Exploding heater

[bigJPDC]

Went to check on the sw mixing vat and noticed that the power strip that held the ph and visa-therm deluxe heater was dead. I flipped the breaker and went back to check on things . . . flash . . . flash . . .ka-POW! Even with a foot or two of water in the 32 ga Brute I felt a concussion and then this was all that was left:

 

 

So now I have to obviously dump the vat and fish out the broken glass and start over.

No more glass heaters ever - only stealths from now on.

 

jp

[YBeNormal]

Lucky there was no fire and no one got hurt!

[Guest Zimzdoodle]

Oh my! I'm glad you did not get hurt. I'm not sure if I would know what to do in your situation.

 

Pst....I'm still a newbie.

 

How long did you have that heater?

[treesprite]

Ouch! Now be careful when you clean up the glass. One of my thermometers is glass - I should think about replacing it.

[bigJPDC]

thanks guys - this could have been very very nasty.

 

The heater and a ph were in a 32 gal brute can in the unfinished part of the basement where I have the RODI set up. At the time of the explosion I was actually looking up at a ceiling fixture above me because I thought the flashing in the room was the light going bad. If this happened in the main tank sump, even if the sump survived we are talking about a major cleanup - not to mention I obviously don't have a backup sump with baffles etc. The heater is about two years old and has only been in the brute can - I went the cheapest I could since it was only for the mixing vat. I felt the concussion through the can on my legs so I'm pretty sure this had some potential. And the exposion didn't trip the breaker btw. I turned off the powerstrip and then unplugged it without incident.

 

The brute can stinks like gunpowder so that will now be used for trash - I'll dump the contents into some kind of strainer and then put the broken shards in a glass mason jar for disposal.

 

If I think about it - this is probably the inevitability of a glass heater.

[jason the filter freak]

I don't see why a plastic heater couldn't explode as well. Why not a titanium heat probe?

[quazi]

I had a Won Brothers Titanium heater catch on fire. All heaters are dangerous.

[Highland Reefer]

Titanium heat probe is the way to go. I agree with Jason. If the probe shorts out or brakes, then the titanium does not react with the salt water.

[Jager]

I have had a visitherm stealth heater catch fire under water and kill a regal angel, so jsut cause its plastic does not mean its safe if it shorts with live voltage.

 

just be careful and inspect your heaters for cracks age, and if you find a gfci flipped on your heaters connection check it before you turn it back on, or at least test it outside the tank.

 

might save you a lot of headaches as that is what mine did, except visually it looked fine until it decided to go.

 

oh i bet the smell is wonderful in that can... mine smelt horrible like fried electronics...

Edited June 24, 2008 by Jager

[gmubeach]

wow well least you weren't hurt!

[Freezerburn]

Sometimes ya got to step back and look at all the electrical wires going into a salt water tank and wonder if whoever put this together is suicidal. Then realize it was you that did it.