Tank heaters revisited

mike31154 · #17 12-15-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nazerine

I use ebo heaters, but I try not to submerse them. The thermostat dial moves on the outside, and of course moves something on the inside; so in my mind that tells me water COULD get inside somehow.

When possible I don't submerge them, like in my main setup. But I have stock tank full of rock, and the heater is somewhere in the bottom

I'm with Nazerine on this one. There is a mechanical linkage on most heaters to dial in the desired temperature. That mechanical linkage is the weak 'link' in the case of this type of heater. The fewer electrical cords in the water the better off you are. Standards, schmandards, while I agree they are needed, essential even, I've also seen and heard of sufficient mishaps with equipment certified to a certain standard. When it comes to electricity and water I prefer to err on the side of caution. I keep my heater within the waterline markings at all times and turn it off well before lowering the water level or removing it.

I do have a small powerhead with a partially submerged cord running my skimmer, but there is no linkage involved as is the case with the heater. It's completely encased in epoxy with nothing entering except the cord itself. So I'm putting my trust into the integrity of the insulation and epoxy. If I could figure out a way to raise it a little without running the pump dry, I'd do it in a heartbeat. My safety valve in this case is that it is connected to a GFCI ciruit so that if I happen to become the path to ground for 120 volts AC, the GFCI will trip before there's sufficient current flow to take me out. My other power head is a VorTech which has all the electrical components on the outside of the tank. If you're submerging your powerheads, look at getting the newer 12 or 24 volt DC types when the time comes to replace them. Lower voltage poses much less danger near or in the water. The trend with the newer controllable power heads is DC voltage vs 120 volt AC. Safety is one reason and ease of control is the other.