Joshifer October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 So last night the lights on the neotherm started flashing. Acting odd so I removed it and replaced it with another heater. Plugged it in today in a bucket of tap water the thing exploded in the bucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfins October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 I think Cobalt is a good company, so I trust their products as far as any. Stuff happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob A October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 I kind of feel that heaters in general are ticking time bombs. I'm sure some are better than others... Someone did a write up recently about one that broke in his tank and when he reached into the tank the shock knocked him across the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshifer October 12, 2016 Author Share October 12, 2016 I kind of feel that heaters in general are ticking time bombs. I'm sure some are better than others... Someone did a write up recently about one that broke in his tank and when he reached into the tank the shock knocked him across the room. Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfins October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 I've been shocked too. That's why I now keep a grounding probe in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 It seems like they were great the first few years they were out. Don't know if they have changed manufacturing or something else but there have been more issues in the last year/ year and a half than before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstContact October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 My son had a Cobalt heater on his freshwater tank and it exploded too. I think it's something related to their model of heater that they have these exploding issues from time to time. I have been running multiple Eheim Jagers for 8 years with no issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshifer October 12, 2016 Author Share October 12, 2016 So it wasn't a fluke their just bad heaters. Maybe I'll sell the replacement and buy a different brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshfins October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 It was an Eheim that shocked me. I've had a few Eheims go bad, but they're supposed to be one of the best brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilRams October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 Cobalt's exploding was a known issue for some time mostly with the 200w version. They apparently fixed the issue. I have a 150w version I'm using in my AIO. I felt comfortable enough with it after speaking to them at Macna last year. It's hard to beat the form factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 12, 2016 Share October 12, 2016 We only use Ebo Jagers- very little issues in 25 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshifer October 13, 2016 Author Share October 13, 2016 (edited) I'm googling and not finding any real answers. Only clue I came across was someone saying when fully submerged after time the salt causes the gasket around the power plug to give out and water leaks inside the heater. Eventually cooking the water inside the heater causing it to explode. All of these people mentioned it running for 3 months. Owners manuals say to completely submerge the heater. Maybe I can hang it just so the power cord is out of water. I don't know. But I found a lot of people having this problem. And it bothers me. Not only for the tank but the safety of my family and home. One guy pulled it out too quick and it blew up in his face and took cobalt to court. Another families house burned down. Another man lost priceless corals. Which is my lease concern when my family is involved. Scary stuff. Edited October 13, 2016 by Joshifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 13, 2016 Share October 13, 2016 I believe Cobalt was started by the same 3 guys who left after a lawsuit from another aquarium company for exploding heaters. From what I've heard, those heaters and the new ones are virtually unchanged and share similar issues. Throw it in the trash and buy an Ebo Jäger. After 4-5 years, throw it away and buy another- heater replacement on a periodic basis is good for peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 13, 2016 Share October 13, 2016 For reference, Rob is talking about these. They used to be called Ebo, but are now often referred to as both Eheim and Ebo: http://www.marinedepot.com/Eheim_Jager_TruTemp_Fully_Submersible_UL_Approved_Heater_Glass_Tube_Aquarium_Heaters-Jager-EJ1111-FIHTGH-vi.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami October 13, 2016 Share October 13, 2016 So it wasn't a fluke their just bad heaters. Maybe I'll sell the replacement and buy a different brand. Heaters are one of the weak spots in our systems. Reliability is a major concern. In most cases, a quartz-glass encased heater's weak spot will be the seal between the glass and the top (where the control typically is located). If water gets inside the heater, it will instantly vaporize and the pressure will blow open the glass envelope. This is a seal-integrity failure and, if submerged, this can lead to a lot of copper from exposed wiring that's suddenly melting being released. The original Marineland Stealth heaters were all plastic and had a decent performance record. Later, they replaced the top with one comprised of different plastics (on what they called the Stealth Pro) and they started exploding everywhere (it seemed). The brand took a major hit and was pulled from the market and a recall tried to ensure that every Stealth was gone from the hobby. (You still find them around today and they should be tossed.) Even Ebo/Eheim Jagers users have stories of failing heaters. It happens. But they are a reliable brand. It's just a personal opinion here, but many of these (seal integrity) failures would not have happened if the top seal on the heater was never submerged in the first place. There are designs(on the internet) for heater installation that avoid submerging the top of the heater. BeanAnimal (Be-an-animal) floated one many years ago where he used cable glands (we often use them as probe holders in this hobby) installed in the side of a sump to keep the glass end of the heater in the water and the cap-end out of the water. Others have used PVC pipe assemblies and some sort of fitting to do the same (Dan Lichens of Avast built one many years ago). Some manufacturers have changed up the heater design some to create in-line heaters that put the water inside the case and the heating elements outside the case and in dry air (example: Hydor's ETH series of in-line heaters). Heaters are pretty simple in their overall design: They use a bunch of resistive wire to turn electricity into heat, some sort of thermostat (normally a cheap, bi-metalic strip) for coarse on-off temperature regulation, and a mechanical container to keep water separated from the electric stuff. If any of this fails, then the heater doesn't work. In most cases, it's a heater that either doesn't turn on or turn off. But, in some cases, it can be a heater that explodes (even violently). I've never had a heater fail but have heard the stories. Long ago, I replaced all my (original) Stealth heaters (which I ran for 3-4 years without problem) with Ebo Jagers which, to this day, I run fully submerged. Also, I don't rely on the built-in thermostat in the heater but rely on external control (either from my Apex or from a Ranco controller). This keeps the bimetallic strip failure mode from becoming an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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