Inkbird IPB-16S Pre-Wired Digital Temperature Controller for Home Brewing: Heating/Cooling with Independent Pump Control and Thermostat Review

First impression: Looks good, lettering is clear and concise. The settings are easily accessible and customizable with a guide to deciphering the menu. The IPB-16S was used to boil 10 gallons of water with a 110V 1650W heating element. I used a few settings en route to 212 degrees to see if it held the temperature at each setting and it went pretty well. Adjusting the temperature settings was easy: long press and then up or down to the desired value. When I got to the boil, the power level was…

This is a robust unit that integrates a PID controller, solid state relay and associated connectors and cables in one attractive package. I use it to regulate the waterbed temperature instead of the horrible regulator that came with the heating pad. The manual is written in poor English and needs to be read carefully to understand some points, but that's not a big problem. If the supplied temperature sensor does not meet your needs and you wish to do some wiring, you can use one of the many…

I built a 110v RIMS pipe to circulate the wort during brewing. I chose the Inkbird IPB-16S controller because its features met my needs and its price was excellent compared to other products. It was ready to use immediately. I connected the heating element and pump and placed the temperature sensor in a protective sleeve on top of the tube. Resetting the target temperature was easy and the PID met and controlled the target temperature very well. To date I have had no problems with this device…

Over the years I have used a few different temperature controllers to control the fermentation temperature in home brewing. I went through the usual suspects from Johnson and Ranko and finally built myself a PID temperature controller about 8 years ago. It works great but costs around $50-60 in parts and looks like a DIY project. At some point I needed a temperature controller for my Keezer that wasn't supposed to be that accurate. I took the Inkbird ITC-310T which did its job perfectly. I now…

I looked at several drawings of assembling a PID controller with my own hands. but stayed away from the project because he didn't feel comfortable after the schematic drawings. So when I saw the IPB-16S controller, it turned out to be the solution to my problem. I received the device two days after ordering and after a few days I was able to cook with it. The great thing about the controller is that it is plug and play. The only modification I had to make was installing the mounting bolts and…