Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tanks and Equipment => Topic started by: Nan on May 26, 2019, 03:40:44 PM
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Hi. I have a little Eheim Jager Heaterstat 25w heater in my 5 (US) gallon tank. It's been holding the temp at between 76F and 78F just fine for a full month. Two nights ago at about 5:00am the thermometer alarm went off. I checked and the tank was at 81F and the heater was still heating. I unplugged it, and because it was 5:00am and I wasn't awake enough to think, I turned the thermostat down and plugged it back in again.
Yesterday morning when I got up I checked and the tank was at about 74F (the room temp was about 67F), so I turned the thermostat (while it was still plugged in and in the tank) until the light came on. Since then (most of yesterday and a lot of today) I've been trying to get the heater to heat to +/- 77 as it had been doing, but not having much luck. I have unplugged it now and am waiting for a while for it to totally cool off and then will turn it back on.
I am more concerned with the sudden spike to 81F than having to fiddle with getting it reset to where I want it, again. Had I not had the alarm on the tank, who knows how high it would have gone? I have emailed Eheim for advice, but thought I'd check here to see if anyone else has had this problem? I've used Eheim heaters for years and never had a problem with one before now.
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Like you I have had Eheim Jager heaters for years with no problems, they are usually the most reliable of heaters. But as with everything, there is always the exception.
Did the peak coincide with the recent warm weather?
Was the light on when the temperature hit its peak (I do realise this was 5 am and I am not really awake at that time of day, alarm or not ;D )?
It will be interesting to see what Eheim say, if they reply.
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Middle of the night, room temp hasn't gotten over 71F even in the daytime recently (it's not been hot up here, really), I think it was around 65-67F in the room when the heater had it up at 81F and the alarm was blaring. The light was still on when the alarm was sounding.
This is a replacement for one I brought over from the States. I wanted one that ran on local current. Thankfully I still have the US model and if I can't get this stable and the alarm goes off again I can always replace the new one with the old one. (It would be running off a transformer.)
The tank is now at 77F and I've FINALLY been able to get the heater light to turn off. Will see how that goes over the next several hours. The thermometer alerts me to low and high temps, so that's handy....
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I had written to Eheim, and also to Swell Aquatics, which is who I bought it from. Swell advises:
I have now spoken with technical, they have told me that your heater has most likely had an issue with the thermostat which has caused the temperature to raise. If you are in an area that is prone to electrical surges and the heater is plugged into an outlet without a surge protector, this can cause the issue. To negate this we advise to put any electrical items linked to your fish tank on a surge protector as this will prevent any future surges.
As for the heater. If you haven’t already, please turn the heater off and disconnect from the mains supply for 1-2 hours (this will reset the thermostat in the heater). Plug it back in and drop into your tank after the 1-2 hours and this should get the heater up and running again. However, if the same issue occurs after you have reset and reseated the heater please let me know and I can get a collection arranged to bring this back to us for testing.
I haven't had any indication we were in an area prone to power surges, but one never knows.
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Apologies for resurrecting an old topic but I've read elsewhere that some folk use these external temperature controllers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223436915756 in an effort to prevent a heater from over-heating if they don't auto-switch off, as some poor guy experienced with fatal consequences for his fish.
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It’s not uncommon for heaters to fail in the on position as such as the thermostats in them are rather basic and a point of easy failure. The problem is these thermostat failures can be somewhat unpredictable I’ve had some work for only a couple of month from reputable brands and others that never seem to want to stop working (7+years on) from cheapo brands.
Suggest surge protection is an easy way out for them...
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Hi Folks,
I can possibly help with this but I'm pushed for time right now.
I'll be back - hopefully, tomorrow.
JPC
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I do have surge protectors in use, and have so far only had heaters fail by not working (rather than over heating). Perhaps I've just been lucky. The guy at MA said he lost his mudskippers to a heater that overheated, which is an awful thought.
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Hi Folks,
I posted on this topic previously:
https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/general-fishkeeping-advice/ways-to-prevent-(or-reduce-likelihood-of)-fatal-accidents/msg46445/#msg46445
In temperature-controlled aquarium heaters, they contain a heating element and a temperature controller, often called the thermostat. Temperature control can either be done by the somewhat dated mechanical bimetallic strip or an electronic sensor. Both are capable of failure. In my view, it is wrong to suggest that surge protection is the answer.
Note that some aquarium heaters do not incorporate any form of temperature control. Such heaters rely on an external controller such as those in my link above.
JPC