what is the BEST,BEST tannk heater
- Thread starter evil wizard
- Start date
Some heaters have an auto shut off when not submerged to a certain level...obviously you don't want a heater running 24/7 and potentially over-heating...
Nearly every heater has a thermal fuse or a thermal switch that serves as an automatic shut off in a run dry situation. This is STRICTLY as a fire prevention method and will not stop a tank from overheating. It's a necessary component to pass any of the UL safety tests.
If the thermal fuse blows, the heater is trash as it will never heat again. If the thermal switch trips, the heater will reset itself once it cools down and continue to function. In heaters equipped with older style bimetal contact points this is a good thing as the bimetal contact points will still function once the condensation is cleared from the contact points or the heater is put back in water.
There is one brand back on the market that is using a triac for electronic control and also has a thermal switch. This is a poor engineering. The triac should shut the heater off first in a run dry situation. If the triac fails the heater is toast. It cannot be made to function properly again. You don't want it being backed up by a thermal switch which will cause the heater to alternate between overheating and cooling down. It should have a thermal fuse to prevent this.
If the thermal fuse blows, the heater is trash as it will never heat again. If the thermal switch trips, the heater will reset itself once it cools down and continue to function. In heaters equipped with older style bimetal contact points this is a good thing as the bimetal contact points will still function once the condensation is cleared from the contact points or the heater is put back in water.
There is one brand back on the market that is using a triac for electronic control and also has a thermal switch. This is a poor engineering. The triac should shut the heater off first in a run dry situation. If the triac fails the heater is toast. It cannot be made to function properly again. You don't want it being backed up by a thermal switch which will cause the heater to alternate between overheating and cooling down. It should have a thermal fuse to prevent this.
for the money I like the no fuss Aqueon Pro heaters, plug em in, set the temp and forget. For one i never trust a heater, i have had a marineland pro fail, ehimes fail, and the cobalts fail, bottom line any maniacal or electrical device can and will fail at some point, just my 2 cents
BG
BG
I had a 10 gallon heater (think it was an aqueon) and it actually overheated, killed all the fish, then proceeded to explode and trash the tank... it was no fun, had about $100 of combined flora and fauna in that tank...
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