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Retrofitting a temp thermostat to a cooling fan

5.4K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  Bent17  
#1 ·
Has anyone ever managed to retrofit a temp thermostat to their air fans to reduce tank water? I have the fans on place but would be great that as soon as the max temp it hit the fans go down and remain on till desired temp..
 
#9 ·
Ditto- I have used the inkbird thermostats as a super cheap way to turn refrigerators and heats fans into incubators at work. They're pretty reliable and this application sounds safe. If you wanted to use it to regulate something that could cause an overheat or somehow cause harm if left on, then I would have it on some kind of failsafe as I once had one get stuck on, but that seems like a rare problem.
 
#14 ·
Super. Thats what I want exactly! Want it to go on when it goes over my max temp. Did you get the wifi one?
Yep, I got the WiFi one. The WiFi protocol on the WiFi Inkbirds are so old that they will not connect to any modern WiFi access-point or Smart Phone or laptop that I have tried. I tried for hours and I am a computer nerd for a living. A quick Google shows others have run into the same issue. It works just fine as a controller without using the WiFi connectivity though!
 
#8 ·
I got the Inkbird ITC-308S which does not have Wi-Fi. I just figured that it was one less thing to malfunction and was cheaper ;)

Also, at least on Amazon, the only one I see that supports Wi-fi is a heater-only controller.

Be sure to get one that is meant for an aquarium as the probe is different so as to last in long-term immersion.
 
#10 ·
I got the Inkbird ITC-308S which does not have Wi-Fi. I just figured that it was one less thing to malfunction and was cheaper ;)

Also, at least on Amazon, the only one I see that supports Wi-fi is a heater-only controller.

Be sure to get one that is meant for an aquarium as the probe is different so as to last in long-term immersion.
Is this the correct one?


Starting to hate shipping fees from the UK........
 
#11 ·
Nope. That one does not have the probe for continuous placement under water. The aquarium probe is black, not metal. If you want Wi-fi you will need one that has "aquarium" in the description as well as "Wi-fi", "heating" and also "cooling". You might want to go to the Inkbird web site to see if they make one that has all of those features. I have not seen one.

This is all I know. Good luck!
 
#12 ·
Argh cant find it! Can you post a link maybe?

Is it this?

 
#15 ·
So is this a bad one? As it specifically says for aquariums

 
#18 ·
Amazon carries the STC-1000 DIY thermostat that does both of these functions, in addition to allowing you to set a hysteresis for the temperature difference from heating to cooling. Easily built, you will need to provide some cheap 5' extension cords as "zip cords" to power it and adapt it to the heaters and cooling fans. Two different relays and self powered once plugged into the supply, reads in Celsius only.
 
#19 ·
Another option if you are handy with wiring is to get an off the shelf industrial temperature controller. You would likely also need a relay (two if your want to control a heater as well), I recommend solid state due to cycling frequency and a thermocouple. Depending on availability in the UK it could be more budget friendly option if you know your way around wiring.