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  • 11-25-2022, 03:57 PM
    Ambassador
    Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    I was going to pickup a IPT-308 with Wifi control but I found the IPT-2CH which seems to be labeled as a "wifi reptile heat mat thermostat." It looks older in design than the 308 but seems to be newer based on availability/release. The functionality seems to be about the same with the exception that the IPT-2CH has two outlets designed for a heating element to be hooked up to with two separate probes rather than a single probe with one outlet for heating and one for cooling. I know Herpstat is well loved here but I'm looking for something more basic like this. Any thoughts?
  • 11-25-2022, 05:12 PM
    Homebody
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    I've never used Inkbirds. I've used the similarly low-end Jumpstarts for the few years I've been keeping snakes and they've worked fine for me.
  • 11-26-2022, 03:12 AM
    Mother_ofsnakes
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Have two of them and found it very difficult to get them connected to wifi, after that have up and haven’t really tried again since then.

    That being said, they do a decent job as thermostats without the wifi.
  • 11-26-2022, 08:11 AM
    Homebody
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mother_ofsnakes View Post
    Have two of them and found it very difficult to get them connected to wifi, after that have up and haven’t really tried again since then.

    That being said, they do a decent job as thermostats without the wifi.

    How long have you been using them? My biggest concern with using the low-end thermostats is that they will fail.
  • 11-26-2022, 09:53 AM
    Malum Argenteum
    Amazon reviews are interesting. Here are the highlights from only the first 20 reviews out of 90 total reviews (organized on Amazon by "helpful" votes):

    "Once I got the thermostat set up I encountered another problem. The app is not very user friendly. For some reason it keeps refreshing the information I’ve entered. For example I have the high temperature alarm set the be at 95F, but it keeps restarting and setting itself at the highest possible value (122F I believe). This is, needless to say, dangerous. I would prefer to be be notified if my snake was cooking alive."

    "bought this a few months ago for my snake and it’s starting to get flaky. i really like how i’m able to control temperatures when i’m not at home but lately it’s sometimes refusing to turn on my heat emitters despite saying so on the app. i don’t know what happened, it works again for a while if i unplug them and plug it back in but the problem has come back multiple times. perhaps it’s a connection issue? either way, it’s proven to be kind of unreliable after a few months :("

    " A few times when I was messing around with the temperature the app would delete my previous temp settings. Then they would appear a few minutes later. Or, I just re-entered."

    "Almost had it 6 months and one side stopped working. I’d unplug and plug it back in and it would work for about 2 hours. "

    "After a week one side did not work so i had to unlpug that side for a bit. Plugged it back in last week and its working again, not sure what happened."

    I didn't quote a couple negative comments that were probably due to user error.

    I use a couple Inkbird ITC-306T on my QT aquariums (for fish). I've used them for less than a year, so can't say much about reliability (aquarium heating is currently a far worse situation than reptile heating, technology-wise). They're not simple to program, so not 'basic' in every sense. They're also landfill when they fail (Herpstats are repairable, and have excellent tech support).
  • 11-26-2022, 12:26 PM
    Mother_ofsnakes
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homebody View Post
    How long have you been using them? My biggest concern with using the low-end thermostats is that they will fail.

    I have had them for about 4 months now so can’t really comment on the longevity.

    I have two units on one rack in my snake closet. The temps in there don’t fluctuate much and I also alternated levels so if one goes out there will be heat above or below.

    if they both go out I will have issues, but ambient temperature in the house is usually around 70 so should be ok for a bit until they can be replaced.

    What are the ambient temperatures where you would be using them?
  • 11-26-2022, 12:28 PM
    Mother_ofsnakes
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum View Post
    Amazon reviews are interesting. Here are the highlights from only the first 20 reviews out of 90 total reviews (organized on Amazon by "helpful" votes):

    "Once I got the thermostat set up I encountered another problem. The app is not very user friendly. For some reason it keeps refreshing the information I’ve entered. For example I have the high temperature alarm set the be at 95F, but it keeps restarting and setting itself at the highest possible value (122F I believe). This is, needless to say, dangerous. I would prefer to be be notified if my snake was cooking alive."

    "bought this a few months ago for my snake and it’s starting to get flaky. i really like how i’m able to control temperatures when i’m not at home but lately it’s sometimes refusing to turn on my heat emitters despite saying so on the app. i don’t know what happened, it works again for a while if i unplug them and plug it back in but the problem has come back multiple times. perhaps it’s a connection issue? either way, it’s proven to be kind of unreliable after a few months :("

    " A few times when I was messing around with the temperature the app would delete my previous temp settings. Then they would appear a few minutes later. Or, I just re-entered."

    "Almost had it 6 months and one side stopped working. I’d unplug and plug it back in and it would work for about 2 hours. "

    "After a week one side did not work so i had to unlpug that side for a bit. Plugged it back in last week and its working again, not sure what happened."

    I didn't quote a couple negative comments that were probably due to user error.

    I use a couple Inkbird ITC-306T on my QT aquariums (for fish). I've used them for less than a year, so can't say much about reliability (aquarium heating is currently a far worse situation than reptile heating, technology-wise). They're not simple to program, so not 'basic' in every sense. They're also landfill when they fail (Herpstats are repairable, and have excellent tech support).

    Were you able to set up and reliably use the app? I was never able to even pair mine.
  • 11-26-2022, 12:52 PM
    Homebody
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mother_ofsnakes View Post
    I have two units on one rack in my snake closet. The temps in there don’t fluctuate much and I also alternated levels so if one goes out there will be heat above or below.

    if they both go out I will have issues, but ambient temperature in the house is usually around 70 so should be ok for a bit until they can be replaced.

    What are the ambient temperatures where you would be using them?

    My concern with failure isn't that my snake would lose heat but that an unregulated heat source would become dangerously hot.

    I'll let Ambassador respond regarding ambient temps since Ambassador is the one considering this Inkbird.
  • 11-26-2022, 01:02 PM
    Bogertophis
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Homebody View Post
    My concern with failure isn't that my snake would lose heat but that an unregulated heat source would become dangerously hot...

    That's exactly right- excessive heat kills or permanently injures more snakes than cold does.
  • 11-26-2022, 04:24 PM
    Malum Argenteum
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mother_ofsnakes View Post
    Were you able to set up and reliably use the app? I was never able to even pair mine.

    The ITC-306T is not wireless in any way, and so doesn't have an app.

    A little tangential, but Neptune Systems needs to make a reptile controller. Their Apex aquarium controllers are solid, and they already have a great web-based interface they could adapt for herp needs (which are a lot more basic than aquarium parameters). Digital Aquatics (out of business in 2018) used to make a "Herpkeeper" model, but the company itself fell behind in too many areas and closed up shop.
  • 11-26-2022, 08:59 PM
    Crowfingers
    I use the regular inkbird itc 306T for my emergency / travel reptile bins and for my female leopard gecko. They are were cheap enough to get several, which is a plus. My gecko's is for a small 8.5 x 6.75 UTH under her lay-box when she is in egg mode. The temperature isn't as constant or controlled as the proportional thermostats but for a few weeks each year to keep a single hide warm it is fine. it seems to vary by about 2-3*F before it turns off and back on - which is not terrible.

    for my regular heat I like the herpstat proportional ones

    I've never tried the wifi ones, but if you live in an area where the internet going in and out is frequent, I'd worry about inconsistency esp in the winter - that being said, power can go out too
  • 12-07-2022, 09:26 PM
    Ambassador
    Re: Anybody used the Inkbird IPT-2CH?
    So I picked one of these up and so far it has been solid. Connected to Wifi without any issues and the controls are simple and intuitive via the app. Temperatures are on point and although I think the unit looks funny it works well. I think in the long run I'd like a dimming or pulse thermostat but for the time being these are hard to beat for the price.

    In regards to connecting to Wifi, Inkbird makes it pretty clear the units only operate on 2.4ghz frequencies and if you have a 5ghz it will not connect. Most modern day routers run both signals at the same time and you may need to disable the 5ghz (just temporarily) so the unit is not confused about which network it is supposed to attach to and can find the 2.4ghz as the only signal available during setup. I did not need to make this change when I set mine up but some people on the web have had to do so. You may consider trying this if having trouble.
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