# Most heaters suck.



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Okay, in my three and a bit years in this hobby, I have had:

1. Four Rena TopCal heaters died on me.
3. Five topfin heaters died on me, four were oldies (given to me at least a few years old), and today, a nearly NEW one failed on me.
4. Two eheim heaters died on me.
5. Three no-name Big Als heaters died on me.
6. Four Aqueon heaters died on me.
7. One visitherm heater.

That's 19 heaters, averaging a heater death every 60 days or so. The normal failure mode is to lock on and boil my fish. The most recent death was the fifth topfin heater failure. 

Out of 19, they failed like this:

1. Three heaters died due to Operator Error: Leave plugged in, change water, overheat filter, refill tank, glass cracks. 

2. Failed at 100% duty cycle (boiling my fish), 12 heaters.

3. Failed at 0% duty cycle (letting my fish freeze). 4 heaters.

I prefer the cold fish thing, because I think they live longer at 68F than 92F. 

My TopFin heater failed today, bringing my tank quickly to 96F. I noticed it before the fish were at the top of the tank gasping. I believe I may have killed off any parasites in the tank, and only one platy died from overtemp stress, so far.

So, my question for discussion is: What heater brands DON'T SUCK, and what is the best heater out there?

I just noticed there's another thread recently for this, and someone suggested Stealth. Voila, my next heater. 


W


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Okay, in my three and a bit years in this hobby, I have had:
> 
> 1. Four Rena TopCal heaters died on me.
> 3. Five topfin heaters died on me, four were oldies (given to me at least a few years old), and today, a nearly NEW one failed on me.
> ...


Oh lord, that sucks to hear. I've never come across that many duds. Like the other thread you mentioned, give stealths a shot. I haven't had a problem with them yet. *knock on wood*


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## DaFishMan (Dec 19, 2006)

I'm glad you noticed in time to save your fish. Talk about a close call !

Visitherm submersable works awesome for me. but now looking at the stealths for the smaller tanks, and hydor inline for the 75. I dunno I've used more cheapie heaters then brand name, in 25+ years lost 2 heaters. Atm visitherm submersible and Avant is working well for me.


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## oshiet (Oct 23, 2009)

Invest in a decent temperature controller like Ranco, and never worry about cooking your fish.
Your temperatures will be more stable too.
If budget is of concern, go with multiple smaller heaters. That way if one fails in the on position, it's less likely to overheat your tank.

I've only had one heater fail on me, and it was my fault. Guess accidentally bumping it doesn't really count though.
Still have an old school Jager heater (green one) that's operational. Easily 10+ years old as it was given to me from my dads old tank.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

I've never had a heater fail on me. But I've only been kepping fish for about two years now.

I use jager heaters. so far, so good.


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## Ed209 (Aug 21, 2007)

I've got a Stealth,a Visitherm,(one cracked during a water change-my fault) and 12 Ebo Jagers. The Stealth puts electricity in the water if I submerge it. Everything else works perfects after 5 years.
Maybe the power in your home is "dirty". Do you have brownouts? or maybe powersurges? 
or you're having a lot of bad luck.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

It's possible I have dirty power, but the UPS on my computer doesn't click on very much.

W


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## xbacala (Jan 9, 2009)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Okay, in my three and a bit years in this hobby, I have had:
> 
> 1. Four Rena TopCal heaters died on me.
> 3. Five topfin heaters died on me, four were oldies (given to me at least a few years old), and today, a nearly NEW one failed on me.
> ...


Very weird.
I have 3 of Rena TopCal (2 of 300W and 1 of 200W) for about 4 years no problem.

I used 200W + 300W for my 100G tank and 1 of 300W for my 65G tank.

My tank are flower horns. They are very aggresive and attack the heat all the time. I have to use 6 suction cups to hold each heater firm.

2 things you have to keep in mind when make water change are turning off the heat and don't go under minimum water level.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I vote for a Reef Keeper Lite instead of a dedicated temperature controller! Not only you get a dual stage temperature controller, you get digital timers with all the flexibility you need.

The thermostat goes bad easily, but heater itself works fine. Temperature controller is the only solution...


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

I use cheap WON brand heaters in 90% of my tanks and haven't had any problems with them so far. They keep a good handle on the temp I set too. The old tronic heaters I have seem to work well too.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Well I'm new to the heater game having got my tank setup from Conix67. In the 2 months I've used the heater I don't think it has failed me yet and I don't think it would for a long time. I put my heater vertical all the way at the bottom of the 10gal std. tank so it would have to take me just over 50% water change for that heater while plugged in to be in danger of out of water overheating. I only normally do 10-20% water changes.

Not sure what heater brand I have but it's no Rena for sure. All electronics fail over time. That is guarnteed (sp?). Tho having read some users with heaters lasting 10yrs is awesome. Longer the unit works cheaper the ownership cost on that piece of equipment. I would agree using multiple smaller heaters is extra insurance.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Some things that might help:

1. When doing water changes, unplug your heaters. It can really mess a heater up if it is doing its job, but isn't surrounded by water. This can cause the glass to break or cause them to stop working.

2. Not all, and in fact most, heaters are not meant to be submersible (at least fully). It can lead to water leaking into them and is often the cause of them overheating. Try only exposing the glass portion to water. I have to admit, I am guilty of submersing them anyway too  

I use the jaeger/eheim heaters almost exclusively and have never had a problem with any of them. I did have one visitherm heater cook my fish last year though.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Chris S said:


> Some things that might help:
> 
> 1. When doing water changes, unplug your heaters. It can really mess a heater up if it is doing its job, but isn't surrounded by water. This can cause the glass to break or cause them to stop working.
> 
> ...


I believe most heaters claim they are fully submersible. However, many instructions state not to fully submerse them.

Among the ones that have thermostat malfunctioning (inaccruate by a large margin) - Ebo Jager (eheim), Rena (frequently on sale at BA), Aquaeon...

Surprisingly, all WON brand heaters have been working fine..


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

conix67 said:


> I believe most heaters claim they are fully submersible. However, many instructions state not to fully submerse them.
> 
> Among the ones that have thermostat malfunctioning (inaccruate by a large margin) - Ebo Jager (eheim), Rena (frequently on sale at BA), Aquaeon...
> 
> Surprisingly, all WON brand heaters have been working fine..


So should I be pulling my heater back up and keeping it say 1 inch under the normal waterline?


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> ... That's 19 heaters, averaging a heater death every 60 days or so. The normal failure mode is to lock on and boil my fish. The most recent death was the fifth topfin heater failure.


Wow, and I thought I had it bad. I've blown at least 10 heaters in the past ~7 years. I lost count after a while. Most of them are Hagen glass crap. I stop buying glass heaters. The stealth should do you good. My only beef with it, is that there is no light to indicate if it's on or not. It is one of the few brands that is actually fully submersible. Even a Jager tells you to keep the top above water (dispite the fact that everyone puts it fully submersed). Don't know about you guys, but the possibility that I one day might electrocute myself because I disregard what the manufactuer state is the stupidest way to die.
Let's see ... there is another one, Rena "Smart" Heaters, which I am also pleased with. It's again a true submersible (not an advertised submersible like those other lying bastards), is not made of glass, has a light to indicate that it's on and you can fit it as part of the intake if you run a canister.
There is also the titanium heater that I have yet to try out.
And yeah, all my broken heaters break mostly during water change. I once had one that blow up with a bang.



Ed209 said:


> I've got a Stealth,a Visitherm,(one cracked during a water change-my fault) and 12 Ebo Jagers. The Stealth puts electricity in the water if I submerge it. Everything else works perfects after 5 years.
> Maybe the power in your home is "dirty". Do you have brownouts? or maybe powersurges?
> or you're having a lot of bad luck.


Shouldn't be your fault, all heater are supposed to automatically shut down when exposed to air. That's what the manufacture stated. But invariable, I find that not a single one glass heater live up to what they promise. They all a one time or another, over heat when exposed to air and failed to auto shut off during water change. When you add water, bang it's gone.

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## DaFishMan (Dec 19, 2006)

Your power is fine or your pc's would be wonky.

2 basic rules since electricity was born, don't use your hair dryer in the tub, and don't run an aquatic heater dry. That has never changed, although heater manufacturers have made people think otherwise. 

I always unplug heaters until the water change is done. I had cheapo glass heaters last over 12 years, totally reliable as long as you don't run them dry.. although often the water level was an inch or so below the min water mark with no ill effect. If the majority of the tube is submersed you're good. 

I'd also never use a heater without a pilot light. I need to see that light on or I'd worry. That's just me.

Visi-Therm going 5 years strong now in my 40g, awesome brand, well made, temp is constant, fully recommend to anyone. 

This many heaters blown in so short a time, it's not the heaters, or Khuli's fault. It's manufacturers contradicting basic principles for use of aquatic electronics. 

Brand names = same mass produced generic parts inside as the glass cheapos of old. They look better, but the rules don't change. Unplug them for water changes, use the money you save to buy more plants


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