Ranco controller

[heartbreak7]

Who out there is using one of the Ranco Controllers? I am about to purchase one to use with my 150W Finnex Titanium heater and want to know if people have had good experiences with this combination/ease of use?

Thanks

 

[Drewpy]

they are easy to use... i have one for brewing beer. turn on and off anything accurately.

 

[Emster]

Yes, they are easy and very good. I love mine.

 

[Speckled Grouper]

My chillers temperature sensor crapped out and I am using a Ranco to control it now. Works great, it's just freaky to see the chiller running and displaying 60 degrees, lol.

 

[Huggyjd]

I have one on my chiller. Never had a problem.

 

[samsfishnchips]

good controller, worth the money,

sam

 

[elephen]

I had the dual-stage Ranco controller from DIYReef.com and had a 150w heater on one end and a Honeywell 40w fan from Walmart on the other end and the dam thing caught on fire and burnt a nice portion of my stand, carpet surrounding the stand and quite a few wires.

I'd be very careful with these and keep a VERY close eye on them.

 

[heartbreak7]

wow thanks for the quick and awesome replies, looks like I made the right purchase!

Thanks

 

[elephen]

Keep in mind this was 6 months ago, it was nowhere near any moisture at all and I had only been running it for 3-4 months.

Personally I'd spend my money on a more quality product like an AC Jr or RK2.

 

[heartbreak7]

man, that's the first time I've heard of something like a fire starting from one of these, maybe a defective unit?

 

[orlenz]

I've used several over the years, never had a single problem with any of them.

 

[elephen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7134245#post7134245 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartbreak7
man, that's the first time I've heard of something like a fire starting from one of these, maybe a defective unit?

Well I was contacted by the the new owner of DIYReef.com and basically told I was SOL and that it was my problem... Great customer service! (hence the sarcasm?)

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7134229#post7134229 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elephen
I had the dual-stage Ranco controller from DIYReef.com and had a 150w heater on one end and a Honeywell 40w fan from Walmart on the other end and the dam thing caught on fire and burnt a nice portion of my stand, carpet surrounding the stand and quite a few wires.

I'd be very careful with these and keep a VERY close eye on them.

Keep in mind this was 6 months ago, it was nowhere near any moisture at all and I had only been running it for 3-4 months.

Personally I'd spend my money on a more quality product like an AC Jr or RK2.

RANCO controllers are used worldwide on countless pieces of equipment. Look on just about any walk in cooler, chilled salad table, commercial chiller or commercial HVAC equipment and you will find a RANCO. You will find the exact same model you use on your tank. Can these things be defective, of course. Is their failure rate anywhere near that of AQUARIUM equipment? NO, it's not even on the same planet. The unit contain low voltage logic and a power relay. Relays can burn up, but usually relays burn up becuase of the LOAD that they are asked to run or because of an inductive spike causing the contacts to weld shut. More often than not this is caused by faulty attached equipment, but could also be due to a power surge or in rare cases a faulty relay contact.

I am not beating you up for wanting people to take a hard look at their equipment, but to be fair they should understand the big picture. RANCO controllers are pretty reliable in commercial and industrial settings and exponetially more reliable than anything produced for this hobby.