Why are all heaters crap?

[Anthony Scholfield]

ive had good experience with the finnex hmx 150s. It has lasted over a year without any problems. i do have to set it a couple of degrees warmer than what i actually want the tank to be which is okay.

 

[Big E]

From BRS video which is only heaters they sell +/- .25 was the best range if memory serves, so I don't see how a Reekeeper is going to help.

Has that Reefkeeper been tested independently? They are also a huge chunk of change. I don't use those multi-controllers, never saw a viable use for them on a cost vs value basis.

I agree with the redundancy and I seriously doubt a +/- of 1 degree is an issue for any coral. I'll admit I don't focus on some of the testing minutia some people do when it comes to any kind of hobby grade equipment.

My biggest concern is reliability.

 

[Sleepydoc]

It might be good enough, but not as good as it gets. The Reefkeeper can hold the water temperature to +/- 0.1 degrees F. I don't know about the Apex or other controllers.
And when externally controlled, the heater is not running anything. The controller simply turns the heater power on and off as needed to hold the temperature setting.

But just as a caveat, the only tank meltdown I ever had was when a temperature controller probe failed and the controller kept the heater on for several hours straight. By the time I realized what had happened, the water temperature was 94 degrees F. So some redundancy/fail-safe control is strongly advised, whether it's a heater's less accurate, built-in control or some other means.

Redundancy in heater control is really mandatory - witness the title of this thread.

 

[Bapeluso]

I've always had good luck with the eheims when I keep the tops out of the water

 

[Rockit]

two eheims with the tops out, Ranco controller, smart plug that I can turn off the entire circuit remotely from my phone. Monitored with a Seneye that alerts if temp is out of range. Only once in 3 years have I had a heat issue.... I forgot to turn heat back on after a WC.

 

[PhreeByrd]

From BRS video which is only heaters they sell +/- .25 was the best range if memory serves, so I don't see how a Reekeeper is going to help.

The reefkeeper would control the actual water temperature to 0.1 degrees regardless of what heater is used.

Has that Reefkeeper been tested independently? They are also a huge chunk of change. I don't use those multi-controllers, never saw a viable use for them on a cost vs value basis.

I couldn't say if they were ever tested independently, or for what, or why. I've been using the two I have for more than 15 years, so that's enough testing for me. Plenty of other people are still using them even though they've been out of production for several years now. I agree, for just a heater controller, the original price would have been pretty steep. But if you wanted to do even just a few pretty common things, i.e., control a heater, control a chiller, and monitor pH, it would be cost-effective even at the original retail price.

I agree with the redundancy and I seriously doubt a +/- of 1 degree is an issue for any coral. I'll admit I don't focus on some of the testing minutia some people do when it comes to any kind of hobby grade equipment.

My biggest concern is reliability.

I agree, 100%.

 

[Slawman]

I have also developed an approach to the way I deploy heaters which has helped me avoid problems, no doubt also building on others experience I have learned from as well.

I always size my primary heater system (Watts) to be just enough to hold my water volume at temperature in the coolest likely day of the year ie. not oversize so if the primary system fails on I have a bit of time before the heaters can cook anything.

I also always set another separate heater set at around 2 degrees under the primary system so again if the primary fails off then it will not let the tank drop to far.

Buy the best quality gear you can afford....

It has been many years since I had a problem with heaters after having a few fails early on.

 

[Marc2952]

I also use the Cobalt Neo therms with no issues. Without a controller they are probably the most accurate and precise heaters your going to find.

Im glad you have had good luck with them because i got 3 on my tank and rven when i set them to 80 the temperature stays at a constant 75 on my tank. I even reset them and nothing.

 

[KenRexford]

Another vote for the Aqueon Pro. Mine are on an Inkbird. No issues since the Inkbird. In 17 years, I did have one go nuts and nuke my tank before the Inkbird but I may have bumped its dial. Not sure.

 

[madweazl]

Just shut down our 75g that had Visi-Therms that were just over three years old and working great. I had another on a 40g years ago that was at least 10 years old. In both cases, the heaters weren't submerged which I think makes a big difference. I try to avoid submersion if at all possible but Eheim (what I'm using on the 150g at the moment) makes that just about impossible in a sump.

 

[Bob Lauson]

My heaters ( 2 Ehiem 150watt) have run without issue for over 10 years. Although the BRS guys did a mistakes made video on their 160 and said to use the heater thermostat and not the Apex for control, I have used the Apex for control the entire time. I understand their logic but they also said they tried to control to a tight temperature band. I have always run with 1 degree control band and the heater only cycles 5 to 7 times per day in my 180 gallon aquarium. That number of cycles is really no issue for most quality electronic switching circuits.

 

[GQuinn]

Removed

 

[Justshoe]

Bringing this one back up. I too have been through most brands and combos, jbj,fluval ,eheim,finnex,apex controlled,finnex controlled, neither. All experiences have been the same. Some last longer others dont. I still don't understand why a manufacturer doesn't go to a current limited supply instead of looking at this as an on/off. Biggest issues with controllers with relay switching is wear from arcing. Biggest issue with elements is the 100%-0% duty cycle they experience. They get really hot then cool off causing break down of coil over time. I'd love to see someone come out with a PTC style element using IGBT control so that we can run heaters almost all of the time at a fixed lower current instead of these constant on and off cycles. This would allow for very steady Temps and hopefully longer lifetime of components. Its great to keep a tank within less than 1 degree but adds extremely high load to device switching on and off all the time. Just hope someday a company like abyzz or other high end manufacturer does this. I would gladly pay much more for a high quality heater with a great warranty to not have to worry about it as much.

 

[Shaun Sweeney]

I feel like I've owned every heater available on the market and I have not found one that seems to be worth anything. Is there a reason that these are all crappy pieces of junk? I'm able to buy decent pumps and awesome lights, is there a reason that there isn't a decent heater available? I'd gladly pay $200 if it meant that I didn't have to replace it every few months and that I could rely on it for a few year of service.

The latest heater I purchased is a Fluval E. Supposed to be one of the better heaters. I installed it, watched it for a few hours and it seemed to be maintaining temperature. The next day I start getting alarms that my tank is 85 degrees. I reset the heater via my profilux and it does fine for a few days and then the temperature starts crashing again for no reason. I checked the heater and it doesn't show low flow or any other reason for the fact that it just isn't turning on. I ended up re-installing my cobalt neo-therm as a back-up. I took that one out of service since after a few months it started leaking electricity into the tank when the top got wet. It's the second neo-therm I purchased. The first one wouldn't tun off straight out of the box and went back immediately. Before that I've had Eheim Jaegers. Everyone I've purchased in the past few years can't keep a constant temperature. Tank is 89 one day. 86 the next. Those used to be rock solid heaters except for the fact that they are so frigging easy to break.

In all honesty, the heaters that seem to work the best are the aqueon preset heaters that I use for waterchanges. I'm tempted to put two of those in my tank. I was thinking about the BRS heaters, but apparently those are out of stock and since all manufacturing in china has ground to a halt, I don't expect them to get any in for the foreseeable future.

Other than the fact that it feels so good to rant, is there a reason that someone hasn't made a decent heater? Anyone else have this problem? Is there a great heater that I just haven't found?

I completely agree and have had one major disaster associated with a heater. I currently heat my tank with a stainless steel heat exchange that is plumbed into my solar heated reservoir. Would have preferred titanium but wasn't able to get it. There is a way this can be done using the house hot water tank as well. I use my electric tank heaters strictly as backup and they seldom come on.

 

[pdcatania]

Haven’t had any problems with the Cobalt Neo Therms 150 and 200. Both tops are under water, running two 150s on current tank. Granted they’re only in during the winter months.

Mine lasted just over a year and then malfunctioned and cooked the tank. It was then that I found out that this is a common problem.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I've always had good luck with the eheims when I keep the tops out of the water

I think that seems to be they key - keeping tops out of the water.

Maybe I can use some epoxy to create better seal around the rubber boot and cable.

 

[Water Dog]

I use an Apex as the failsafe, a Ranco as the controller and a Finnex titanium element as the heater. The commercial grade Ranco temperature controller doing the heavy lifting gives me peace of mind.