ITC-308 troubles!

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f00b4r
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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by f00b4r » Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:02 am

Just a general question too:

I think that’s my fridges also have compressor delays built into them too (unfortunately I cannot verify this as my brewery has just been filled to the brim to allow some work on the house to happen and won’t be emptied until next week), looking on the internet I seem to get conflicting information on this. It wouldn’t stop the potential issue but would dramatically change the symptoms between setups.
Any electricians etc care to comment?

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MashBag
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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by MashBag » Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am

f00b4r wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:50 am

Interference sounds a good thing to investigate.
Good shout.

Absolutely check Interference. TBH I feel like I was a bit slow there.....
Why......

I have a gu10 led lamp which flatlines my broadband.

I have a phone charger which blows led filament lamps if plugged on the same 4way.

A common thread here is tech and in particular led drivers. See if you still have the problem if you have NOTHING of that type plugged in.
You can also use a transistor radio to check for anything "squealing" on 612AM.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:14 am

f00b4r wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:21 pm
I’m not attempting to discredit any individual, ...
Maybe not. And I was not attempting to pick on any individual responding although I did use a (un-named) quote from you. I was responding to a number of responses that all had a negative tone ("I've never noticed it ...", therefore it doesn't exist?). That tone was not helping anyone with the fault, just handing them a bucket of sand to stick their head into.

You may not have been attempting to discredit any individual, but you are having a good go at doing that now!

And I'm not attempting to discredit you, I only want to discredit Inkbird for their terrible handling of this issue (blaming the users for the fault).



Here's a quote from yesterday on that "other" forum (I hope he doesn't mind me doing this):
OldNick, post: 1073333, member: 43194 wrote:
Hi folks, was thinking I was going mad - suspecting my Inkbird 308 (non wifi) to be doing something it clearly shouldn't - until google led me to this forum>thread yesterday. Thank you to all for helping me to understand that my problem is not unique, and especially to peebee for genius workaround suggestion... I increased CD to 2.5degC yesterday evening and now keeping an eye on things.

...
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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PeeBee
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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:41 am

MashBag wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:12 am
f00b4r wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:50 am

Interference sounds a good thing to investigate.
Good shout.

Absolutely check Interference. TBH I feel like I was a bit slow there.....
Why......

I have a gu10 led lamp which flatlines my broadband.

I have a phone charger which blows led filament lamps if plugged on the same 4way.

A common thread here is tech and in particular led drivers. See if you still have the problem if you have NOTHING of that type plugged in.
You can also use a transistor radio to check for anything "squealing" on 612AM.
Thanks, but over time I've tried them in four different rooms connected to three different shelf-coolers (including a Maxi 310) and a "keezer" (chest freezer).

The issue affects the units to different amounts, and even changes over time (weeks).

The best suggestions I've seen but not explored yet, is that the probes they use are at fault? They are fixed and not (easily) removable. I've tried probes inside a freezer, in the water baths of shelf-coolers and in a fermenter thermowell.


My best workaround for them is not use them! Although I am redeploying mine in places that can handle big "dead-zones" (3 to 4°C). The faults are random and so the actual "dead-zones" do vary.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:24 am

f00b4r wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:21 pm
... Do you bypass your thermostat at all?
Not the freezer (it is directly switched on/off by the ITC-308). Variable with shelf-coolers, sometimes switched directly on/off, sometimes bypassed, sometimes completely independent, switching a free standing water pump in the water bath on/off (I may well post details of one of those lunatic adaptions on this forum one day - permanent solution not finished yet but a good redeployment of an otherwise redundant defective ITC-308).
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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MashBag
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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by MashBag » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:31 am

I get your moving about rooms point....sort of.
Have you tried different mains supplies? Maybe at work or a mates house?

I am struggling with this :
PeeBee wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:24 am

The issue affects the units to different amounts, and even changes over time (weeks).
IMO and experience digital stuff at this level doesn't do that, unless something external changes to affect them. Room temp? Supply? Interference?

Has anyone else suffered with this issue?

This is a discussion for me, anything I say I never intend to be personal & I am in no way siding with inkbird. Just trying to discuss, understand, clarify & maybe even resolve the issue. TBH I find it quite sad that I feel the need to even say this.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by f00b4r » Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:43 am

Also you mention you think it might be faulty probes; BBQ thermometer probes are notorious for breaking if not cleaned very carefully and the BrewPi guys also criticise a lot of 3rd party probes for similar issues (they claim to be waterproof but the reality is that they are not well made enough). Do you ever submerse them or run them under water when cleaning?

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:39 am

f00b4r wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:43 am
Also you mention you think it might be faulty probes; BBQ thermometer probes are notorious for breaking if not cleaned very carefully and the BrewPi guys also criticise a lot of 3rd party probes for similar issues (they claim to be waterproof but the reality is that they are not well made enough). Do you ever submerse them or run them under water when cleaning?
The freezer one remains dry, as does the thermowell one (fermenter). The shelf cooler ones do get dunked in the water bath once I had figured they were probably waterproof (as described). They are clean, never being in a dirty environment or directly in contact with beer (encased in freezer and thermowell).
MashBag wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:31 am
I get your moving about rooms point....sort of.
Have you tried different mains supplies? Maybe at work or a mates house? Don't think so? :-k

I am struggling with this :
PeeBee wrote:
Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:24 am

The issue affects the units to different amounts, and even changes over time (weeks).
IMO and experience digital stuff at this level doesn't do that, unless something external changes to affect them. Room temp? Supply? Interference? Does seem to point at the "analogue" bits (probe)?

Has anyone else suffered with this issue? Oh aye! But oddly not seemingly on this forum? I seem to have found myself as a bit of a (unwelcome) crusader? Try those links to the "other" forum I've put in this thread.

This is a discussion for me, anything I say I never intend to be personal & I am in no way siding with inkbird. Just trying to discuss, understand, clarify & maybe even resolve the issue. TBH I find it quite sad that I feel the need to even say this. :thumbsup:
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Tue Sep 14, 2021 9:59 am

Sorry ... the link I spoke of is not easy to find in this thread. It's here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=83419&start=15#p859532
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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MashBag
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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by MashBag » Tue Sep 14, 2021 4:45 pm

Thanks for the link - will have a read.
You are certainly not 'unwelcome' - this is just what a forum is for IMO.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by Jocky » Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:08 pm

Mother f****r.

Standing in front of my keezer pouring myself a beer, I think about this thread and glance at the Inkbird.

4.6c, coming down to the set point of 4.5c.

And then, just for less than half a second the readout jumps to 5.6c.

Omg. PeeBee was right.

Doesn’t really matter to me as I allow a 2c variation, but makes me wonder about swapping to the spare STC-1000 I have.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by MashBag » Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:30 am

If that's a just blip in the display, does it matter to the beer?

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by f00b4r » Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:45 am

Interesting but the question still remains as to why it happens, eg it’s an environmental variable or the equipment itself, eg probes that go bad.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by Jocky » Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:02 am

MashBag wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:30 am
If that's a just blip in the display, does it matter to the beer?
Well I don’t know whether it was just the display reading incorrectly or whether if I’d had a narrower band set whether it would have triggered the outputs.

Practically speaking it doesn’t matter for me, but I can see situations where it might. The compressor delay is set for 10 minutes for my keezer so it’s not turned on by me briefly opening the lid or glitches like this.

I don’t have the probe in water, it’s cable tied to a bottle full of water that sits inside the keezer, although I think it gets pretty damp anyway.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

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Re: ITC-308 troubles!

Post by PeeBee » Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:55 pm

Jocky wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:02 am
MashBag wrote:
Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:30 am
If that's a just blip in the display, does it matter to the beer?
Well I don’t know whether it was just the display reading incorrectly or whether if I’d had a narrower band set whether it would have triggered the outputs.

Practically speaking it doesn’t matter for me, but I can see situations where it might. The compressor delay is set for 10 minutes for my keezer so it’s not turned on by me briefly opening the lid or glitches like this.

I don’t have the probe in water, it’s cable tied to a bottle full of water that sits inside the keezer, although I think it gets pretty damp anyway.
In my experience (and others); It would have triggered an cooling cycle if it wasn't in the "dead-zone". And stopped a heating cycle if one was on, but that would hardly matter. It is the working behind my "fix", if cooling the cooler would only be triggered early by the fault (below TS+CD). It only causes a potential problem if the cooling differential (CD) is set lower than 2.0. Jocky is happy with a 2.0C differential (although I doubt he ever sees temperatures close to TS+CD), many aren't and try to set a CD of 0.5C which will result in possible damage to the compressor.

The Compressor Delay isn't always helpful; once expired erroneous triggers will pulse the compressor on/off.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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