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

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!!

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.

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).

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

That sucks, is everything ok?
:neutral:


Nice avatar! lol

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

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

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.