Can Heaters Touch?

C

cincyjim

New member
I put a second heater in my sump and it is laying basically on top of the heater that was already in there. Is it okay for the heaters to lay on top of one another? They are Eheim 250w all glass heaters. Thanks!
 
NO. I'm sure that's not a good idea. They each have a thermostat that is supposed to detect their own temperature, and stop heating when it's enough. Confusion in that department is not a good idea. Heaters are just about the most dangerous piece of equipment in the whole hobby, and can cause fires.
 
Thanks for the heads up Sk8r! I moved the heaters away from each other. The only reason I did it was limited space. I should have done it right the first time. Thanks again!!!
 
If you're using multiple heaters, you probably *want* them far apart, for more even heating. The water right around a single heater is always warmer than the rest of the system anyway; by placing the second heater farther away, its thermostat is heating based on what's closer to the average water temp.
 
I actually have them placed in the sump near the return pump and my temp probe is on the opposite end of the sump.
 
While I ran 3 glass heaters for years in the same compartment in close proximity to one another with no issues. I currently have my temp probe in the first sump compartment, then one heater in the second compartment and the second heater in the last (return) compartment.
 
They can certainly be close and yes you may get "slightly" better consistency in heat across all water surfaces with them spread out.. very..very slightly though..

But there is no harm in having them close to each other at all.. There is zero issues with thermostats in each being "confused".. Thats just nonsense..
 
If the primary temperature controllers are separate from the heaters (which I much prefer) then having the heaters close to each other is not an issue. I would still not allow them to touch.

I have my heaters next to each other but they have no built in controller.

I would not put my heaters in a location where the water could be drained and expose the heaters to air. This could be the return and the overflow. Otherwise I make sure my temp probes up upstream of the heaters. I would also not want my temp probes in a completely different location from the heaters. Like probe in tank or overflow and heater in sump. If there is a loss of flow the probe needs to detect the heaters and shut them down if necessary.
 
jason2459 said:
If the primary temperature controllers are separate from the heaters (which I much prefer) then having the heaters close to each other is not an issue. I would still not allow them to touch.

I have my heaters next to each other but they have no built in controller.
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Click to expand...

So built in or not you are saying its fine to have them next to each other.. ;)
 
I would not put them next to each other if at all possible due to thermometer issues. Even with a secondary controller it's a good idea to use the heater's thermometer as a back-up set a little higher than where you set the controller. With the heaters next to each other it will definitely effect their thermometer from reading correctly which will lead to short cycling and a shorter heater life.
 
I have four 300W stick heaters lined up right next to each other - no problems. The key is to makes sure there is adequate water flow around them.
 
I don't know about ya'll, but I have enough water flow through my sump that it doesn't matter where the heaters are.

I could see in a stagnant pool that two heaters close to each other could cause problems, but with all the water movement in our tanks, the water that's being heated sure doesn't seem to stick around the heater for too long.
 
Fwiw, OP wasn't asking about where or how far away from or even just right next to each other but in direct contact with each other touching laying on top of each other. Heaters have a high enough failure rate and some catastrophically exploding I would not have two heaters directly touching each other especially laying on top of each other.
 
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