Stupid heaters

[sw65galma]

I'm going crazy with heaters, I've tried every brand and i can't get them to stay constant.
I'll look at the temp of my tank and see that it's over temp and the heater is still on...
I back it down a degree at a time and it drops a few degrees.
I've tried Ebo's, Pro heats Titatium ICs, Rena, and some other expensive brand that starts with a K.
what do you people have good luck with. Do you have electronic thermometers or mercury ones?

 

[thangbom]

hum.. well i use a WON BRO"S titanium heater.. i love it!! i set it and never look at it agin.. it plug has a dial on it so u can set the temp.. then it split into two cords.. one cord has the heater adn the other has the themometer.. that way .. it can have a more.. percise reading ( unlike heaters the have both the heating coil and thermostat only inches away from each other..) anyhow.. i love this heater.. unbreakable, fullysubmergable.. and percise... gl on finding a heater..

 

[chipmaker]

I have an aquarium Specialties that has been great. Used it for a few years in a FW setup and now have it installed in my 16 gal. One thing I do not do is utilize any numbers on the control. I set mine to get me in the ball park and then dial it in a little at a time with very minute movement of the adjustment control......Biggest problems encountered with most heaters is rushing too fast to adjust them. A little patience and very minute adjustments, that are made over time shuld dial in most any heater to stay within reasonable range, and from what I have read and been told most (not el cheapo junk) should be capable of holding within a half degree....The big swing in temp you see is reaction time between thermostate and heater itself.
Hydor makes good ones, as are Tetra's and AGA although quite generic are pretty decent as well. I tend to stay away from brands with catchy names like "titanium heaters" and Pro model etc.........as most times its the advertising and name your paying for......I had bought a new titanium heater with a remotely located control to use in my fuge, so I oculd place it and forget it and have it out of sight, and it was horrible to get to hold within 2 degrees consistently..........currently usuing thre AS brand, even though it is a few years old but its dependable and works like a champ. I do have a fully checked out and adjusted Hydor as a standby if the need arises......

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by ThaNgBom
hum.. well i use a WON BRO"S titanium heater.. i love it!! i set it and never look at it agin.. it plug has a dial on it so u can set the temp.. then it split into two cords.. one cord has the heater adn the other has the themometer.. that way .. it can have a more.. percise reading ( unlike heaters the have both the heating coil and thermostat only inches away from each other..) anyhow.. i love this heater.. unbreakable, fullysubmergable.. and percise... gl on finding a heater..

I have the same w/LED readout and the adjustment from on to off to on to off - is tight, not like the other pieces of junk I have that were all over the place and impossible to fine tune. I have only had it about 2 months so I can't rate longevity/reliability.

so far I am very pleased.

 

[tizzo]

WON Brothers here too. After about 11 and a half months, it started reading the wrong temp but since they have a 1 year guarantee, they replaced it with no probs! If I had to buy another, I'd get it again. Pro-Heat 2.

 

[robchuck]

I no longer need heaters any more (3x400W of MH will do that!), but when I used to run heaters, I had great luck with the old style Ebo Jager.
If you can't find a brand that works, a suggestion would be to get a temperature controller and crank the heaters all the way up, so that the controller keeps the temperature constant rather than banking on the heater(s) doing the work. Plus, the controller will also act as a failsafe if a switch were to stick on a heater.

 

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by RobChuck
I no longer need heaters any more (3x400W of MH will do that!), but when I used to run heaters, I had great luck with the old style Ebo Jager.
If you can't find a brand that works, a suggestion would be to get a temperature controller and crank the heaters all the way up, so that the controller keeps the temperature constant rather than banking on the heater(s) doing the work. Plus, the controller will also act as a failsafe if a switch were to stick on a heater.
I think you hit the nail on the head!!!!

Why didn't I think of that!!

Thanks man!!!

 

[zman1]

I find that at night in the basement when the main lights are off, the tank has a tendency to cool way down, so heaters are needed for me to maintain consistant temps..... something to keep in mind for others..

 

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by chipmaker
I have an aquarium Specialties that has been great. Used it for a few years in a FW setup and now have it installed in my 16 gal. One thing I do not do is utilize any numbers on the control. I set mine to get me in the ball park and then dial it in a little at a time with very minute movement of the adjustment control......Biggest problems encountered with most heaters is rushing too fast to adjust them. A little patience and very minute adjustments, that are made over time shuld dial in most any heater to stay within reasonable range, and from what I have read and been told most (not el cheapo junk) should be capable of holding within a half degree....The big swing in temp you see is reaction time between thermostate and heater itself.
Hydor makes good ones, as are Tetra's and AGA although quite generic are pretty decent as well. I tend to stay away from brands with catchy names like "titanium heaters" and Pro model etc.........as most times its the advertising and name your paying for......I had bought a new titanium heater with a remotely located control to use in my fuge, so I oculd place it and forget it and have it out of sight, and it was horrible to get to hold within 2 degrees consistently..........currently usuing thre AS brand, even though it is a few years old but its dependable and works like a champ. I do have a fully checked out and adjusted Hydor as a standby if the need arises......
I have 2 hydors i just bought to try....they suck! I don't care if the numbers are correct, but you would think that when the tank is hot enough, back it down to when it shuts off. And it should keep it there? next thing i know the thing is 5 degrees higher..

And after a few days one is dead...as I saw my tank down to 70 I'm like WTF!

That's when I posted...JUNK ALL OF THEM!!!

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by sw65galma
I think you hit the nail on the head!!!!

Why didn't I think of that!!

Thanks man!!!

The only issue is now your back to a single point of failure risk for two heaters as well. Contoller not turning on or turning off. Either way a cool or hot tank if you cranked the temp all the way up on heaters for the controller....

 

[sw65galma]

Originally Posted by zman1
The only issue is now your back to a single point of failure risk as well. Contoller not turning on or turning off. Either way a cool or hot tank....
True but i'd hope that the controllers thermostats are higher quality than the heaters are.
And more precise as they are not in the heater itself.
I have a Corallife Thermometer with High and low temp alarms for now on the Big tank...

 

[robchuck]

Plus, with 300g of water volume, it takes a lot longer for the temperature to change if a heater or controller were to malfunction; especially with acrylic tanks (they insulate better than glass). My 300g acrylic tank in my basement only drops about 0.7 - 1.0 degrees from the time the lights go off at night to the time they come back on the next afternoon (the chiller takes over from there).

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by RobChuck
I no longer need heaters any more (3x400W of MH will do that!), but when I used to run heaters, I had great luck with the old style Ebo Jager.
If you can't find a brand that works, a suggestion would be to get a temperature controller and crank the heaters all the way up, so that the controller keeps the temperature constant rather than banking on the heater(s) doing the work. Plus, the controller will also act as a failsafe if a switch were to stick on a heater.
But what if something goes wrong with the controller..then the heater would heat the water too much. Or am I missing something?
I am going to buy these items today..any special controller you recommend??
Anyone? thanks :happyfish