Come on BRS what the heck?

[Saveafish]

Not to poop in anyone's pool. If you really want control that's under a deg swing both ways. You have to go Ranco or Penn with a stainless steel probe.
All the cheap controls come with a plastic probe. Its a delay for the plastic to pick up the very small temp change. This is what gives you the swing is the plastic even thermal plastic has a small insulation value.
If your wanting under a deg swing get the Penn or Ranco with a stainless still probe. The rebranded inkbird the BRS sells, for its value is not a bad thing.

 

[35ppt]

Not to poop in anyone's pool. If you really want control that's under a deg swing both ways. You have to go Ranco or Penn with a stainless steel probe.
All the cheap controls come with a plastic probe. Its a delay for the plastic to pick up the very small temp change. This is what gives you the swing is the plastic even thermal plastic has a small insulation value.
If your wanting under a deg swing get the Penn or Ranco with a stainless still probe. The rebranded inkbird the BRS sells, for its value is not a bad thing.

Could also just try swapping the probe for stainless:

I've had two of these in use for the past two years or so and no rust.

/idk why the link isn't showing up. But it's just a link to the stainless probe from inkbird.

 

[stacksoner]

The Apex temp probe is measuring the temperature, Apex is providing you with the data, and Apex controlling when the heater turns off/on.

It seems silly to blame a heater for failing to perform the functions that you have made another system fully responsible for measuring and controlling.

 

[spsick]

The OP never mentioned having the Apex control their BRS controller. I have mine set up as a redundancy to shut it off in the event of a probe failure/overheating situation.

All I am hearing here is that we’re dumb for expecting a product to perform as advertised. I am not arguing that you get what you pay for, but this was really pitched as worlds better than everything else. It’s a $90 heater/thermostat versus ~$30 for a Finnex. I don’t think it’s failed or is junk but I think it performs similarly .

We are presenting real-world experiences with this product which is what I thought reef forums are for, and I hope other hobbyists continue to do so. This presents shortcomings and helps everyone get better products. Cheers ya’ll!

 

[Big C]

We need to find out what the OP has the Apex set at.

To me it almost looks like the Apex is still set at 77.5-78.0F.

It needs to be set above the BRS as a backup. A good place to start would be 79.0-79.5F.

I would have the Apex setup as the control and BRS as backup. But I hate cycling the BRS controller off and on with the annoying buzz and beep every time. Would also rather replace the cheaper controller due to cycling than the power bar.

But if you read the OP it’s about the controller not meeting what was advertised. I get it, $50 is by no way as good as those $100 PID controllers, but then don’t advertise as such. It’s listed in the website and their videos.

In regards to a previous post, I know when I buy a car the MPG is estimated as they clearly stated on the window sticker .

 

[ingchr1]

I would have the Apex setup as the control and BRS as backup. But I hate cycling the BRS controller off and on with the annoying buzz and beep every time. Would also rather replace the cheaper controller due to cycling than the power bar.

If the BRS is the backup, then the Apex outlet would be cycling to control temperature.

With the Apex as the backup the outlet doesn't cycle, it just stays on constantly (unless it needs to take over control).

I'd rather have the outlet on constantly, then cycling.

A discussion for another thread, but I don't think it's good idea to constantly be cycling input power to a piece of electronics. It may also cause calibration drift with the controller.

I actually started a thread on this very question a while back, but it didn't get much action.

Does External Control Adversely Affect Electronic Heaters?

Is it good for a heater with an electronic thermostat to be controlled by an external controller? Does it lead to heater failures? What affect does the constant on/off cycles have on the heater? Each time input power is cycled the heater goes through some type of initialization cycle. The...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Big C]

If the BRS is the backup, then the Apex outlet would be cycling to control temperature.

With the Apex as the backup the outlet doesn't cycle, it just stays on constantly (unless it needs to take over control).

I'd rather have the outlet on constantly, then cycling.

A disscussion for another thread, but I don't think it's good idea to constantly be cycling input power to a piece of electronics.

I actually started a thread on this very question a while back, but it didn't get much action.

Does External Control Adversely Affect Electronic Heaters?

Is it good for a heater with an electronic thermostat to be controlled by an external controller? Does it lead to heater failures? What affect does the constant on/off cycles have on the heater? Each time input power is cycled the heater goes through some type of initialization cycle. The...

www.reef2reef.com

Agree, that’s why I wanted the BRS controller to work as advertised and use Apex as backup.

Hopefully BRS took noticed. Thanks for everyone’s input. Cheers!

 

[Blitheran]

I think you guys are getting it mixed up. I dont like the idea of waisting an expensive outlet on a heater controller where I will eventually where and tear on it with 20-30 on/off cycles in a day. BRS came out with a product that they claimed it would keep a tight .3 degree swing, so instead of my apex power bar turning on and off a thousand times my brs heater controller would. The apex is simply a fail safe to the brs heater controller. After finding out it cant do as it is said to do I find it annoying and went to the owners of the controller to tell them of the situation only to be told it is working as it should even though I can see it is not.

 

[Lithoman]

Controller garbage.. the heaters are great.... my brs review below I now have both heaters it setup on the apex.. I tossed the controllers..
Working perfect now 78.4 to 78.8 all day..

review
I bought the 300W heater System 3 weeks ago.. Set it up and found the controller would not register the current temp unless I unplugged the temp probe then plugged it back in..would either go up or down to match my Apex temp reading. Sent email to BRS they said return it and... " if they find it defective" they will ship me a new one... My reply was NO, I'll buy a new one and send this one back after I receive the new one, as I need a backup heater.. Received the new heater system and got the same crazy readings.. to match the Apex every few hours I would unplug/plug it back in.….correct temp comes up.. Frustrated I removed the probe and controller and plugged the heater directly to my Apex controller, guess what it works great.. Conclusion: Heater works great, Controller not worth a nickel. Buy just the heater and you won't be disappointed.

 

[robbyg]

If the BRS is the backup, then the Apex outlet would be cycling to control temperature.

With the Apex as the backup the outlet doesn't cycle, it just stays on constantly (unless it needs to take over control).

I'd rather have the outlet on constantly, then cycling.

A discussion for another thread, but I don't think it's good idea to constantly be cycling input power to a piece of electronics. It may also cause calibration drift with the controller.

I actually started a thread on this very question a while back, but it didn't get much action.

Does External Control Adversely Affect Electronic Heaters?

Is it good for a heater with an electronic thermostat to be controlled by an external controller? Does it lead to heater failures? What affect does the constant on/off cycles have on the heater? Each time input power is cycled the heater goes through some type of initialization cycle. The...

www.reef2reef.com

That is correct. Always have the powerbar ON unless the external temp controller does not shut off control at the set point. I have opened at least three powerbars from various controllers to repair them for a fellow reefer who does commercial installations. In every case I could instantly see which relay was handling heaters or chillers. It's the one with the baked wires or traces attached to it and the plug always has burned areas.

Personally I use an powerbar saver as even with the powerbar always ON, the high current does heat up things in that relay and plug. I have not seen Powerbar savers sold in recent years maybe that because everyone who needs one typically DIY's a unit.

 

[robbyg]

Controller garbage.. the heaters are great.... my brs review below I now have both heaters it setup on the apex.. I tossed the controllers..
Working perfect now 78.4 to 78.8 all day..

review
I bought the 300W heater System 3 weeks ago.. Set it up and found the controller would not register the current temp unless I unplugged the temp probe then plugged it back in..would either go up or down to match my Apex temp reading. Sent email to BRS they said return it and... " if they find it defective" they will ship me a new one... My reply was NO, I'll buy a new one and send this one back after I receive the new one, as I need a backup heater.. Received the new heater system and got the same crazy readings.. to match the Apex every few hours I would unplug/plug it back in.….correct temp comes up.. Frustrated I removed the probe and controller and plugged the heater directly to my Apex controller, guess what it works great.. Conclusion: Heater works great, Controller not worth a nickel. Buy just the heater and you won't be disappointed.

I can gaurantee you that the powerbar outlet is going to have a much shorter life span with the relay going on and off constantly with a 300W load. Also you now have no redundancy! If the Apex decides to wig out, your Tank is going to either roast or freeze.

 

[Lithoman]

I can gaurantee you that the powerbar outlet is going to have a much shorter life span with the relay going on and off constantly with a 300W load. Also you now have no redundancy! If the Apex decides to wig out, your Tank is going to either roast or freeze.

Well I have my doser on the Apex as well... if I lose power to the apex I get a notification.

 

[robbyg]

Well I have my doser on the Apex as well... if I lose power to the apex I get a notification.

An external heater controller wont help with a power loss so no change in that dept. What worries me is the Apex reporting the wrong temp and keeping the heater on or off. Also the Powerbar may lockup and keep the plug energized or maybe leave it off. Thats on top of the power surge damage your going to have over the long term.

 

[ingchr1]

I think you guys are getting it mixed up. I dont like the idea of waisting an expensive outlet on a heater controller where I will eventually where and tear on it with 20-30 on/off cycles in a day. BRS came out with a product that they claimed it would keep a tight .3 degree swing, so instead of my apex power bar turning on and off a thousand times my brs heater controller would. The apex is simply a fail safe to the brs heater controller. After finding out it cant do as it is said to do I find it annoying and went to the owners of the controller to tell them of the situation only to be told it is working as it should even though I can see it is not.

For the graph in your OP, what were the temperature settings of the Apex?

 

[stacksoner]

The OP never mentioned having the Apex control their BRS controller.

I interpreted him saying that he left the "old Apex programming the same" to mean that he did not make any changes to his previous setup where Apex controlled the heating element.

Anyhow, I figured I would leave my old apex programming the same on the apex since I want a .3 degree swing.

 

[Blitheran]

For the graph in your OP, what were the temperature settings of the Apex?

For fail safe. I had widened the gap to accommodate the large temperature swing the BRS controller had.

this is what I have programmed now, to which I was hoping I wouldnt have to change this programming since my swings were only going to be .3 but the BRS controller was dipping below 77.2 which was triggering my fail safe apex programming, so I widened it.

when I had the BRS controller hooked up.

When the BRS controller was letting the temperature get above 78.0 my apex was killing power to it, so It was just a mess and a hassle to keep the BRS controller set up

 

[ingchr1]

For fail safe. I had widened the gap to accommodate the large temperature swing the BRS controller had.

this is what I have programmed now, to which I was hoping I wouldnt have to change this programming since my swings were only going to be .3 but the BRS controller was dipping below 77.2 which was triggering my fail safe apex programming, so I widened it.

when I had the BRS controller hooked up.

When the BRS controller was letting the temperature get above 78.0 my apex was killing power to it, so It was just a mess and a hassle to keep the BRS controller set up

Trying to understand the settings when the BRS was connected. I don't have an Apex.

You had on at 77.0F and off at 79.0F, but the Apex was shutting the outlet off at 78.0F?

 

[ingchr1]

Also if your on was set at 77.0F, why was the temperature only dipping to 77.2F. Wouldn't it go to 77.0F before coming back on when it had gone off by the Apex outlet?

 

[Lithoman]

I will tell you when I had the controller set up to 78.3 low 78.8 high... not connected to the apex. the apex temp probe could say 77.5 but the BRS controller was reading 78.5.. now if I unplugged and plugged back in the BRS controller it would show temp of 77.5 and turn on.. Not just one controller but two.. I even verified the temp with my grill thermometer.

 

[stacksoner]

I'm done here.