Inkbird shut itself off again

[aquaman67]

So I woke up this morning early and casually noticed my Inkbird 306a controller was not on.

In a panic I plugged the Jager heaters directly into my power strip. They both lit up. Knowing they are set higher than 78°, I unplugged one of them and looked for my thermometer. My tank was down to 75°. Not too bad.

I unplugged the Inkbird and plugged it back it. It immediately came back on.

This is the second time with the second Inkbird this has happened. Meaning I already replaced one Inkbird for doing this. Now the new one has done it too.

I know my power did not blink last night because if it did my stove’s clock would be flashing. It’s not.

So my question is what other temperature controllers are out there?

I see Innovative Marine makes one. (Thought not wifi, I never use the wifi of the Inkbird anyway)

Does any have any experience with the Innovative Marine controller? Or something else?

Thanks.

 

[Reefer Matt]

So I woke up this morning early and casually noticed my Inkbird 306a controller was not on.

In a panic I plugged the Jager heaters directly into my power strip. They both lit up. Knowing they are set higher than 78°, I unplugged one of them and looked for my thermometer. My tank was down to 75°. Not too bad.

I unplugged the Inkbird and plugged it back it. It immediately came back on.

This is the second time with the second Inkbird this has happened. Meaning I already replaced one Inkbird for doing this. Now the new one has done it too.

I know my power did not blink last night because if it did my stove’s clock would be flashing. It’s not.

So my question is what other temperature controllers are out there?

I see Innovative Marine makes one. (Thought not wifi, I never use the wifi of the Inkbird anyway)

Does any have any experience with the Innovative Marine controller? Or something else?

Thanks.

This could be a powerstrip issue. I would try a different one before buying another controller.

 

[aquaman67]

This could be a powerstrip issue. I would try a different one before buying another controller.

It’s possible but I just bought a new metal power strip with individual switches. It’s only a few months old. It was about $60 if I remember. It was 12 outlets.

The first Inkbird was on my old power strip.

I’m just not trusting the Inkbird.

I just got back from a 9 day Alaskan Cruise. What if this had happened while I was gone.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Just realize that one bad experience does not completely torpedo the brand. Inkbird is a fine product. But as with anything, they all have a shelf life (the probability of which can be estimated by the warranty). At a minimum at least. With my next build, I'll be running two heaters, each with their own controller.

 

[aquaman67]

Just realize that one bad experience does not completely torpedo the brand. Inkbird is a fine product. But as with anything, they all have a shelf life (the probability of which can be estimated by the warranty). At a minimum at least. With my next build, I'll be running two heaters, each with their own controller.

Two bad experiences. I’ve had two 306a Inkbirds turn themselves off with no explanation. I trusted them enough to get another one. Now I’m not so sure.

The first time I can’t say wasn’t due to a power outage.

The incident this morning I am 100% positive my power was not interrupted. My oven clock will blink when I lose power.

Edit.

The two controllers thing is a great idea.

I’ll probably get the Innovative Marine controller and keep the Inkbird too but just set it lower than the IM one.

 

[KStatefan]

So my question is what other temperature controllers are out there?

I see Innovative Marine makes one. (Thought not wifi, I never use the wifi of the Inkbird anyway)

Does any have any experience with the Innovative Marine controller? Or something else?

Thanks.

I use 2 Ranco temperature controllers. One is my primary heater set to a 1° F differential and the second one is on a different electrical cirrcuit with a 2° F differential so it only comes on if the primary does not keep up.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I would certainly switch brands. Ranco is an industrial product and very reliable. I would. Or buy an “aquarium” product unless it was a full fledged controller like Profilux, Apex (yech), or Hydros.

 

[Malcontent]

I bought the IM Helio PTC heater and it had all kinds of problems. I'm not alone. I went back to the Fluval E with the plastic guard removed and a 3D printed mount. It has two temperature sensors so there's already some redundancy. It's never failed me in all these years. I have about 16 of them.

I've heard of enough Inkbird issues that I'd never consider them.

In the last year or so I've been getting into the Yolink smarthome ecosystem. I needed freezer sensors that could reliably transmit from inside the basement chest freezer.

They later released their X3 outdoor temperature sensor which checked all the boxes for me. It's accurate out of the box, no subscription or expensive hub required, can be recalibrated, uses AA or other common batteries, and has a well-sealed probe intended for immersion. If the temperature gets too high I'll get app, phone, and email warnings and the smartplug cuts the power.

 

[Cali Reef Life]

I have two ink birds on two tanks and maybe had 1 turn off once in 2.5 years for unknown issue but never happened again couldof beenpower outage. Didn't even bother checking because my dosing pump has done the same once or twice but notification alerted me.

Why dont you just enable the offline notification in the app which notifies you if it turns off after 30 minutes. Also have had multiple heaters turn off or left on reason i got the inkbird.

I had great luck with mine sorry your having issues definitely not a bad brand.