Are the new BRS Heaters and Controllers the Best of 2019? We think so!

[Big C]

That is the issue with any on/off control, especially heaters. Hence I wanted to use the BRS controller for control and use the Apex as redundancy to shut off in the event of an overheat. I would assume the Apex relays can handle this type of control but yes, eventually at some point now or years from now would fail.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Since the BRS controller is essentially a modified InkBird controller, are the swings as wise with those? Does anyone know how they compare to the Ranco controller?

 

[Big C]

My experience with the BRS heater system has not been the best. The controller reading with drift throughout the day. The BRS probe and Apex probe are in the same high flow location in my sump. I set them to the same temperature and within hours the BRS probe drifts (or is super super slow to respond) almost 0.5 degrees. The heaters are in my first sump compartment and now have both probes (Apex and BRS) in my return section (last). In the Apex graph you will see the swings from the BRS heater which are 1.3 oF throughout the day when it is set at the highest precision of 0.3 oF. The BRS controller is plugged into my Apex for redundancy. I got tired of the poor control and decided to plug the heater directly into the outlet for control and set the Apex for a 0.3 oF on/off control. Way better.......... Working with BRS on this, hope they make it right. So far I have had good experiences with them. I have noticed this issue on several other threads and on their site under reviews.

I waited to post as I wanted to work this out as I have only had good experiences with BRS. Do I think the BRS heater and controller are the best........NO. I was told via email today after multiple Apex graphs and photos that the control you see (+/-1.3 oF when set at 0.3 oF) was within the ability of the controller. They wouldn’t do anythingReally, the website says different. Website then is a bit misleading:

At this point I would not recommend at least the controller. I’m still running the heaters and see no issues yet (but only a few weeks in them).

 

[Big C]

Has anyone else seen these issues with the controllers now that they have been out for awhile? Maybe on systems above 100 gallons? I’ve seen a few here and a few the same issues in some reviews.
Or does anyone have a good controller they use with Apex for backup? Or some other redundant setup using a heater that doesn’t have integrated temperature controller? I really wanted this BRS controller to work.....

 

[CoralFan1776]

Has anyone else seen these issues with the controllers now that they have been out for awhile? Maybe on systems above 100 gallons? I’ve seen a few here and a few the same issues in some reviews.
Or does anyone have a good controller they use with Apex for backup? Or some other redundant setup using a heater that doesn’t have integrated temperature controller? I really wanted this BRS controller to work.....

Yes, I had the same problem as outlined by BigC.
I set the controller to the .3F setting and actual swing in my tank as measured by my apex was 1.1-1.3 or so. The logging on my apex is still at the default 10 minute sample rate so it would very a little in the log depending on where in the heating cycle it sampled.
I was previously just controlling my heaters with the Apex outlet set at about .6 degrees. It had no problems holding it there.

This was on a 100 gallon tank with about 40 gallons of water in a 60 gallon custom sump for about 140 total gallons.

I sent the controller back and initially was told I didn't have large enough heaters for my system but in the end was refunded the cost.
I watched the thing pretty close and will say that it looked to me like poor resolution in the monitor side of their controller or maybe some kind of temp probe problem.
The apex temp probe would show two or even three tenths of a degree change before the BRS temp probe in the controller would register a single tenth change. The probes were side by side in my sump so there should have been no difference in actual temperature and the change was gradual over 40-60 minutes or so.

I also really wanted this controller to work as the relay will absolutely wear out on the EB832. I'm planning on moving the heaters to a different outlet in the EB832 over time to spread the wear across multiple outlets.

There does appear to be one feature missing on the BRS controller and that is a low temperate alarm. They do the high temp but that is only one failure mode...

Otherwise the specs on this controller are exactly what I want.
To bad it doesn't meet the specs.

I would like to hear from anyone using the BRS heater controller that has the cycle window at .5 degrees or less that ISN'T having this problem.
Does it meet this .3F degree spec for anyone?
If my unit was just bad I would absolutely be willing to try it again...

 

[CoralFan1776]

One other thing of note.
I posted most of the above in a review on the BRS website several days ago and it never has shown up in the reviews on the BRS website.

Maybe they are just backed up approving reviews...

 

[mginani]

That is the issue with any on/off control, especially heaters. Hence I wanted to use the BRS controller for control and use the Apex as redundancy to shut off in the event of an overheat. I would assume the Apex relays can handle this type of control but yes, eventually at some point now or years from now would fail.

I have had the same issue. The controller wont stay calibrated. I test with the three thermometers and calibrate and then thru the course of the day the brs controller will be off by over .5 degree and in some cases up to 1 degree. Dissapointing since my heaters were working fine but I was convinced by the videos.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I think we need a "BRS Investigates" actually comparing BRS's heater controller to other controllers!

 

[Big C]

One other thing of note.
I posted most of the above in a review on the BRS website several days ago and it never has shown up in the reviews on the BRS website.

Maybe they are just backed up approving reviews...

Mine eventually got posted on the BRS site, took awhile.

 

[Kris4647]

Has anyone had their brs (inkbird) go into AH? I got my 300w with controller in December and it has gone into this alarm condition (alarm High) 3 or 4 times sounding an audible alarm.

I plugged it in with no heater and it’s been working ok for the last week but it makes me nervous we’ve all heard heater malfunctions and kills my tank stories.

I spoke with BRS and they want to “test” it to see if it’s defective. So if they get it back and it works, like it does now, what’s to say it won’t go out again later on.

Opinions?

 

[William Mumford]

I wish they had this when I bought mine. Looks similar to the ink bird but just nicer and looks aquarium specific.

 

[Big C]

Has anyone had their brs (inkbird) go into AH? I got my 300w with controller in December and it has gone into this alarm condition (alarm High) 3 or 4 times sounding an audible alarm.

I plugged it in with no heater and it’s been working ok for the last week but it makes me nervous we’ve all heard heater malfunctions and kills my tank stories.

I spoke with BRS and they want to “test” it to see if it’s defective. So if they get it back and it works, like it does now, what’s to say it won’t go out again later on.

Opinions?

I don’t have that problem but they are “testing” mine for controller issues. I wish I would have waited to purchase........

 

[david@wegetkraken]

Controller question....Just installed two 600W heaters with the BRS controller. New setup so just now heating the water up and getting ready to cycle. Initial temp per Hanna tester was 64.7 and I calibrated this controller to that measurement. It is slowly heating the water, but only the “Work 1” indicator is lit. Checked all connections, but the “Work 2” has never came on.

I have an Inkbird on another system and when both heaters are running both lights are lit. About 350 gallons of total system water so going to need both running. Controller instructions only show one light, but it is labeled “Heat”. Can anyone let me know if both indicators should be lit or if there is any other way to see if both elements are heating? Set for 78 and would assume with initial temperature it would have both cranking for a while.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I know inkbird actually manufacturers the controllers for BRS, presumably BRS gives Inkbird the specifications and Inkbird handles the rest. If the devices are not performing as advertised, there’s either an issue with the specs, an issue with the manufacturing, a malfunction, or an issue with the user. I can’t believe BRS would intentionally misrepresent the performance or that they are ok with it performing worse than advertised, so I’m sure they’re keen to know what’s going on.

 

[Big C]

Controller question....Just installed two 600W heaters with the BRS controller. New setup so just now heating the water up and getting ready to cycle. Initial temp per Hanna tester was 64.7 and I calibrated this controller to that measurement. It is slowly heating the water, but only the “Work 1” indicator is lit. Checked all connections, but the “Work 2” has never came on.

I have an Inkbird on another system and when both heaters are running both lights are lit. About 350 gallons of total system water so going to need both running. Controller instructions only show one light, but it is labeled “Heat”. Can anyone let me know if both indicators should be lit or if there is any other way to see if both elements are heating? Set for 78 and would assume with initial temperature it would have both cranking for a while.

I was told by BRS that Work 2 light has no function. Work 1 light indicates if there is power or no power to the heaters.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Controller question....Just installed two 600W heaters with the BRS controller. New setup so just now heating the water up and getting ready to cycle. Initial temp per Hanna tester was 64.7 and I calibrated this controller to that measurement. It is slowly heating the water, but only the “Work 1” indicator is lit. Checked all connections, but the “Work 2” has never came on.

I have an Inkbird on another system and when both heaters are running both lights are lit. About 350 gallons of total system water so going to need both running. Controller instructions only show one light, but it is labeled “Heat”. Can anyone let me know if both indicators should be lit or if there is any other way to see if both elements are heating? Set for 78 and would assume with initial temperature it would have both cranking for a while.

You should be able to see the heated water swirling around the heaters if they're on. Otherwise, just put your hand close to them and feel if they're warm.

 

[CoralFan1776]

I still don't see anyone posting on here that their BRS heater controller works fine and is controlling the temperature in their tank within .3 degrees as advertised.

Now maybe they just haven't sold that many yet but I was expecting a few at least saying it worked well for them...

 

[Brew12]

I still don't see anyone posting on here that their BRS heater controller works fine and is controlling the temperature in their tank within .3 degrees as advertised.

Now maybe they just haven't sold that many yet but I was expecting a few at least saying it worked well for them...

I want to clarify something on here that I think people struggle with. There should be no expectation that the tank will be maintained within 0.3 degrees. The controller turns on and off within a 0.3F band. There are a lot of factors that will impact the actual temperature swings a tank will experience. I prefer to run heaters on the smaller side so when my temperature starts dropping it will still drop for a little while after my heater turns on. If you run an oversized heater the tank will tend to overshoot.
Flow through the sump, location of the temperature probe in relation to the heater, thermal mass of the aquarium system, and the rate at which heat is being removed from the tank will all impact the actual temperature swing.

 

[PicassoDan]

BRS - are you getting these back in stock anytime soon???
After much research, I need a couple heating elements to replace an old failed Blueline titanium element. The German made Schego element seems to be the best.

 

[CoralFan1776]

I want to clarify something on here that I think people struggle with. There should be no expectation that the tank will be maintained within 0.3 degrees. The controller turns on and off within a 0.3F band. There are a lot of factors that will impact the actual temperature swings a tank will experience. I prefer to run heaters on the smaller side so when my temperature starts dropping it will still drop for a little while after my heater turns on. If you run an oversized heater the tank will tend to overshoot.
Flow through the sump, location of the temperature probe in relation to the heater, thermal mass of the aquarium system, and the rate at which heat is being removed from the tank will all impact the actual temperature swing.

While I agree with this it's very easy to see if this is the case with an Apex.
Just overlay the power consumption of the heaters on the temperature probe graph...
At least the unit I had didn't turn the outlet on/off for the heaters until well outside the .3F advertised spec.
There is also the 10 minute sample rate of the apex to keep in mind if you have large heaters and a fast changing temperature. My setup will cycle about every 3 hours so this isn't a big issue. You can also change the Apex sample rate to be shorter if desired. The best mine did was about a .7F swing. Most of the time it was right at a 1.0F swing with the controller set at .3.