I too have had BRS results that when measured on the APEX were between 1-1.3 degrees wide. I though it was just me, but with the same heater plugged directly into the apex it holds tight to say 0.5 degrees. It appears to me that the refresh rates on the temp probe of the BRS controller are too slow. I don’t know how often they are being refreshed.
Are the new BRS Heaters and Controllers the Best of 2019? We think so!
- Thread starter randyBRS
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)
zoomonster
Valuable Member
I been watching those heaters since they came out but every time I look they are out of stock for tubes and the magnetic mounts. I can't buy what you don't have.
I think the one dislike I have is the selection of wattage's. I used to use a single 1000 and figured out a single 800 does the job on my 200g for the coldest FL has to offer. There's something to be said for redundancy but not really interested in having to buy and hang multiple tubes.
The 200, 300 and 600w tubes leave something to be desired. Where's the 800 and or 1000 for larger tanks??
I think the one dislike I have is the selection of wattage's. I used to use a single 1000 and figured out a single 800 does the job on my 200g for the coldest FL has to offer. There's something to be said for redundancy but not really interested in having to buy and hang multiple tubes.
The 200, 300 and 600w tubes leave something to be desired. Where's the 800 and or 1000 for larger tanks??
Sleepydoc
Valuable Member
Are the temperatures being measured at the same place? It's possible that the two probes are reading differently because the temperatures are actually different. If you have good circulation I wouldn't expect the temperature to differ by that much but I'm just trying to think of all the possibilities.
Also, what does the BRS controller read? is the BRS temp probe off or slow to respond or is the unit malfunctioning and not turning on when it's supposed to? Since the heaters work fine when plugged into the Apex it's not an issue the the heater itself...
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I can answer that, and it is that you shouldn't expect to see them. These are made in Germany and only the plug is modified for the US market. Since our voltage is 1/2 of Europeans voltage the heaters put out half the power. Watts=Current x Voltage x Power Factor.
So, the 600W heater they offer would be a 1200W heater in Germany. A 1000W heater here would be 2000W and that isn't practical for most hobbyists. This is a disadvantage from some aspects, but they should last much longer because they are only running at half the designed heat output.
Sleepydoc
Valuable Member
What does the display read on the BRS controller? Does the display show a 1+ degree swing and does it match the neptune?
If the BRS controller is allowing a wider swing either it’s reading wrong, it’s programmed wrong or it’s malfunctioning. I’ve seen a several complaints similar to yours and I know BRS sourced them from Inkbird, so it makes me wonder if inkbird didn’t match the specs they were supposed to.
I agree for the most part...
In my setup I was careful to put both probes in the same place where there was decent water flow.
The BRS controller didn't show a temp change for .2-.3 degree change in the Apex display and when it did change they didn't track together.
But I would pull the BRS probe out of the water and hold it tightly in my hand to heat it up and it would start changing in just a few seconds.
So this isn't just a refresh rate problem.
It's some kind of sensitivity problem.
In my case it did not show the same swing.
I think the controller side of the BRS controller works as intended but it's being told (the monitor side) that a 1 degree swing is actually a .3 degree swing which is what it's programmed for.
Hopefully that makes sense...
alton
Valuable Member
When I used Metal Halide Lamps I would see a 4 degree swing between evening and early morning. I never had issues with SPS. LPS, Softies or Fish. Not sure why the big deal of a 1 degree swing? Other than this is not what is advertised?
Yeah, you are right. It's just not what they advertise as the specs.
I would think a 4 degree swing would be a problem for SPS but maybe it's just what the top temp is that matters?
I'm just starting into the SPS world so don't have any history to draw on.
I thought this as well but when you do the conversion comparison there's only .24 difference at 77F and we seem to see more of an error than that or at least I did.
Has anyone gotten anywhere with this issue, just did a sump move and have setup 2 x 300w BRS heaters on BRS controller. Programmed the APEX to do the control with BRS as backup but seeing full degree fluctuations all day long since this set up. Tank is 170ga water volume, when running a standard non controlled finnex titanium straight off apex I would be with .3 constantly.
U
User1
Guest
I did not know this. Thanks for providing the information. I'm going to be swapping heaters before next winter so was looking at this. Need to go back to page one to get the proper "safe" setup with redundancy and correct apex setup. Good news is that I'll have time to get the right size for 210 gallons with a possible 300 gallon upgrade in the future
Thanks again. Hope all is well.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
That is interesting... makes me wonder if it could be a thermal mass issue with the heater. if the BRS controller only does backup control then it should be on all of the time and unrelated to the swings.
Yeah that was my thought, if the APEX is simply turning the controller on and off either there is a considerable ramp up time for the heaters to come up to temp or the controller has some level of delay for it to power on, check itself and set its own variables. I am going to swap it around tonight and have the BRS unit control the tempo and then the APEX be run away protection or low temp alert. I'll post up my result after a couple days of monitoring.
Well after changing over the setup to have the apex be the failsafe and the BRS controller run the thermostat I'm still seeing a full degree swing. Verified I have the BRS controller set to .3 but still no love, I'll open up a ticket with BRS but even though its a degree I don't like a 1 degree swing every 20 mins.
I am still experiencing the same problems. Here is a chart from my APEX. The BRS controller is set to 78 degrees with a 0.3F swing. The BRS controller never loses power from the APEX. Both temperature probes are next to each other in the sump and both calibrated to the same temperature
Now that some time has past and many other people are having the same problem I'm giving up on this controller.
As an added note I just went through the BRS reviews and noticed mine is gone now.
You can draw your own conclusion as to why.
I feel BRS has contributed significantly to the reefing community but this heater controller doesn't live up to it's specs or even close.
Similar threads
New Posts
-
What is wrong with my tank? I'm open to any suggestion.
- Latest: MontyNowAReefer
-
-
