InkBird Humidity Controller for Meat Curing and Other Tasks

I want to give insight into InkBird humidity controllers since this is crucial to review when building a DIY meat curing chamber.

Summary / Key Points

• The Inkbird Humidity Controller can turn on or off a humidifier and dehumidifier
• It has a plug-in style input, is simple to set up, and is easily programmed for various moisture-adjustable environments
• Sensor cable is long, and you mount it inside the chamber
• Applications are various for any desired moisture level with appropriate appliances

Or you may have other projects needing an environmentally controlled environment with a humidity controller.

Primarily, I’m using the humidity controller for salami fermentation and growing mushrooms.

When I started doing meat curing about 15 years ago, I had an engineering friend of my brother’s who knew how to hardwire the system.

Back then, InkBird was not around.

After many years of using various second-hand fridge conversions, I want to tell my audience of this blog, eatcuredmeat.com, about this humidity controller setup.

Let’s talk about my recent fridge conversion: I couldn’t get the schematics for it and ended up doing what I knew could happen: I put a hole through the side of the fridge! Through the coolant pipe on the side – it is now an additional cold smoking unit! (i.e. a shell/box)

Well, you know how it goes: we live, and sometimes we learn.

So, let me give you a summary breakdown of the InkBird Controller.

InkBird Humidity Controller Review

IHC-200 Controller – Specifically designed for two inputs and clicking on and off, the humidifying /dehumidifier is based on the humidity sensor inside the chamber

IHC-200 Controller wifi – Same Same, but has wifi, so you can use an app to control/monitor

What Does the InkBird Humidity Controller Do?

There are different models of InkBird, such as the ITC-608T ​ , which has one input for temperature and one input for humidity.

I still think it’s better to go for the IHC–200 since this allows both humidification and dehumidification (for meat curing, this is often needed, but not always – depends on your fridge setup -here is a guide I wrote).

A wifi version of the IHC-200 has come out within the last year or so. It uses the InkBird platform via a central app and connection to your home’s wifi router.

I use the iBBQ-4T, another InkBird product, for my barbecuing and low-slow projects with four probe inputs for temperature. It is Wi-Fi to watch the internal and surrounding temperature of the pork ribs while I’m out and about!

At some point, I would like to have the wifi InkBird controllers for the meat curing chamber, maybe when I start running an auxiliary curing chamber simultaneously. Yet, I will need another house and more space for that!

What Can You Use InkBird Humidity Controller For?

Other applications this controller could be used for are:

• Mushroom
• Mini greenhouse
• Ventilator fan
• Crawl space
• Turtle enclosure
• Snake cage
• Tobacco cage

One day, you never know; I might want to grow tobacco and have a pet snake! The options are endless.

You use the IHC–200 InkBird humidity controller for 70 to 75% humidity inside the curing chamber.

Depending on the recipe, you quite often inoculate dry-cured salami with starter culture (suitable molds, like that powdery stuff on the outside of salami = penicillin!). It would be best to have a higher temperature and humidity; Inkbird humidity and temperature controllers are perfect.

I’m often looking to get around 90-95% humidity for the starter cultures.

You can do this in various ways, but using the InkBird humidity controller makes it very easy.

InkBird Humidity Controller Performance

If you’re looking at the performance side of it – it does the job well.

The humidity sensor probe takes the readings accurately, so it appropriately switches the equipment on and off.

I have noticed a quiet buzzing sound coming from the unit; because of this, I do not have the curing chamber running close to where I’m blogging or doing other work.

I’m slightly sensitive to noise; I have never been good in a loud office environment!

The claimed accuracy from InkBird is plus or -3% relative humidity, and for a meat curing chamber or fermentation chamber, a variation of 5 to 8% in between is what I aim for, and when doing long-term dry curing, it’s perfect,

There is also a calibration function built into the controller, but I do not need to use it.

User Friendliness

Compared to some of the hardwired controllers (link to a page for hardwired at the bottom of the post) that I have, the InkBird is straightforward to set up.

It just has one button that you hold down. Then, you can cycle through the menus and change the parameters by dragging the arrows up or down.

They have kept things simple for at-home use.

To set up a commercial operation, look at Auber instruments (at the bottom of the page).

Placement & Mounting of the Controller

Pin

Pin

I have used double-sided tape to stick the controller onto the side of some of my curing chambers.

Units have mounting holes at the top so that you can put a little screw in place.

As you can imagine, I prefer not to put holes into a fridge when I don’t have to.

Overall Review of InkBird Controllers

The InkBird humidity controller has sockets available in different regions of Europe, the United States, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand.

This is the product on the market when you’re looking for a plug-and-play option.

For the thousands of people interested in DIY curing chambers through this blog, I have done extensive research and have been keen to show the various options.

The InkBird humidity controller is a winner and will do the job you want, whether it’s dry curing meat or other applications that need a controlled environment.

Where to Get InkBird Products

Amazon is the best place to get InkBird products, and they seem to have the best prices.

For the wifi version, check it out here.

For the non-Wi-Fi version over this way.

Here is my other ‘recommended gear‘ page on controllers.