Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 Watt Heater Problem

[shewlett]

I have a Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 watt heater which I purchased last week and for some reason it does not not shut off after the water temperature has reached the thermostat setting. I have a glass thermometer and a digital thermometer in the five gallon tank so I am sure of the actual temperature.

For instance, tonight the thremostat was set for 75 and the thermometers were both reading 80 and the heater light was still on. To get the heater light to turn off I had to set the thermostat down to 72. Afterwards I turned it back up to 76 with out the heater light coming on. Also, the red plastic thermostat control on top of the heater is almost impossible to turn.

Can anyone reccomend a good, reliable, accurate 25 watt heater?

Thanks,

Steve

[yhbae]

Visi Terms are supposed to be good - perhaps you have a defect item.

One of my Ebo Jager appears to have almost the same problem as yours - I have two identical heaters in one of my tank and despite both being set at 77F, one of them is consistently on, while the other one never comes on. I had to reduce the temperature of the active one down to 74F to balance it out. Now, they both come on at about the same frequency (not necessarily at the same time, but similar "on" peroids). I figured they mis-calibrated the thermostat on that one so I didn't bother to return it back to the store. 3 months later, it still seem to work ok.

Perhaps you are experiencing the similar issue?

[chefkeith]

I have 2 visa therm deluxe heaters, both for about 1 year. A 25 Watt and a 150 Watt. The 25 Watt is a piece of junk, its just like yours. The 150 Watt has worked perfectly though. For small tanks I recommend an Ebo Jager 50 Watt heater. Thats what I've been using for my Eclipse 6 tank, ever since I retired that 25 watt visa therm.

[shewlett]

Thanks for the input, chefkeith and yhbae. The Ebo Jager 50 watt heater is 9 inches long which is really too much for my five gallon tank. I'll keep looking around to see what I can come up with.

[yhbae]

If the size matters, I have Tronics heaters as well which are also good. They are MUCH smaller than Ebo Jagers...

[DIYMatt]

I had the same problem with three new 100 watt visi-therms. They were the newer ones with the Marineland name on the package. Maybe size does matter:)? The best I ever got was 3-4 degree swing, not good. I heard later on, that mounting the heater totally horizontal is not optimal for the heater(I heard the manufacturer recommends a 45 degree angle?). I always mounted them totally horizontal, maybe it messes with the mechanical thermostat. How is it mounted?

The only heater I have bought that I would buy again are the new "black" Ebo Jagers with the blue ring on the top. They are big heaters though. I have never noticed even a one degree swing on those tanks. I also have heard Tronics are excellent, but I have never tried them. They have some type of electronic thermostat and are very small. Check the sizes and wattages, a few of the higher wattage heaters than 25 watts may actually be the same physical size as the 25 watt one. The extra wattage shouldn't matter if you have water circualtion and the thermostat works properly.

[shewlett]

I mount the Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 watt heaters vertically using the suction cups. I do this so I have easy access to the thermostat control knob on top. By the way, the red plastic thermostat knobs on the two that I have are almost impossible to turn. I have ordered three 50 watt Tronic heaters and will use one in my seven gallon tank (I'm retiring the 5 gallon tank) and the other two in a 15 gallon tank (24x12x12) I am setting up, one at each end. The Tronic 50 watt heaters are supposed to be only 7 inches long which is good for my setups.

I will be retiring the two Visi-Therm Deluxe 25 watt heaters as soon as I receive the Tronic 50 watt heaters. I can always use them as backups in an emergency but that is all I would use them for.

[shewlett]

I've replaced the 25 Watt Visi-Therm Deluxe with a Tronic 50 watt which works great ... a far better heater as it shuts off when it is supposed to. The two Tronic 50 watt heaters I put in the 15 gallon tank are also working great.:)