PID controllers, temp & humidity: brand? WiFi?

[Dave in AZ]

Building my drying chamber. Saw a few good videos by 2guys and a cooler, he uses InkBird controllers. I see there are a ton of brands, some really cheap and not as plug and play, like if I was breadboarding up something.

What do folks think are best brands to buy, how are these Inkbird ones, and are the wifi versions you can program and monitor on phone worth using?
Thx!

(Seems to me I would program these once with their instruction book then never mess except setting temp or humidity, so doubting wifi utility…)

[cdavis]

Dave in AZ good luck on the build and keep us posted.

[samspade]

Dave in AZ I have the inkbird 12 stage heater/cooler controler. I use it in my smoker so I can program the temp and stage increases without going back. Mine is the 310T.
Only thing you have to watch is the current draw on what your having it control. I believe its 12 amp max. My smoker says its 18amp. I built a control box that has a relay for turn on of the smoker. The smoker get its 20 amps and the inkbird only needs 5 for the relay.
Once I found the sweet spot in the smoker for the temp probe, my swings were ± 5 degrees.

[Dave in AZ]

samspade thx, great info for me!

[samspade]

Dave in AZ I am considering making a drying chamber and would use seperate inkbird temp and humidity controlers. I dont believe the single unit can do all four(up and down temp, and higher/lower humidity.

[glen]

Dave in AZ Usually better to add a relay instead of sending the load through the controller
In case of overloads, shorts etc. the relay is far cheaper than the controller and easier to replace
Plus the relay will be more durable and you can select the load capacity

[Dave in AZ]

glen that’s a smart idea glen, thx! Do you have a particular one you like, I’ve never purchased a relay online… and was already getting overwhelmed with all the PID choices lol!

samspade Yep, I was looking at those separate ones. They have some that do a wifi app, allowing easier programming on phone and tracking… kinda seems unnecessary, but I’m wondering if anyone else out there likes that phone app ability a lot for some reason?

[glen]

Dave in AZ Sorry Dave I haven’t converted my Masterbuilt yet but will this spring.
I was drawing on my experience with various electronic and digital controls

[samspade]

Dave in AZ here is the one I got from amazon.
Omron G7L-2A-BUBJ-CB AC100/120.

[Dave in AZ]

samspade thanks much!

[processhead]

The PID controllers I have used include Yokogawa, Inkbird, Chromalox, Watlow and Auber. I kind of divide them into two categories. hobby grade and industrial grade. The ink bird and Auber fall into the hobby grade category. That’s not to mean they are bad. For the money they really offer a lot of performance and are very good. They just aren’t built to the same robust standards of construction of industrial PID controllers.

Most PID controllers have some type of self-tuning capability. The Inkbird controller I used in my last smoker build supposedly had auto tuning, but it was pretty weak and almost useless. Still, with manual tuning, the Inkbird held temperature setpoint to +/- 2 degrees a in that smoker, which is more than adequate.
I used to buy used and surplus industrial controls/ PIDs on Ebay because they could be bought economically. Anymore though, even the used stuff brings more money than I am ready to spend.
My other hobby is brewing and I have used PID’s for temperature controls in my mashing systems and hot liquor tank.
I like to use solid state relays (SSRs) with PID for controllers because the SSR does all the heavy current switching and the PID just provides the control signal.
So far I have not used PIDs for humidity controls.

[Dave in AZ]

processhead thx very much Paul, good info. Right now I’m leaning towards the 2 Inkbird PIDs for temp and humidity, just because they’re the ones I have actual successful user reports on. I will probably get the wifi versions, as all the analysis and testing info is available thru the app, but very little thru the unit limited screens; and your comment on self tuning makes me think the more robust controls suite via the appmight be worth it.

I also plan on using a relay, the Omron one mentioned above looks decent, though $29 for a relay seems high… but I don’t have the time to learn about PIDs and relays and become expert enough to make my own 1st time purchase decisions right now. So hoping to rely on folks like you all, with more knowledge and firsthand experience of “THIS ONE works!”
Thx!

[glen]

Dave in AZ You can find PID’s that come as kits and many times you can select the temp probe and an SSR in the kit. That makes sure everything is compatible
One thing to verify is the temperature range, many PID’s are for brewing and seed bed starters and have too low of a temperature range for a smoker

[processhead]

Dave in AZ Be happy to help in any way I can.

[samspade]

Dave in AZ I did forget the temp limit. My 310t stops at 240. So it really may not work in some applications. I mainly use it to step up my sausage and jerkys.

[Dave in AZ]

samspade no worries. I got the inkbird ITC308 wifi. Just using it for drying cabinet control, so it’s 100c top is fine also.

[samspade]

Dave in AZ great. As someone said to me… if you dont post pics it didnt happen. Look forward to your build photos.

[mrobisr]

Dave in AZ I use PID in my brewing, but for my drying chamber I use this and it is simple and really easy to view and use.

Inkbird Temperature and Humidity Controller ITC-608T Pre-Wired Dual Stage Thermostat 120VAC 15A 1800W ETL Listed

[processhead]

mrobisr said in PID controllers, temp & humidity: brand? WiFi?:

Dave in AZ I use PID in my brewing, but for my drying chamber I use this and it is simple and really easy to view and use.

Inkbird Temperature and Humidity Controller ITC-608T Pre-Wired Dual Stage Thermostat 120VAC 15A 1800W ETL Listed

Not to derail the thread mrobisr, but are you doing electric mashing and boiling? RIMS?

[mrobisr]

processhead I do