Temperature Controller Failed

[Jenene]

After reading many posts about heaters failing and cooking fish, I purchased an Inkbird dual Controller to avoid this. I have a 300W Aquatop heater and a 150W Eheim Jager heater as a safety backup. They are both new since the entire set up is only 3 months old. It has been holding a nice steady 84.5 after a calibration once in awhile. I check the temperature at every feeding and before turning in for the night. Last night I noticed that the temp was down to 82.5. The controller had an error light on and it had shut off both of the heaters. The only thing I can think of is there was some kind of short in the system but what scares me the most is there was supposed to be some kind of audible alarm that never sounded. If I had not noticed this the temperature would have dropped drastically overnight since our house gets pretty cool at night (64 F). I unpluged it and plugged it back in. The presets were still there and the heaters started right up. I got up several times last night to check on them and this morning it was right back where it should be.

Has anyone had any issues with the Inkbird? I only saw positive notes about them on the forum but there are not many. I am going to contact the company about the lack of alarm. I am thinking that it may have saved them from some malfunction but I really needed to be alerted to the fact or what is the point?

Does anyone have a remote monitoring system that works? I read the reviews on the Senseye and the reviews were not great.

Any advice would be very appreciated.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hi Jenene, if you ask about the alarm you also might want to ask what the controller does when there is a power outage or the power flickers for a moment. Perhaps a surge protector would help.
Pat

[Jenene]

Hi Jenene, if you ask about the alarm you also might want to ask what the controller does when there is a power outage or the power flickers for a moment. Perhaps a surge protector would help.
Pat

Thanks Pat, I will ask about that. The instructions say that it contains an ultracapacitor that once fulled charged it can supply the timer chip for 20 days without electricity but I have no idea if that is enough to power the alarm. Although once the power came back on you would think the alarm would sound. I do have all my aquarium electrical plugged into a surge protector. I will post what they say in response.

Thanks so much.

[Ryan925]

I use an inkbird and have had no issues.

As far as alarm goes I think you would need to see a larger temp differential to get the alarm but not positive.

Are you using inkbird to power heaters off and on to maintain temp or using it as an overheat control? I have mine setup so that heaters stay on all the time and I have them set to proper temp. If temp rises more than 2 degrees then inkbird will kill power to heaters until temp drops back down to desired range

[Jenene]

I use an inkbird and have had no issues.

As far as alarm goes I think you would need to see a larger temp differential to get the alarm but not positive.

Are you using inkbird to power heaters off and on to maintain temp or using it as an overheat control? I have mine setup so that heaters stay on all the time and I have them set to proper temp. If temp rises more than 2 degrees then inkbird will kill power to heaters until temp drops back down to desired range

That is interesting. I didn't think of that. Maybe. I was thinking as soon as the error message came on it would let you know there was a problem before it dropped too much. I do use it to control the heaters. It turns them on and off as needed. It was doing a great job with the exception of needing to be re-calibrated once in awhile but I am sure there are many factors that effect that such as room temp ect...

I have an email into the company to ask them those questions and in the mean time will just really watch it. The important thing is that it does not allow the temp to go too high which it was doing. The drop will happen slow enough that I can catch it- I hope.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[100fuegos]

I use an inkbird and have had no issues.

As far as alarm goes I think you would need to see a larger temp differential to get the alarm but not positive.

Are you using inkbird to power heaters off and on to maintain temp or using it as an overheat control? I have mine setup so that heaters stay on all the time and I have them set to proper temp. If temp rises more than 2 degrees then inkbird will kill power to heaters until temp drops back down to desired range

You normally set the heaters a couple of degrees higher than desired temperature and the controller to desired temperature and not the other way around . A temperature controller should be really much more accurate than a heater so let the controller control the heaters.

[Ryan925]

You normally set the heaters a couple of degrees higher than desired temperature and the controller to desired temperature and not the other way around . A temperature controller should be really much more accurate than a heater so let the controller control the heaters.

I synced up my heaters to my controller temp. My tank maintains 82.5 without a problem. If it rises more than 2 degrees above that power is cut to the heaters.

[atlantadiscus]

You normally set the heaters a couple of degrees higher than desired temperature and the controller to desired temperature and not the other way around . A temperature controller should be really much more accurate than a heater so let the controller control the heaters.

That is not the way I use my Inkbird 308s controller.I set my Eheim heater to maintain my water temperature at 83F.....the heater is plugged into the controller,which will disconnect power to the heater if temp goes above whatever temperature I designate{85F in my example} then if water temp drops below that designated setpoint,the controller will provide power once again to the heater.I also set designated high and low temperature audible alarms,so if my water reaches 85F a high temp alarm sounds,if it drops below 81 a low temp alarm sounds.Configuring it this way,letting my Eheim heaters internal thermostat control the water temp,it does a fantastic job,with temp variance of 0.5 degrees F. The controller is a watchdog in this setup,only coming into play if the Eheim over or under heats the water.


I wanted to point out my reasoning and logic for letting the heaters internal thermostat control the water temperature,and only using the controller as a "babysitter" or fail safe.Setting it up the way I have it,I will very quickly know if the heaters internal thermostat has failed{stuck on is the common failure mode and the most deadly to the fish} as the water temp will rise above setpoint and the controller will cut power to the heater and the alarm will sound......simple,I put in my brand new heater I keep stored in my aquarium stand and I am back in business{ everybody DOES keep a brand new backup heater at home at all times I hope}

Now,lets set the system up the way "everybody" suggests and see the potential downside{which is huge IMO} I let my controllers thermostat maintain my water temperature with my heaters internal thermostat being the backup or babysitter- to do this,I set my controller say at 84F and set my heaters internal thermostat higher,some say +5 higher,some say turn it up all the way{really,really stupid IMO} everything initially works out great,just as in my method of letting the heaters thermostat control the water temperature....so,no difference,right?

Here is the difference,using the controller as the main thermostat and your heater set higher than the controller......you will never know WHEN {not if,it is ALWAYS when} your heaters thermostat fails and sticks"on"....no problem,right? after all your controller is still turning the heater on and off to maintain correct temperature.....but,you just lost your redundancy and failsafe second layer of protection due to your heaters internal thermostat sticking "on" and no way of you ever knowing that.NOW in this scenario,if your controller thermostat fails{or its temperature probe sensor get pulled out of the tank water by accident when working on/around the tank} and its thermostat sticks "on" sometime at a later date......your tank overheats and cooks your fish.

[atlantadiscus]

Jenene,what is the model # of your inkbird.What error light are you referring to? The high and low audible alarms need to be programmed into the Inkbird,did you in fact do that,and what temps did you assign the alarms to trigger at? also,VERY IMPORTANT,what do you have your inkbirds " heating temperature differential" set to? {HD icon in setup display}SHOULD be set at 1 degree F..

[Jenene]

Jenene,what is the model # of your inkbird.What error light are you referring to? The high and low audible alarms need to be programmed into the Inkbird,did you in fact do that,and what temps did you assign the alarms to trigger at? also,VERY IMPORTANT,what do you have your inkbirds " heating temperature differential" set to? {HD icon in setup display}SHOULD be set at 1 degree F..

The model is the ITC-306T. The light just spelled out err in red and the power to the heaters was off. I know I had the differential set to 1. I had set the high at 85 and 83 for a low. Am I missing a step? If so, logically this would solve my problem. I thought that if the temps varied above or below or the entire thing shorted out the alarm would sound. I went over the directions again several times this morning. In my defense they are very very tiny! I thought I had it figured out because it had really been a steady temp. Even through water changes (my barrel is heated as well).

I had set my heaters to 85 since I wanted the ideal temp for my tank to be between 84 and 85.

I thought my programmable light was hard to figure out- but messing that up won't cook or freeze a fish~!

Thanks for your insight. I will go over everything again in the morning. Maybe pull the sensor and put it in cooler water to see if I can get the alarm to sound to see if it really does work.

[Ryan925]

That is not the way I use my Inkbird 308s controller.I set my Eheim heater to maintain my water temperature at 83F.....the heater is plugged into the controller,which will disconnect power to the heater if temp goes above whatever temperature I designate{85F in my example} then if water temp drops below that designated setpoint,the controller will provide power once again to the heater.I also set designated high and low temperature audible alarms,so if my water reaches 85F a high temp alarm sounds,if it drops below 81 a low temp alarm sounds.Configuring it this way,letting my Eheim heaters internal thermostat control the water temp,it does a fantastic job,with temp variance of 0.5 degrees F. The controller is a watchdog in this setup,only coming into play if the Eheim over or under heats the water.


I wanted to point out my reasoning and logic for letting the heaters internal thermostat control the water temperature,and only using the controller as a "babysitter" or fail safe.Setting it up the way I have it,I will very quickly know if the heaters internal thermostat has failed{stuck on is the common failure mode and the most deadly to the fish} as the water temp will rise above setpoint and the controller will cut power to the heater and the alarm will sound......simple,I put in my brand new heater I keep stored in my aquarium stand and I am back in business{ everybody DOES keep a brand new backup heater at home at all times I hope}

Now,lets set the system up the way "everybody" suggests and see the potential downside{which is huge IMO} I let my controllers thermostat maintain my water temperature with my heaters internal thermostat being the backup or babysitter- to do this,I set my controller say at 84F and set my heaters internal thermostat higher,some say +5 higher,some say turn it up all the way{really,really stupid IMO} everything initially works out great,just as in my method of letting the heaters thermostat control the water temperature....so,no difference,right?

Here is the difference,using the controller as the main thermostat and your heater set higher than the controller......you will never know WHEN {not if,it is ALWAYS when} your heaters thermostat fails and sticks"on"....no problem,right? after all your controller is still turning the heater on and off to maintain correct temperature.....but,you just lost your redundancy and failsafe second layer of protection due to your heaters internal thermostat sticking "on" and no way of you ever knowing that.NOW in this scenario,if your controller thermostat fails{or its temperature probe sensor get pulled out of the tank water by accident when working on/around the tank} and its thermostat sticks "on" sometime at a later date......your tank overheats and cooks your fish.

Nice explanation Atl. I use mine in the same manor as you do.

[Kyla]

excellent logic atlantadiscus! i just set up my inkbird in this way too. for how cheap the inkbird is there sure are a lot of fancy features! my other (more expensive) controllers dont have alarms.

[Jenene]

excellent logic atlantadiscus! i just set up my inkbird in this way too. for how cheap the inkbird is there sure are a lot of fancy features! my other (more expensive) controllers dont have alarms.

Yes Kyla, I agree. The Inkbird does have a lot of features. I just really need to figure out what triggered the error and shut everything down.

I think there is some great dialog going on about the best way to set these controllers up. Hopefully this will help others down the road as well!

[atlantadiscus]

Yes,I think the inkbird is a fantastic controller loaded with features and safety systems{ user settable hi and low audible alarms} and I love the large LED readouts for current and set temperature, for a low price.I actually bought a 3x as expensive Cobalt Neo-Stat heater controller that supposivly has a super accurate thermostat than maintains temps to within about 1/4 of 1 degree......but never even plugged it in as I soon learned about the inkbird and wanted the hi/low alarms as a safety feature.The neo-stat sits in storage as a future backup if ever needed along with backup brand new heater,water pump,and other "must have on hand" equipment.

Jenene,I wish I could be of more help,I have a different model inkbird than you,but assume{always a dangerous thing} they are similar in setup/operation....the only 2 things that come to mind are 1.be sure when you program the unit,you hold down the set key for at least 3 seconds after setting a value,or else IT DOES NOT "save" that value,and 2. My model has a error indication if the temp probe is unplugged or becomes faulty,hopefully this helps!

[Jenene]

Update on Inkbird temperature controller. I was getting a bit frustrated that Inkbird was not responding to my email describing my problem with their controller. I finally got a reply a few days later and customer service in China let me know that they were actually celebrating a week long holiday and were closed yet they continued to ask me questions to solve the problem of the failed controller. After a few more inquiries they told me that this was a hardware malfunction and they will send out a replacement as soon as they return from the holiday (tomorrow). So I give them a lot of credit for taking care of my issue (I was content to wait once I knew why there was no response) and for being able to diagnose the problem just by asking what my program was set to and the error message. So I did ask if they would replace it with a similar but different model (exact same retail price) just to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again. Next time I may not be lucky enough to be home to catch it in time. Will have an answer to that request tomorrow. So yes, I have solved the mystery and am pleased that the company stands behind their product. Better yet my fish are safe and none the worse other than getting a little cool for an hour or two.
Thank you to everyone who helped and for the best way to program these things. I am always impressed how helpful everyone is here. Thank you, thank you!

[Ryan925]

Update on Inkbird temperature controller. I was getting a bit frustrated that Inkbird was not responding to my email describing my problem with their controller. I finally got a reply a few days later and customer service in China let me know that they were actually celebrating a week long holiday and were closed yet they continued to ask me questions to solve the problem of the failed controller. After a few more inquiries they told me that this was a hardware malfunction and they will send out a replacement as soon as they return from the holiday (tomorrow). So I give them a lot of credit for taking care of my issue (I was content to wait once I knew why there was no response) and for being able to diagnose the problem just by asking what my program was set to and the error message. So I did ask if they would replace it with a similar but different model (exact same retail price) just to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again. Next time I may not be lucky enough to be home to catch it in time. Will have an answer to that request tomorrow. So yes, I have solved the mystery and am pleased that the company stands behind their product. Better yet my fish are safe and none the worse other than getting a little cool for an hour or two.
Thank you to everyone who helped and for the best way to program these things. I am always impressed how helpful everyone is here. Thank you, thank you!

Great to hear they stand behind their product.

This is why I buy everything from Amazon. If you tell Amazon there is a problem with it they send a new one no questions asked. Then old one gets sent back once you have received new one.

This happened with my fluval G6 filter. I contacted fluval first and they were lagging with annoying questions. I contacted Amazon and they sent me a new one right away since the purchase was from fluval but fulfilled by Amazon.

[Jenene]

Great to hear they stand behind their product.

This is why I buy everything from Amazon. If you tell Amazon there is a problem with it they send a new one no questions asked. Then old one gets sent back once you have received new one.

This happened with my fluval G6 filter. I contacted fluval first and they were lagging with annoying questions. I contacted Amazon and they sent me a new one right away since the purchase was from fluval but fulfilled by Amazon.

I hear you. I bought almost everything for the new set up from Amazon. Dr. Foster's was a good source too but Amazon is great with returns. I was almost apologetic to the poor UPS guy having to come so often. It was getting embarrassing. A new tank needs lots of new stuff though! (-:

I was one day over Amazon's 30 day return policy on the Inkbird. Was your fluval within the 30 days? Inkbird has a one year warranty so I was only 31 days into that! I am not sure what will happen now since I went straight to the company. I did provide them with the Amazon invoice though. I guess it doesn't matter as long as someone sends a new one. I hope they honor my request of the other model.

[Ryan925]

I hear you. I bought almost everything for the new set up from Amazon. Dr. Foster's was a good source too but Amazon is great with returns. I was almost apologetic to the poor UPS guy having to come so often. It was getting embarrassing. A new tank needs lots of new stuff though! (-:

I was one day over Amazon's 30 day return policy on the Inkbird. Was your fluval within the 30 days? Inkbird has a one year warranty so I was only 31 days into that! I am not sure what will happen now since I went straight to the company. I did provide them with the Amazon invoice though. I guess it doesn't matter as long as someone sends a new one. I hope they honor my request of the other model.

I believe the fluval had a 2 year warranty so Amazon replaced it per factory warranty since the order was fulfilled by Amazon.

[Jenene]

I believe the fluval had a 2 year warranty so Amazon replaced it per factory warranty since the order was fulfilled by Amazon.

Awesome. Good to know- Thanks!

[Ryan925]

Awesome. Good to know- Thanks!

Yep. Def thought I'd share. I had no idea Amazon would do that. I contacted fluval initially and the lady's reply were all stupid questions. Then she sent me a manual for an entirely different filter asking if I set mine up properly. Lucky for me, in my frustration, I contacted Amazon. I had a new filter in a couple days no questions asked. In the meantime I had already ordered my eheim so now I have a fluval sitting here in the box lol

[Jenene]

Yep. Def thought I'd share. I had no idea Amazon would do that. I contacted fluval initially and the lady's reply were all stupid questions. Then she sent me a manual for an entirely different filter asking if I set mine up properly. Lucky for me, in my frustration, I contacted Amazon. I had a new filter in a couple days no questions asked. In the meantime I had already ordered my eheim so now I have a fluval sitting here in the box lol

I received a nice note from Inkbird today they are sending me a replacement through Amazon. They are honoring my request for the other model (same price). The new one only has one outlet for a heater-the other one is for cooling which I do not need. I had two on the other but the first heater was working well enough the other one never turned on anyway. Now the newer model will alarm at low temp as well as on an error so I can always use the spare heater to rectify the situation. Most importantly it will stop an overheat. So I am happy. I thanked them for their great service even during their National Holidays. They even sent a kind note back after that. Great company.

[atlantadiscus]

A simple,inexpensive 3 way tap can be found at any bigbox store that will allow you to turn that single heating outlet into 3 outlets,so you could plug in your 2 heaters. see here for a example http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/lUoAAOSwYaFWhB1g/s-l500.jpg

[Jenene]

A simple,inexpensive 3 way tap can be found at any bigbox store that will allow you to turn that single heating outlet into 3 outlets,so you could plug in your 2 heaters. see here for a example http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/lUoAAOSwYaFWhB1g/s-l500.jpg

Wow! Great solution! Thanks for that! That is awesome! The best of both worlds. They did not offer one that did low and high alarms and 2 heater options. Perfect. Love this forum!