Ranco ETC-211000 temperature control problem

[Charterreefer]

I have had this controller for about 2 years. Today I was shocked to find out that my tank has been running 5 degrees lower than what is displayed on the controller. Luckily, I am somewhat of a "type A" kind of person so I caught it before it killed all the sps coral in my 250 gallon tank! I believe the temperature probe or the temp probe circuit is faulty. Did anyone else have this type of problem and if so did you come up with any solution aside from buying a new controller?

What is the most dependable controller out there? I thought I had something good (with a Ranco) but like everything else I have tried to heat my tank with, it has proven to be problematic.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Ranco is one of the best controllers. However, you do need to purchase a waterproof probe, or follow directions to waterproof a "standard" probe. The "standard" probes will prematurely fail when submerged in water. That's my guess of what happened to you.

 

[Charterreefer]

Thanks.
I bought a pre wired unit from ETC supply about 2 years ago. I told them what the application was and the fellow there assured me that it would be good for saltwater.
I have decided to get a new backup unit and also a new probe for the one I currently own. Robertshaw (company) shows they have a replacement sensor for the 211000 unit. I will double check with them on its application.

Just checked... ETC is out of stock with their pre wired units (2-3 week wait). Hence, the reason for a backup unit!

 

[Charterreefer]

Ranco is one of the best controllers. However, you do need to purchase a waterproof probe, or follow directions to waterproof a "standard" probe. The "standard" probes will prematurely fail when submerged in water. That's my guess of what happened to you.

Thanks.
I bought a pre wired unit from ETC supply about 2 years ago. I told them what the application was and the fellow there assured me that it would be good for saltwater.
I have decided to get a new backup unit and also a new probe for the one I currently own. Robertshaw (company) shows they have a replacement sensor for the 211000 unit. I will double check with them on its application.

Just checked... ETC is out of stock with their pre wired units (2-3 week wait). Hence, the reason for a backup unit!

 

[Charterreefer]

Ranco is one of the best controllers. However, you do need to purchase a waterproof probe, or follow directions to waterproof a "standard" probe. The "standard" probes will prematurely fail when submerged in water. That's my guess of what happened to you.

Could you tell me where to get a probe specifically for salt water? Could you also tell me where I could find the information on waterproofing a probe? The Robertshaw site states that their probe is dust and water "Resistant".

 

[JaimeAdams]

The times that I have seen them fail is because of water/humidity.

 

[Charterreefer]

Ranco is one of the best controllers. However, you do need to purchase a waterproof probe, or follow directions to waterproof a "standard" probe. The "standard" probes will prematurely fail when submerged in water. That's my guess of what happened to you.

I think I found what you had mentioned. It's an "Aqua logic" controller. It looks exactly like the Ranco although, it has a plug-in fitting for the sensor and the sensor is Titanium encased (and there's "Aqua" in the title, lol)! I believe that it could be saltwater safe. It's about twice the price of the Ranco too.

 

[Charterreefer]

Ranco is one of the best controllers. However, you do need to purchase a waterproof probe, or follow directions to waterproof a "standard" probe. The "standard" probes will prematurely fail when submerged in water. That's my guess of what happened to you.

Thanks Paul,
Once again, your sage advice was right on. I received the new unit (made by Aqua Logic) Friday. The probe was completely different than what came with the Ranco unit from ETC (even though they assured me that it was good for saltwater!). The Aqua Logic version looks identical to the Ranco except for the probe.