How hot do aquarium heaters get?

[Joekovar]

How hot do aquarium heaters typically get in order to heat the water, does it vary by wattage/type, do they have a set temperature they all get to and just cycle on and off until a thermometer hits a desired temperature?

 

[blaxsun]

Bloody hot, especially the titanium ones. Hot, as in have to let cool down for 30 minutes before repositioning. Hot, as in scalded my fingers by not following the preceding advice. Some have built-in thermostats and temperature regulators (Eheim, Cobalt, etc.), others require a separate temperature controller (such as an Inkbird).

I would assume that the higher wattage heaters 400-600 watt) have the potential to get a lot hotter than the lower wattage ones 50-150 watt), but it also depends on the size of tank, desired temperature and how long they run.
;Muted

 

[Joekovar]

30 minutes to cool down sounds fairly hot.

Looking at a glass heater I can see the coil inside getting red hot, but I think a lot of that is lost on going through the glass.

I'm guessing as far as heating elements go, the titanium heater coils may not get as hot as the coils in glass heaters since they don't have to overpower glass to heat the water.

Given that water heaters that we use for out sinks/showers typically heat water to 120-140°F I'm guessing aquarium heaters that can scald yo when touched are getting at least that hot.

I'll have to get a laser thermometer tomorrow and see how hot my old glass heater gets in open air.

 

[Malcontent]

Found on another forum.

 

[Jubei2006]

Hot enough to ignite plastics on fire!