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I've killed at least 5 heaters so far. 2 walmart heaters, 1 jager, 1 all glass and I can't remember the last one. Most of those I don't even know why they quit working. I did forget to unplug the all glass one and it started smoking.... Heaters that have survived more than a year are 1 walmart heater for some unknown reason, 1 via aqua, and 1 visi therm stealth heater. Now I need a 2nd heater for my 90g and I'd like to replace the walmart heater running on my 20g long. Via aqua are on sale... or maybe more stealth heaters since I'm told they are practically indestructible. The guys at the LFS tested them by slamming a few against the floor and they still worked. Anyone have a preference over either of those heaters or use a visi therm deluxe? The deluxe is slightly cheaper than the stealth heaters but I haven't tried one.

I'm curious as to why the heaters are dying so easily on you. I've got a top fin (petsmart brand) HOB heater that is frequently running with water below the minumum water line, an old penn plax that was in a garage, a neptune, and an ebo jager, and none of them have ever had problems (well the ebo keeps the tank 5F too hot ).

Only thing that comes to mind is that you're putting too much strain on the heaters and need a higher wattage heater. Just a thought.

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My heaters are barely on... I rarely see a light on in the tanks. The only tank that is an exception is the 29g which is kept at 82F and it has extra heating plus no heater has broken on that one. It currently has the stealth heater. I forgot I do still have a 200w jager working on my 55g that's been there since I set up the tank. I lost the jager on that tank and never replaced it. It seems the heaters that break do so within the first month and I can only come up with a reason for 1.

Titanium, I have one on my 55g and its great. I have one with an external controller and it works great.

I don't have too much experience with heaters, but my Jaeger is working just fine (also, just like Babel's, 5 degrees lower than the actual tank temp).

To my knowledge, Jaeger are the most reliable and longest running heaters. But, someone here mentioned that as of lately they do not live up to their reputation anymore. Obviously, the glass of it is still thick, so maybe they safe money on the internal parts and that's why there might be an early malfunction.

Overall, I would suggest you give them another try.

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 20-Jul-2005 17:59

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Stealths are great. I was highly impressed with the slamming against the ground thing.

All my tanks have stealths save one all glass 100W, which is a nice brand, as well.

I also have heard of many problems with the newer Ebos at work from customers, though I have never owned one.

I always use Tronic heaters, and have never had any problems with them whatsoever. They keep the tank exactly the temperature that it is set to on the heater.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Stay with the Stealth. Unbreakable, have a safety switch inside to shut off if your water level drops below the heater, has a shock absorber in the bottom in case you drop it and it protects the elements, can't go wrong, might cost a little more, but hey its better than buying several in the life of one Stealth.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Just a thought but are the heaters all being plugged into the same powerboard/outlet or adaptor? Maybe it is the powerboard that is the prob and causing them to short/burn out. If you replace that then maybe the next heater will be fine?

good luck it is annoying having something go wrong repeatedly.

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I guess I haven't tested the accuracy of my still running jager. I had to borrow the thermometer for another tank. I know one of the heaters wasn't plugged into the same place as the others but just about everything both working heaters and ones that broke, along with lights, filters... were all plugged into my huge power strip with battery backup. I was just shy of blowing the fuse You couldn't plug anything else into the outlets on that wall or the fuse would blow. It would make me wonder except my still working jager and visi therm were also plugged into there. I think I'm gonna get a 250w(highest I can find) stealth heater and then use my 200w visi therm for the 90g. Put the 200w jager on the 20g and get a new heater for the 5g. Turns out the visi therm I stuck on there cause it was the only working heater not in use is 200w. A bit much I think. My puffer could get fried easy if it quit working.