.

EDIT -- just noticed most of the posts I was reading are really old ... sorry

 

[saltcats]

I run mine opposite - I set the inkbird slightly higher than the heater but at still a safe temp. So the heater is in charge but if it sticks on the inkbird will catch it and shut it off before it gets dangerously hot. I heard that it was easier on the heater's thermostat component to let it regulate itself, and my heater seems to hold a narrower temp range than the inkbird can manage, anyway.

 

[Idech]

Just installed InkBird 306a with Eheim 100w.
high temp alarm set to 77.5 and low set to 76.
When temp is reached the InkBird turns the heater off (which seems all good). But then when it drops below 76 instead of switching the heater back on it just sends an alarm (which never stops!) The only way to stop the alarm is to drop the low temp setting below the current temp reading.

Are you sure 100 watts are enough for your tank ? This is what happens when the heater isn’t capable of reaching the target temperature.

Or maybe it’s okay but the inkbird sensor is close to a powerhead where there is lots of flow and temperature fluctuates more.

About the alarm, if you press any button it should keep blinking but become silent.

 

[piranhaman00]

The best temp controller on the market is BayIte

 

[lapin]

The best temp controller on the market is BayIte

Can you turn off the alarms?

 

[lapin]

I have zero trouble with mine and have heater set to 78. Its working along with chiiler unit and tank is always 78 deg

What model do you have and can you turn off the alarms?
Its time to replace my JBJ's and see they are no longer avail

 

[piranhaman00]

Can you turn off the alarms?

Yes

 

[lapin]

Yes

Is this the model you have ? I see one on Amazon

bayite Temperature Controller BTC201 10A Dual Pre-Wired​

 

[piranhaman00]

Is this the model you have ? I see one on Amazon

bayite Temperature Controller BTC201 10A Dual Pre-Wired​

Ya I got mine on Amazon. The probe is stainless so it needs to be covered in silicone. Mine has not drifted at all in 2 years, I use two they are the greatest.