why do heaters always fail in the "on" position?

[christyf5]

I mean come on! I don't know how many bloody heaters I've had die on me over the years and every single time they cook the tank. Came downstairs to my nano at 89.7F. Friggin ridiculous!!

[Megalodon]

What brand?

[christyf5]

What brand?



oh this is some crap brand probably, I don't even think it says on it. It just says Thermo Compact Pre-Set. Its a 50watter so I was kind of limited by what I could find for a nano around here.

[bauder1986]

oh this is some crap brand probably, I don't even think it says on it. It just says Thermo Compact Pre-Set. Its a 50watter so I was kind of limited by what I could find for a nano around here.

Those pre-set temp heaters are dangerous. Had one a while back that cooked my tank and killed off half of what i had.

[christyf5]

Those pre-set temp heaters are dangerous. Had one a while back that cooked my tank and killed off half of what i had.


this one is no different from any of the other heaters I have, are there some that aren't pre-set (that don't cost a fortune because they have their own fancy external controller)? All of mine you dial to wherever you want it and it heats to that temperature (or close to it anyways).

[fencer]

most heaters are regulated by a bimetallic strip which basically will fail with time. They are not seleniod switches which open on fail. Your best choice ia a Thermocouple and controller. You can program in failsafes

[Cade]

That sucks, is everything ok?
:neutral:


What brand?

Nice avatar! lol

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Sorry Christy but it's called Murphy's Law.

[Tom R]

Hi Christy

why do heaters always fail in the "on" position?

And while your asking

Why does a stapler always run out of staples right when you need one?

The best way to fail safe a heater system is to use a controller to monitor the temperature and attach all your heaters (cheap or expensive) set to a temperature that is well above that set in the controller. The controller will shut off the electricity to the heater once the controlled heat level has been achieved.

Tom R

[ScubaSteve]

To answer your question... The bimetallic strip activates the switch into the ON position and as it switches over there is often a small arc between the two contacts when they're only a short distance apart. Sometimes this arc can actually cause the contacts to weld together, thus leaving you with a heater that is permanently on. This usually happens as the bimetallic strip begins to fail and the switch switches over slowly or the contacts become worn with age.

[daniella3d]

since you're so badlucky with heaters, maybe it's time to buy a contrôler and let it handle the heating????

I never had a heater do that but I use a contrôler so it cannot do it.

I mean come on! I don't know how many bloody heaters I've had die on me over the years and every single time they cook the tank. Came downstairs to my nano at 89.7F. Friggin ridiculous!!

[gregzz4]

Came downstairs to my nano at 89.7F
This little guy (http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/mc-bdalt/Lifegard+Aquatics+Lifegard+Big+Digital+Alert+Therm ometer.html) saved my downstairs 36g twice. I could hear it beeping from upstairs.
Once was during a heat wave, so I bought a chiller.
Next time it went off was when the chiller stuck on and the heater couldn't keep up. Stupid chiller :mrgreen:

This isn't first heater you've lost this year, correct ?

[toytech]

this is why i bought a reefkeeper lite last week , ive had fish soup before and ill never have it again .A 120$ controller is worth way less than a full tank getting fried.