Heater replacement frequency.

[glenns]

We all know that heaters should not be trusted. But how long you keep a heater in you DT before replacing it? I currently have an 250W Eheim Jager that was not UL approved to be fully submersed. So I've run it at the water line. It is coming up on 5 yrs and appears to be running fine. Should I use it until it dies or replace it?

 

[Toddrtrex]

To be honest, my heaters are so old that I have no idea what brand they are. I am thinking that 2 of them are at least 7 years old, if not more.

 

[snorvich]

Use a Ranco controller or equivalent and sleep well. Personally I have a heater/chiller.

 

[charleneatkins]

I wonder about the same thing. I have the stealths. All mine seem to be ok. I have backups ready to go. Usually "Murphy" does not let me get away with anything.

 

[glenns]

Use a Ranco controller or equivalent and sleep well. Personally I have a heater/chiller.

That may help with temp accuracy, but what about them leaking and popping?

 

[Harry_Y]

I wonder about the same thing. I have the stealths. All mine seem to be ok. I have backups ready to go. Usually "Murphy" does not let me get away with anything.

You may want to have your stealths checked

Mine were recalled

 

[scuzy]

replace the stealths too many bad stories. I never heard anything bad about Ebo tho. I would get a controller to put myself at ease encase the internal thermostat fails.

 

[DoubleVanos]

IIRC, I remember older Jager heaters had issues with condensation seeping inside the glass which could then potentially cause it to pop. I'd inspect it for that specifically.

I decided not to run one big powerful heater on my system because I think it gives disaster an opportunity to strike. At the moment, I'm running two smaller heaters and have them dialed 1 degree apart. If one of them fails or needs help, the other will pick up its slack. If the thermostat breaks and gets stuck on "ON", then I'm here hoping that it wont be strong enough to overpower the chiller and cause the water to overheat.

 

[glenns]

Thanks, DoubleVanos, I'll inspect it. I plan on using two smaller heaters in the future. I don't currently have a chiller or controller. During the summer, I just unplug the heater. But I'm planning on building a new canopy so I can run topless. So I may need to leave the heater during the summer.

As for controller, I plan to get a controller.