Inkbird Environment Control Automation - VPD Made Easy!

[ScapeGoat]

Early black friday deal on the river... 

Problem is I noticed some of the reviews show it melted... 

Fire Hazard.. no thanks! 

Coming from a bargain hunter! 

Looks like a great bit of kit otherwise!

[NezA]

From what I can see the negative reviews seem to have a common theme, people are using them in greenhouses. I would imagine they're probably using some serious heaters to keep a greenhouse warm and they're probably not running 100's of watts of light that produce significant heat mine doesn't even get warm running my oil rad. Mine runs from a dedicated RCD which hasn't tripped either I'll check the fuse though to see I might actually take it apart and have a look at the wiring though as you can never be too careful

[NezA]

The max rating for these is 1200w

 

[Organic Greens]

On 10/17/2020 at 8:18 AM, sweettooth said:

My humidity is controller by a12L dehumidifier which is set to RH of 50 and will kick in if the RH rises or go to standby mode when the RH is 50 or below

Sorry to jump into the thread but may I ask you @sweettooth what dehumidifer you use, please? Thank you!

Edited November 2, 2020 by Organic Greens
deleted half message by mistake

[Organic Greens]

On 10/17/2020 at 3:48 PM, NezA said:

It should be noted that during different stages of growth a different VPD is required. For each stage your VPD value should be:

 

Clone/Seedling 0.7 - 0.8

Veg 0.9 - 1.0

Flower 1.3 - 1.4

 

I'm not presuming to tell anyone this is the only way to do it. It's just the path my own research has led me down. If people are interested to hear more I can expand the scope of the thread to include more detail about the topic of VPD generally

 

 

Thnak you @NezA ! 

[Organic Greens]

16 hours ago, Organic Greens said:

Thnak you @NezA ! 

Sorry for off topic ...
 

@NezA What dehumidifier you use, mate? I am having a problem with humidity (during nights especially) and decided to buy one. I am currently growing (well trying to grow) in 2x2 feet tent but looking to upgrade to 5x5. Really want to grow by VPD table as i believe it is WORTH a try as I ve seen people`s reports and crops. 

[NezA]

12 minutes ago, Organic Greens said:

Sorry for off topic ...
 

@NezA What dehumidifier you use, mate? I am having a problem with humidity (during nights especially) and decided to buy one. I am currently growing (well trying to grow) in 2x2 feet tent but looking to upgrade to 5x5. Really want to grow by VPD table as i believe it is WORTH a try as I ve seen people`s reports and crops. 

 

At the moment I don't have a dehumidifier with my extraction I've not needed one. Humidity is in the low 40's when my humidifier is off. If I do end up needing one, I'll probably have to build a custom one using peltier modules. I reckon I'd probably have to have a few dotted around as one big dehumidifier wouldn't fit in my space and those little table top ones are useless. I know this probably doesn't help you too much.

 

I'll also be making a mini Aircon unit out of peltier modules for the summer by water cooling the chips and having the radiator outside the grow room.

 

But when space is at a premium you do what you have to.

[sweettooth]

On 11/2/2020 at 10:28 PM, Organic Greens said:

Sorry to jump into the thread but may I ask you @sweettooth what dehumidifer you use, please? Thank you!

Ive got a probreeze - model PB-06-UK-FBA (shouldve gone for larger one tbh but it serves me well)

[Organic Greens]

1 hour ago, sweettooth said:

Ive got a probreeze - model PB-06-UK-FBA (shouldve gone for larger one tbh but it serves me well)

Thank you @sweettooth 

[Rasta420]

On 13/10/2020 at 2:19 PM, NezA said:

Right as promised over in my grow diary here's a post about my Inkbird environment controllers. I have the IHC-200 WiFi humidity controller and the ITC-308 WiFi thermostat, I managed to get these for a steal at 50% off but full retail price these go for ~£100 which makes them significantly more affordable than many other environment controllers on the market.

 

I'm using these devices to control my VPD and I have to say I'm extremely impressed. Both my temps and humidity have been extremely stable. Thanks to these devices not only are my temp and humidity perfectly stable, but both are being kept in the perfect range in relation to eachother, for optimal VPD.

So a little bit about how these work. Each controller has a probe sensor and 2 power outlets, one for a device to increase humidity or temp and one for a device to decrease humidity or temp respectively, depending on what you have each controller set to they'll automatically switch between the increase/decrease devices to keep the temperature and humidity within the desired range.

 

For example, for the humidity controller you could have a humidifier and additional extraction or a dehumidifier pugged in (or both with an extension.) When the humidity is too low it will run the humidifier until humidity hits the desired range then it will stop running the humidifier. If humidity starts to creep up it will run the additional extraction / dehumidifier until humidity is back where you want it. The same applies to the thermostat. Each device is only run when it is needed. 

 

There are basic versions of these controllers that don't have WiFi and for the budget conscious or non technical people they're potentially a good option, although don't think they'd offer the same level of precision when it comes to controlling your environment. But the WiFi version has an app that can be installed on a smartphone that's absolutely fantastic. The app itself allows you to remotely monitor and control both controllers independently from anywhere you have an internet connection. Which is a great feature in and of itself. However more importantly it has an automation feature that allows you to create rules for each device that can be triggered from the status of the other device or some other external factor.

What follows is a short guide as to how I have these devices setup and how I created rules that will trigger and adjust each device as my environment shifts the devices will adapt to compensate, keeping my VPD in the ideal range constantly.

 

Sensor placement. 
I placed my sensors at canopy level and far enough away from my heater and humidifier so that I'm getting an average reading rather than over indexing on any one reading. Obviously you know your grow space so make sure you're placing your probes in an appropriate location and that you're getting a good reading.

The trickiest part of the setup was getting the devices to register on my WiFi but after a couple of attempts we were in business. To be fair the app does a brilliant job of guiding you through the process and it's pretty straightforward.

 

Once they are connected and registered on your network you'll see each device listed in the app.

 

From here you can manually set the desired value for each device. I personally use temperature to drive my humidity and set the temperature value to 24.5c and my temperature range pretty much fluctuates between 24-25c consistently. On the odd occasion I have seen it as high as 27 and as low as 22. But I haven't seen those extremes for weeks now, not since I was initially dialing in the setup. Now everything is dialed in though it's extremely stable indeed. 

 

Creating Automation Rules

 

Ok so to create a rule firstly we select the smart option at the bottom of the screen.  

 

Next select the automation tab.

 

 

On my screen you can see all my veg rules in green. Obviously the first time you see this screen it will be empty and rules will be added in the order you create them. To create a rule select the blue "+" icon in the top left. You'll then be presented with a screen that allows you to select what type of trigger condition you want to set. Because I want the devices to balance each other I chose the "when device changes status" option.

 

 

 

My temperature like many of you, I'm guessing, tends to be far more stable than my humidity. So I opted to have my temperature value drive my humidity value. So on the next screen we select our thermostat. (ITC-308-WIFI)

 

Here we're are presented with a list of options. I have used the "current temperature" parameter.

 

 

Each rule I have created is set at 1c increments. I also use the "<" (less than) condition I originally set this to "=" but as soon as the temp shifted by 0.1c the rule would cease to apply so using "less than" at 1c increments covers the entire range of decimals. Select the upper limit of the temp range you want to cover. 

 

 

On the next screen we need to select what we want to happen when those conditions are met. In this instance we want to run our humidity controller so select "run device" 

 

 

Now select the humidity controller (IHC-200-WIFI)

 

 

Next we want to select what we want the humidity setting to be, so select the "Setting Humidity" option. Use the slider to get in the right range if you want to be really precise you can use the + and - icons to make fine adjustments.

 

 

Here you'll want to refer to a VPD chart to select a humidity value that's appropriate for the temperature threshold you have selected for this particular rule. The rule we are creating is for flower so I have used the appropriate settings assuming a -1c leaf temp offset, these values will give us a RH of 51% between 24-25c

On the last screen you get a summary to review before saving and activating the rule.

 

 

So for this example we are using <25c as our threshold temp. So to recap what we have said to the app is "if the current temp on our thermostat is <25c then set our humidity to 51%" now where this gets really interesting is that you can stack the rules up so if I set a <26c rule for 53% humidity we have now told the app 2 things:

"if the current temp on our thermostat is <26c then set our humidity to 53%, unless the current temperature on our thermostat is <25c then set our humidity to 51%"

You can then add additional rules for <24c etc etc and you continue to stack these rules one on top of the other until you cover your entire temp range and a couple of c either side just in case.

 

There's a whole heap of other options I'm yet to explore with this but just this functionality alone for the price is pretty fantastic. Yes there's quite a bit of setup involved but once it's done and your rules are saved you never have to look at it again other than activating or deactivating the rules for the various growth stages. 

 

At the moment I only have a complete set of rules for veg setup. By the time I flip I will have created a full set of new rules for optimal flower VPD. You can colour code the rules so you can easily see at a glance which rules are for which stage my and you can activate and deactivate any given rule using a toggle. So when I need to, I can just switch between different rule sets easily and there's no need to recreate rules from scratch all the time.

 

 

If people find this post useful I might explore some of the other features in the app and make additional posts over time.

 

Keep it green

 

-NezA

Hey guys and gals! And thanks  @NezA for this extensive tutorial on dialing vpd with inkbird controllers! 

 

I have recently bought both of the mentioned inkbird wifi contollers and have had a nightmare trying to set it up for vpd the way you have.

 

First issue is that my app seem to be different to yours, so some of the layout and options are different. I've tried using both inkbird pro and inkbird plus app and get same issues with both apps.

I have successfully connected the controllers through the app and i can manually set humidity or temperature amd it will adjust accordingly, but if I save a rules for every degree, say from 18 up to 28, the app is seem to go crazy and swithces the rules on and off at its will. Any ideas on what might be causing that and how to rectify that?

[NezA]

1 hour ago, Rasta420 said:

Hey guys and gals! And thanks  @NezA for this extensive tutorial on dialing vpd with inkbird controllers! 

 

I have recently bought both of the mentioned inkbird wifi contollers and have had a nightmare trying to set it up for vpd the way you have.

 

First issue is that my app seem to be different to yours, so some of the layout and options are different. I've tried using both inkbird pro and inkbird plus app and get same issues with both apps.

I have successfully connected the controllers through the app and i can manually set humidity or temperature amd it will adjust accordingly, but if I save a rules for every degree, say from 18 up to 28, the app is seem to go crazy and swithces the rules on and off at its will. Any ideas on what might be causing that and how to rectify that?

 

Hey mate welcome out of the darkness (Just seen this is your first post after being a member for quite a while)

 

So it was a bit trial and error getting mine setup but I'm sure you'll get something up and running. Obviously it's a bit hard providing tech support over the forums but I'll do my best. A screenshot or 2 might help get to the bottom of what's going on.

 

I do find my rules bug out from time to time but not enough for it to become an issue but sometimes an event might fail to trigger for whatever reason I've not had anything like the issues you're describing though.

 

The app I use is called neither pro or plus it's called InkbirdSmart so that might be the cause.

 

First question did you buy the exact same controllers I have? The ITC-308 WiFi and the IHC-200 WiFi? If you did try downloading the InkbirdSmart app.

 

Alternatively it might be the way you're setting the rules up, second question are you definitely using the less than ( < ) function?

 

Couple of things for you to check up on there.

 

Also just a heads up it's good etiquette to not quote lengthy posts with lots of pictures, it can become quite draining on other readers having to scroll through the content all over again. If there's a particular part you want to quote just delete everything else. No biggie just thought I'd let you know.

 

Let me know if any of those things helps. Keep us posted and feel free to @ me if you have any other questions.

 

Keep it green

 

-NezA

Edited November 12, 2020 by NezA
Various corrections

[Rasta420]

15 hours ago, NezA said:

 

Hey mate welcome out of the darkness (Just seen this is your first post after being a member for quite a while)

 

So it was a bit trial and error getting mine setup but I'm sure you'll get something up and running. Obviously it's a bit hard providing tech support over the forums but I'll do my best. A screenshot or 2 might help get to the bottom of what's going on.

 

I do find my rules bug out from time to time but not enough for it to become an issue but sometimes an event might fail to trigger for whatever reason I've not had anything like the issues you're describing though.

 

The app I use is called neither pro or plus it's called InkbirdSmart so that might be the cause.

 

First question did you buy the exact same controllers I have? The ITC-308 WiFi and the IHC-200 WiFi? If you did try downloading the InkbirdSmart app.

 

Alternatively it might be the way you're setting the rules up, second question are you definitely using the less than ( < ) function?

 

Couple of things for you to check up on there.

 

Also just a heads up it's good etiquette to not quote lengthy posts with lots of pictures, it can become quite draining on other readers having to scroll through the content all over again. If there's a particular part you want to quote just delete everything else. No biggie just thought I'd let you know.

 

Let me know if any of those things helps. Keep us posted and feel free to @ me if you have any other questions.

 

Keep it green

 

-NezA

 

Thanks for welcoming and replying to my question (yes I've been lurking in a background for a while now )!

 

I apologize for the lengthy quote in my first post. I don't know why I thought that the forum's algorithm would make it shorter on it's own and as soon as I'm able to edit my post (I think you need certain number of post before you can edit them or pm people - correct me if I'm wrong) I will fix that so it's not out of order  

 

Coming back to the topic, I have bought both The ITC-308 WiFi and the IHC-200 WiFi as I want my VPD to be on point and it looked like these controller can just do the trick. Installed the app that came in the instructions and that's where I went wrong which gave me a big headache over last 2 days trying to get it to work.

 

So the Inkbird Pro app and Inkbird Plus app are almost exactly same apps and both of them are starting to have bugs after adding stacked up rules. It was constantly turning the rules on and off for no reason which rendered both apps useless for this type of use - I guess it's the software programming issue.

 

As soon as I installed InkbirdSmart app and created the rules in there, everything works perfectly! I have finally got full environment control of my growing space! It can take a while to set it up but once it's done it makes environment control so much easier!

 

Once again thank you for creating this great tutorial! Just add the info in there not to use the other apps and stick to InkbirdSmart app as other one won't work for managing VPD  

 

Stay blazed  

[NezA]

3 hours ago, Rasta420 said:

Thanks for welcoming and replying to my question (yes I've been lurking in a background for a while now )!

 

I apologize for the lengthy quote in my first post. I don't know why I thought that the forum's algorithm would make it shorter on it's own and as soon as I'm able to edit my post (I think you need certain number of post before you can edit them or pm people - correct me if I'm wrong) I will fix that so it's not out of order  

 

Well glad you decided to pop in and break your silence! Hopefully it'll be the first post of many, it'd be good to see how you get on putting these bits of kit through their paces. Don't worry about the quote like I said it's no biggie dude, was just a heads up is all, no need to apologise.

 

3 hours ago, Rasta420 said:

Installed the app that came in the instructions and that's where I went wrong which gave me a big headache over last 2 days trying to get it to work.

 

Odd, looks like there must be different batches floating around out there in the wild where the instructions tell you to download different apps, because my instructions recommended the InkbirdSmart app. I just tried to edit the original post to clarify for others but unfortunately I am unable to edit it now (probably because I already edited it once.) Perhaps a kind Mod might do the honors? In the meantime hopefully people see these posts and they help them get sorted. So thanks for the contribution.

 

Glad you're all up and running now though. For the money I don't think there's a better value bit if grow kit out there. No good for large scale stuff as you can't run big heaters off of them due to safety issues, but for the likes of us in our little percy set-ups they're ideal.

 

Keep it green

 

-NezA

[Shumroom]

If you wanted to run a high powered heater or similar,

you could use it in conjunction with a contactor just like we do to protect our mechanical timers from my understanding

 

Just thinking out loud. 

 

 

[NezA]

20 minutes ago, Shumroom said:

If you wanted to run a high powered heater or similar,

you could use it in conjunction with a contactor just like we do to protect our mechanical timers from my understanding

 

Just thinking out loud. 

 

 

 

From what I've seen I just wouldn't risk it I'd definitely stick to less than the recommended 1200w just to be sure. My heater is 1000w and it's perfectly fine for my space.

 

It's the same as anything electrical don't run at the max capacity for prolonged periods and you should be fine. If people want to run more watts than that the only option would be to buy multiple controllers and use them to run multiple heaters. Or another way would be to have 1000w running straight from the mains providing constant background heat and another 1000w from the inkbird that switches on and off as required. It's all trial and error

 

There's many ways to skin a cat but always check the rated specs of your kit as long as you stay within those limits generally speaking you shouldn't have any issues.