Inkbird ITC 306-A

[Silent]

I have the non WiFi version and my temps are all over the place. Is the WiFi version more stable?

I have the wifi one and it is very stable and accurate. Seems like some are getting defective units though. I love mine.

 

[minus9]

I have the non WiFi version and my temps are all over the place. Is the WiFi version more stable?

No, I had the Wi-Fi version and it was all over the place. I even switched to Celsius with no luck. There are plenty of videos that show you how to wire the Ranco, if you're comfortable with doing so?

 

[bozo]

I'm returning the 306 for the 308 with wifi.

I want the cooling option so I can turn on some fans at a particular temperature

 

[oufanati]

I just got the eBay account to accept 39 as well. Their initial counteroffer was $45 but I told them I saw they were accepting $39 on Reef2Reef. They said if anyone from here wants one to just put Reef2Reef in the comments with the $39 offer and they will accept.

 

[HBoojie]

Which heaters are y’all “trusting” to run on your ITV-306a? I’ve seen people say to run the jager, BRS elements, finnex (elements as well)… I’m very hesitant after seeing all the issues people have but also I’ve seen it work great for people!

 

[Mikedawg]

Which heaters are y’all “trusting” to run on your ITV-306a? I’ve seen people say to run the jager, BRS elements, finnex (elements as well)… I’m very hesitant after seeing all the issues people have but also I’ve seen it work great for people!

Never had a problem with Eheim

 

[blaxsun]

Hygger and Schego (which is the white-boxed BRS). I should add that the best heaters to combine with the Inkbird are the inanimate titanium rods, since having a heater with a temperature controller on it kind of defeats the whole purpose of also having the Inkbird monitor temperature and turn the heaters on and off.

 

[Mikedawg]

I set my Eheims at levels different than Inkbird controller to add redundancy in case it fails. None of these are lab quality instruments

 

[workhz]

Started another thread but in case none replies I’m resurrecting this one.

Why set t1 and t2 to such a tight range?

Does it only turn on when the temp crosses the lower temp? I mean why not set it to something like 50 and 78. Stays on as temp is below 78.

Guess I just don’t understand the point of the lower temp.

 

[TehBrainz]

Started another thread but in case none replies I’m resurrecting this one.

Why set t1 and t2 to such a tight range?

Does it only turn on when the temp crosses the lower temp? I mean why not set it to something like 50 and 78. Stays on as temp is below 78.

Guess I just don’t understand the point of the lower temp.

So one temp is your on temperature and the other is your off. You are able to set the band you want to control and then the hysteresis of the Controller goes from there.

If you set 50 to 78, your tank could get as low as 50 before it would heat back up until it got to 78 so you'd have a large swing. It then wouldn't start heating again until it got below 50. Essentially that large of a window would allow the controller to keep the tank at ambient conditions and would only kick up in the winter.

 

[dragon99]

Started another thread but in case none replies I’m resurrecting this one.

Why set t1 and t2 to such a tight range?

Does it only turn on when the temp crosses the lower temp? I mean why not set it to something like 50 and 78. Stays on as temp is below 78.

Guess I just don’t understand the point of the lower temp.

Most people want the Inkbird to be the primary temperature control device and use the heater's internal circuit as the backup. Therefore setting a tight on/off window on the Inkbird keeps a steady temperature in the tank (<1deg swing).

 

[workhz]

So it doesn’t heat unless it goes below the low temp? So you’re saying if I set it at 50 and 80 and the tank temp is at 78, it will not turn on till it drops below the low temp of 50?

I’ll test it before plugging anything into it.

So I guess if to use the eheim as temp controller just set it to 80 and 81. That will always be on unless the eheims fail?

 

[Gtinnel]

So it doesn’t heat unless it goes below the low temp? So you’re saying if I set it at 50 and 80 and the tank temp is at 78, it will not turn on till it drops below the low temp of 50?

I’ll test it before plugging anything into it.

So I guess if to use the eheim as temp controller just set it to 80 and 81. That will always be on unless the eheims fail?

Yes it won't kick on until the temps drops below the low temp 50 in this scenario.
If you are using the 306A you cant let the heater control the normal on and off cycle. The 306A has a continuous heating alarm that if the top temp isn't reached within that time it sets an error and turns the outlets off. This alarm isn't present on all models but I know it is on the 306A.

 

[TehBrainz]

So it doesn’t heat unless it goes below the low temp? So you’re saying if I set it at 50 and 80 and the tank temp is at 78, it will not turn on till it drops below the low temp of 50?

I’ll test it before plugging anything into it.

So I guess if to use the eheim as temp controller just set it to 80 and 81. That will always be on unless the eheims fail?

I'm not certain how it would react when first powered on, but assuming the Heaters did not have built in controller that is my thought. I can test on my tank using two hygger titanium heaters that are using this as their controller.

 

[Gtinnel]

I'm not certain how it would react when first powered on

I never even considered what happens when the controller is powered on with the temp in between T1 and T2, is it on a heating cycle or not. With a traditional configuration it doesn't matter either way.

 

[workhz]

In reverse configuration, if I set both temps to 80 and 80.5, it should remain on forever. The manual says you can set the alarm to 0 hours which i take it means it will never go off just because it’s on.

Now what do the temp alarms do besides alarm?

I have no idea why I’m even trying to do a reverse config other than the fact that my eheims are dialed in and my temps are stable.

 

[TehBrainz]

I never even considered what happens when the controller is powered on with the temp in between T1 and T2, is it on a heating cycle or not. With a traditional configuration it doesn't matter either way.

I would imagine with a traditional SP range it wouldn't matter because eventually (pretty quickly I would imagine, in most cases) it would kick out of lower or upper limit regardless of how it starts. Then take over accordingly.

In reverse configuration, if I set both temps to 80 and 80.5, it should remain on forever. The manual says you can set the alarm to 0 hours which i take it means it will never go off just because it’s on.

Now what do the temp alarms do besides alarm?

I have no idea why I’m even trying to do a reverse config other than the fact that my eheims are dialed in and my temps are stable.

I cant remember how the manual states T1 vs T2 but I'm wondering if it just converts whichever is lower to the LCL. Otherwise with the set-up you described, what's the point in using the controller at all haha. I've had the heating time alarm go off when I had it set to like 3 hours and had inadequate wattage. It gave an annoying alarm and my phone went crazy. Didn't give it enough time to figure out what the heaters were doing in that situation.

 

[Gtinnel]

The manual says you can set the alarm to 0 hours which i take it means it will never go off just because it’s on.

If that's true I don't know how to set it that way. It goes from 1 hour to 72 hours. Here is a picture of where you set the number of hours on mine.

 

[workhz]

Can’t you set continuous heating time to zero? I have mine set on zero. Just testing for now. I have it still set at 50 and 80 and it says it’s on.

 

[Gtinnel]

Can’t you set continuous heating time to zero? I have mine set on zero. Just testing for now. I have it still set at 50 and 80 and it says it’s on.

I don't have an option for 0, or if I do I'm overlooking it. If you go to setting and continuous heating time, I get a scroll wheel that goes from 1 hour up to 72 hours.