Is my inkbird faulty

[TwoHedWlf]

Well, not everyone needs a 300W to 500W heater. One thing I forgot to add is that if you set the thermostatic heater 1 degree above the set temperature of the controller, it'll act as a double safety feature. Let's say your controller crapped out, you have a last line which is the thermostat on the heater, but if in the same scenario you have an 'always on' heater and the controller gave up the ghost, you are guaranteed to cook your fish.
That's my input anyway...

Yeah, set it up right and it's not adding extra failure points, it's adding extra safety in case something fails to switch off. Won't help if either fails to turn the heater on, but in your average heated house a couple days without a heater for most fish is nearly harmless.

 

[RD.]

If you double the things to go wrong, you double the chance of something going wrong.

LMAO

In this hobby adding an extra layer of protection is always a good idea, especially when it comes to heaters. The trick is using equipment that is as close to rock solid as possible, which typically equates to more $$$$. I have a couple of Medusa controllers that I bought used many years ago, that are still running. At the time a new Medusa sold for approx. $250 here in Canada.

As Feshman just stated, when set up properly a quality controller acts as a back up to a faulty heater thermostat. Check a marine set up where there is several thousand $$ invested in corals, fish, etc, and in almost all cases their heaters/chillers are ran through a controller. I bought both of mine by hobbyists keeping SW tanks. I also have a low cost unit, not as accurate, but also still running and it is several yrs old. The 3 tanks I currently have running have all had heaters fail over the years, and due to my adding extra layers of protection such as GFCI protected power bars, coupled with grounding probes, with heaters ran through controllers, I have had zero loss of life when one or more appliance has failed in these tanks.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

This thread reminds me, I bought a $15 Sonoff smart switch with a temp sensor to use as a high temp cutoff for my tank.

Not sure I ever actually plugged the heater into it, I should check.

 

[benzjamin13]

Wish I saw this thread earlier. I hope Inkbird is good. I just bought one to replace a JBJ Temp Controller that I just realized wasn't working. The probe and the temperature read out is working, but it's not turning on the heater when it's needed.

 

[Lepisosteus]

So wait, the inkbird is like a temperature controller like what are used for titanium heaters without built in thermostats? Why are you using it with heaters that have built in thermostats?

So the idea behind using the inkbird with a heater with a built in thermostat is redundancy. If the thermostat on the heater fails then the inkbird turns it off. If the inkbird fails the internal in the heater turns it off. He is very smart to use an inkbird. If he bought the correct model he can add a fan or chiller to turn on if the temperature gets to high. The other model only controls low range temps and maintains within a range. Temp controllers are a necessity in my opinion. I couldn’t imagine myself losing my $10,000 in stock due to a heater malfunction. Why my tank is run on an apex. Before that, I always used inkbirds. They are very good units for the price.

 

[Lepisosteus]

Well, not everyone needs a 300W to 500W heater. One thing I forgot to add is that if you set the thermostatic heater 1 degree above the set temperature of the controller, it'll act as a double safety feature. Let's say your controller crapped out, you have a last line which is the thermostat on the heater, but if in the same scenario you have an 'always on' heater and the controller gave up the ghost, you are guaranteed to cook your fish.
That's my input anyway...

This added safety feature is why you add the inkbird controller.

 

[Lepisosteus]

LMAO

In this hobby adding an extra layer of protection is always a good idea, especially when it comes to heaters. The trick is using equipment that is as close to rock solid as possible, which typically equates to more $$$$. I have a couple of Medusa controllers that I bought used many years ago, that are still running. At the time a new Medusa sold for approx. $250 here in Canada.

As Feshman just stated, when set up properly a quality controller acts as a back up to a faulty heater thermostat. Check a marine set up where there is several thousand $$ invested in corals, fish, etc, and in almost all cases their heaters/chillers are ran through a controller. I bought both of mine by hobbyists keeping SW tanks. I also have a low cost unit, not as accurate, but also still running and it is several yrs old. The 3 tanks I currently have running have all had heaters fail over the years, and due to my adding extra layers of protection such as GFCI protected power bars, coupled with grounding probes, with heaters ran through controllers, I have had zero loss of life when one or more appliance has failed in these tanks.

Bingo

 

[CarpCharacin]

So the idea behind using the inkbird with a heater with a built in thermostat is redundancy. If the thermostat on the heater fails then the inkbird turns it off. If the inkbird fails the internal in the heater turns it off. He is very smart to use an inkbird. If he bought the correct model he can add a fan or chiller to turn on if the temperature gets to high. The other model only controls low range temps and maintains within a range. Temp controllers are a necessity in my opinion. I couldn’t imagine myself losing my $10,000 in stock due to a heater malfunction. Why my tank is run on an apex. Before that, I always used inkbirds. They are very good units for the price.

Agreed, but if there's something wrong with the inkbird, it ain't gonna work, LOL.

 

[Lepisosteus]

Agreed, but if there's something wrong with the inkbird, it ain't gonna work, LOL.

Yes but low temperatures are not nearly as bad as high temperatures. If the inkbird fails the room temperature will maintain a 68-74F which is fine for most fish.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Yes but low temperatures are not nearly as bad as high temperatures. If the inkbird fails the room temperature will maintain a 68-74F which is fine for most fish.

But you want to avoid that from happening frequently. I wonder if there is something that will shut off the heater if it reaches a certain temperature, but allow the built-in controller to do the work otherwise.