Ok , so for those in a hurry , this seems to work fine and of good quality.
Arrived very well packaged with individual inserts for the unit, sockets etc. Also included 2 temp probes , dont know if that was intentional.
The unit seemed a little easier to program than the Inkbird , which may just be a memory thing (me not the device). There is more information displayed.
Here its showing the Current temp (PV) Desired temp (SV) The temperature at which cooling will kick (Csp) in and the temperature heating will kick in (Hsp) ,these values are customisable down to .1.
The 'sun' icon indicates its heating and this changes to a snowflake if its cooling.
I put 20L of tap water into my fermizilla and placed the temp probe inside a home made thermowell inside the fermenter. I also placed my Ispindel inside the fermenter as well. I connected the heating socket to a heat belt wrapped around the stand of the fermzilla and put the insulating jacket on.
Initially the temp was showing at 14.2 , the basic stick on thermometer was showing 14 so that was encouraging.
I set the controller to maintain 20 degrees, that heating would kick back in if it dropped by .5 (which is reflected in the 19.5 on the display and i left the cooling as was as i have no way of cooling currently and thats not much of a challenge in the current weather.
The controller turned the heating circuit on and the belt got warm, over the next 24 hours the temp raised to the desired 20 degrees. I compared the temperatures being measured by the controller and that of the Ispindel and found that there was always a difference of around .6 or .7 degrees with the controller reporting the higher figure.
I don't know which is the more accurate but for my purposes I don't think its going to be significant. I may take the .7 into consideration when setting the desired temp, but the temp of the ispindel is obtained within an air pocket inside the device whilst the temp prob is almost directly in contact with the liquid.
Over the next 48 hours it maintained the temp , turning off the belt at the desired temp and turning it back on when temp dropped to 19.5.
Overall for the price I am very happy - longevity may be an issue , only time will tell .
