Hands on Review: BN-Link Digital Two Stage Temp Controller – Fermentation & Kegerator
Updated: December 9, 2024
This review is by Homebrew Finds Contributor Brad Probert. Brad is an engineer, expert homebrewer and experienced reviewer. Grab a link to Brad’s website at the end of this review.
BN-LINK Controller
BN-LINK Is a relatively new company, with its parent company Century Product Inc being founded in early 2014. The specific brand BN-LINK was created in 2019. And throughout all of this time, they’ve focused on the home electronics market with switches and smart controllers of various types. For homebrewing, there are probably some creative things you could do with some of the smart outlets or timers, but the most direct homebrew-use tool is the temperature controller.
The two-stage outlet controller has two outlets, one for your heating element, one for your cooling element/pump. The power rating is up to 1875W, which is a higher rating than even most All-In-One brewing units. The functional temperature range of the controller is from -40F to 176F, so you might be able to use it for heating strike water or for mash control, but it definitely shines for fermentation control. It has adjustable resolution, so you can set your target temperature in either full degree increments or 0.1 degree increments. It comes with a temperature probe with a nearly 6-ft long cable (71 inches). The probe is waterproof, but the controller is not, so make sure you keep distance between your probe and the controller. The display shows you both the current temperature and the target temperature you have set.
Controller and Probe
With two outlets, you plug in both your heating and cooling device at the same time. You set your target temperature and then a Cooling Differential value, which just says how warm above your target temperature before it kicks on the cooling device. Likewise, there’s a Heating Differential value, and you decide how cold you’ll let the probe measure before kicking on the heating device. The controller also has a programmable alarm you can set to alert you if it gets too hot, or too cold. There’s an overload reset switch in case you accidentally send too much current through it- designed to trip the switch instead of burn out the circuit board. And the last bit of functionality is a compressor delay, which sets a minimum amount of time for the compressor to be off before it switches on again, to protect the compressor of your cooling device from switching on & off too frequently and damaging it.
Check Current Prices, Review Continues Below:
- BN-LINK Digital Temperature Controller Heating Cooling 2-Stage Outlet Thermostat Controller Plug for Reptiles Aquarium Carboy Homebrew Breeding Fermenter Seed Germination °C/°F -40-176°F 15A/1875W – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
- WiFi Versions: BN-LINK Smart WiFi Digital Temperature Controller Heating Cooling, Works with Alexa and Google Home. For Reptiles Aquarium Carboy Homebrew Breeding Fermenter Seed Germination °C/°F -40-176°F 15A/1875W – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
- Search Amazon for “BN Link Temp Controller”
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