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Unread 03/13/2018, 12:14 AM   #1
tkeracer619
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InkBird 308 - IME Not That Great.

This is just my experience... I ordered a 3 InkBird 308 temp controllers about a year ago for a new build.

This evening I noticed one of my tanks felt cold (honestly, I thought it felt cooler than normal for a while) even though the Inkbird showed 77deg F. I went through them to check calibration. All three needed calibration. Two were reasonable and within a degree or two but one was 6 deg off...

All three were dead on when I purchased them. (Always test digital temp controllers!)

For fun I checked the Ranco I have had for about 10 years. It was within a deg F.


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Unread 03/13/2018, 02:24 AM   #2
Big E
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I set my heater so it runs "inside" the range of the controller on it's own. The controller then only acts as a fail safe at high and low levels. The heater can keep a tighter range on it's own.........the controllers all seem to be 1 degree hi/low.

I'm testing out an Inkbird but I've only had it for a few months. It has saved me once when the heater died and the warning beeper went off. So for just that option I like it for the price.

I don't doubt there's any question Rancos are better and my experience matches your's with reliability. I did have one of my Ranco probes go bad once, which I had to replace over the years, but is now known to seal the probe in epoxy or plastic so this doesn't happen.

I still manually check temp daily on both my systems with a hand held probe as I don't trust heaters or controllers.


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Unread 03/13/2018, 08:39 AM   #3
sethd12
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I just purchased 2 of these units to for my 500 gallon tank. As Big E stated, I don't trust heaters or controllers so went for duplicates to hopefully minimize the chance of an error. I also run a Ranco controller that I have used for years with great success. With a total of 3 controllers I sure hope my temperature doesn't fluctuate. As of now only about .5 degrees. For the price Inkbird seems to work great for the few months it has been running but only time will tell.


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Unread 03/13/2018, 10:31 AM   #4
mcgyvr
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1 bad apple does not make a trend..
I am not saying that the inkbirds are reliable or not but 1 drifter isn't enough to come to a conclusion..
Now 200 people come here and state that.. Ok..


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Unread 03/13/2018, 01:16 PM   #5
tkeracer619
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Very true mcgyvr but in my case all of them have drifted, one by a problematic amount. I'm not saying they're bad, just that they aren't that great in my experience after a year. They've become popular and a ton of them are out there so certainty people like them.

I do like the alarm feature. Won't be pulling them out of service just monitoring for further drift.


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Unread 05/06/2018, 11:31 AM   #6
BigBlueTang
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I'm going to bump this thread with my experience. My Inkbird, after 6 months of use was almost 8 degrees off(tank was 70 instead of 78), and I checked my tank's temperature with multiple temperature probes to make sure. Thankfully, all my livestock is fine, but I just wanted to throw a word of caution! I'm now checking daily with a manual temp probe


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Unread 10/08/2018, 11:59 PM   #7
tkeracer619
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One of the 3 I have is still functioning. The other two are trash.

Pic for example... the temp probe is in my display.

Yes, that's right, it thinks the tank is 144 deg.



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Unread 10/09/2018, 05:07 AM   #8
Big E
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As an update on mine, it started to drift and was 1.5 degrees off............reading was higher than actual. I adjusted/recalibrate and it just continued to drift more. At 6 degrees off I gave up using and bought another Ranco.


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Unread 10/09/2018, 05:20 PM   #9
ca1ore
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Both of mine drifted significantly requiring recalibration. It appears the probe goes wonky. Ok for a QT, but I'll stick with ranco for my more valuable tanks.


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Unread 10/10/2018, 06:42 AM   #10
Big E
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The hi/lo alarm is nice so I may use mine as a thermometer if nothing else as long as you keep up with it's drifts.


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Unread 10/10/2018, 06:45 AM   #11
Rover88
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I checked today with a regular thermometer...


My inkbird is bang on, juuuust under one year later.

Its my actual heaters that aren't listening. One of them is about 5 degrees off where the tank is, but the inkbird keeps it in line from overheating the tank.

Just figured I'd give a positive personal review to mine.


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Unread 10/11/2018, 08:00 PM   #12
origreefer
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I don't use inkbirds for aquarium but i did use one for fermenting beer. If failed and allowed the temp of the beer to go up 17 degrees which was enough to ruin it. Needless to say, not a fan of cheap chines controllers.


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Unread 10/12/2018, 03:45 PM   #13
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Funny how a year or two ago people said theses were just as good as the Ranco. lol


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Unread 10/13/2018, 08:12 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gcarroll View Post
Funny how a year or two ago people said theses were just as good as the Ranco. lol
Welcome to the internet..
I'm not sure how someone can come to that conclusion based on a brand new product with no history/time under its belt..

My inkbird is spot on BTW at 1.5 years old..


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Unread 10/13/2018, 02:30 PM   #15
Big E
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My Ranco is still working on my display and it's probably close to 9 years old.

I had a dual temp Ranco for 10+ as well before I sold it.

To replace the inkbird for my frag tank, I bought a new Ranco for $49 a $7 extension cord at HD.....wired it myself, which anyone can do.


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Unread 10/20/2018, 12:03 AM   #16
tkeracer619
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Big E View Post
My Ranco is still working on my display and it's probably close to 9 years old.

I had a dual temp Ranco for 10+ as well before I sold it.

To replace the inkbird for my frag tank, I bought a new Ranco for $49 a $7 extension cord at HD.....wired it myself, which anyone can do.
Yup. I've used Ranco from the start and while they have changed since my first one they still seem to hold up. Always a good idea to check the temp against a floater but for me I'll be staying Ranco.


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Unread 10/20/2018, 10:30 AM   #17
dmsprague
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Been running the inkbird for close to a year now. Just checked it and it was 1 degree off so I'm good with that. What I like about it is being able to control a fan for cooling as well as heat. I have it on a 24 gallon cube that gets warm in the summer and being able to control the fan helps reduce evaporation by not running it 24/7. I run Finnex controllers on my other tanks that have been good. Like others stated I set my heaters so if the controller failed they won't overheat the tank.


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Unread 10/31/2018, 09:55 PM   #18
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Not heard of Inkbird before. Was confusing it with Rainbird sprinklers.


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Unread 11/02/2018, 09:04 AM   #19
tkeracer619
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmsprague View Post
Been running the inkbird for close to a year now. Just checked it and it was 1 degree off so I'm good with that. What I like about it is being able to control a fan for cooling as well as heat. I have it on a 24 gallon cube that gets warm in the summer and being able to control the fan helps reduce evaporation by not running it 24/7. I run Finnex controllers on my other tanks that have been good. Like others stated I set my heaters so if the controller failed they won't overheat the tank.
Always a good idea to have heaters with their own thermostats as a safety net. Ranco also has a 2 stage unit but it does cost about $30 more than the single stage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SantaMonica View Post
Not heard of Inkbird before. Was confusing it with Rainbird sprinklers.



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Unread 11/02/2018, 09:41 PM   #20
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Just picked one up today. Any recommendations on placement of the probe? Fully submersed?


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Unread 11/02/2018, 10:18 PM   #21
ca1ore
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Just mothballed my last stinkbird today - just don’t trust it. Penny wise pound foolish.


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