Looks like that would be a much simpler option than what I linked to. It's just that it is difficult to heat water beyond 100C without putting it into a pressure vessel (and, pressure cookers excepted, you really don't want to go there).
A lot of stuff (aquarium, vivarium, etc) that uses thermistor temperature sensors puts an upper limit on claimed performance at 50 deg C because thermistors are non-linear, and the errors are more significant between 50 and 100 C. Thermistors are semiconductor devices and "cook" at two or three hundred deg C, thermocouples mostly carry on working up to the melting point of their wires (getting on for 1300 deg C).
I don't really understand a lot of this stuff but it seems that you do. It's something of a relief to see that you thinks the easier, if more expensive option is a viable choice for my purposes. So, I'll go for the Inkbird option. Thanks for your help.
It's China-eBay, they've likely never heard of the Isle of Wight and are quite possibly lying when they say 'Item location: UK', though the estimated delivery time suggests it won't be coming from China. The only reason for IoW being listed is couriers charge extra - the seller has likely ticked all the 'awkward islands with funny postage conditions' boxes without thinking too hard.
Just set your address as '123 Acacia Avenue, Cowes, PO99 9ZZ' and it should be fine.
I've used the equivalent kit in a metal case, with the SSR bolted to the case without an extra heatsink - never had a problem driving 13A loads. Their supplied heatsink was a bit rubbish anyway, just an offcut of extrusion.
Google 'REX-C100' and there's lots of info and videos about how to wire one of these up.
Caveats: These aren't the genuine Japanese REX-C100s. That shouldn't matter, but there can be variation between all the different clones, particularly in setup menus.
The SSR is often claimed it can do 40A. According to teardowns the construction inside isn't very good - I'd limit it to 13A.
Their supplied thermocouple was fine, but a bit bulky. I replaced with some Type K thermocouples like these, with the appropriate socket:
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Because they're a point junction, they have much lower thermal mass.
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