finnex titanium heaters...

[fustilarian]

.. stink1!!! :furious:

The titanium tube on both of mine was directly connected to ground. The electrical work (and plenty of other stuff) in my house is sub par and done incorrectly. Basically ALL voltage on the green wires was going into my tank and then through me to gound every time i touched the water. This resulted in some pretty bad shocks EVEN WITH POWER OFF. It was a long process to figure that out but eventually narrowed that down.

If you have finnex titanium heaters and a multi-meter, try this: set your meter to conductivity test (or resistance) unplug your heater and touch one probe to the ground prong of the heater plug and touch the other to the water, or the tube itself. Please post if you get readings.

On a side note, can anyone recommend a good heater? I have a ranco controller (buttleproof controller worked great for years) and about 200g volume, looking for 2 250w or 3 200w, etc.. Why is buying a heater so scary? Reading reviews around here, other forums, amazon, etc.. it seems literally EVERY heater out there has had horror stories. I'm leaning towards a qt tank for the heaters. :hmm5: Thanks!

 

[AnselnEdie]

I have some bad news. First, that's exactly how an equipment ground is supposed to be wired to protect you from a short between an energized component and the body of the device.

Second, you should never, ever have current coming in from the ground wire. You need to get an electrician to your house immediately if that's actually happening. That's an extremely unsafe situation.

 

[vhuang168]

You already said the electrical work in the house is sub par and done incorrectly. The fault is not with the heater but with the wiring in the house.

Is there something that constantly trips the breaker?


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[1jwampler]

I have some bad news. First, that's exactly how an equipment ground is supposed to be wired to protect you from a short between an energized component and the body of the device.

Second, you should never, ever have current coming in from the ground wire. You need to get an electrician to your house immediately if that's actually happening. That's an extremely unsafe situation.

Not sure, but, I think the OP means his outlet is wired with hot and neutral reversed and somehow the Finex is leaking neutral to ground. Obviously whether your outlet is wired wrong or not current should not run through the tank. Also, though, he may be blaming Finex and it may be the ground and another source is providing hot completing the loop through the Finex. But... Plus 1 on the get the house checked ASAP!!!

Meanwhile there is a $5 quick tester that can be purchased at HomeDepot that the OP can plug into each outlet supplying power to any device used for the tank. If this doesn't show orange/orange/off I would highly recommend pulling all power cords before putting hands in the water. Saltwater is very conductive and will kill you as fast as touching the copper wires in the outlet.


The above said, Finex is probably the cheapest titanium element on the market and IMHO doesn't hold up, there are lots of better titanium elements out there. Just google reef tank titanium heater.


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