Spoons and Geo, looking back over the thread and your rigs...very sweet. All my experience in brewing, cooking,etc., tells me that almost more than anything else, it's getting to know your equipment, your kitchen, etc. I really liked John's design, the inherent ease of use in just plugging my gear in, and going. I do know to watch as it approaches target temps, as it (if I understand correctly, from memory) doesn't have a slow-down feature, unlike a PID...which bursts in shorter and smaller increments as it approaches the set temp. I don't think it's a big deal....2 degrees up or down. I love that there's no wiring, and the probe itself can be disconnected easily. Flexibility, a very cool, elegant design. This is my vat for rebs and tommes.
That said, if I get a wild hair, I may just yet get that PID and enough capacity to return to my first love......M. le Beaufort, with Oude Kaas's true hoop, for huge wheels! (I would love a copper jam pot and an open fire...but as I intimated to our good friend Pav, sometimes reality has such an annoying habit of being so, real).