outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Are all heaters compatible with a external controller? I am using the Reef Safe Solutions controller and Cobalt Easy--Therm Heaters. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Are all heaters compatible with a external controller? I am using the Reef Safe Solutions controller and Cobalt Easy--Therm Heaters. All the controller will do is shut off power to the heater when it goes above a certain temperature. Therefor all devices that have plugs work I believe. However I would recommend setting the Neo-Therm to 78 and then the controller to 80 so that it will not constantly power on/power off the heater and reduce lifespan. Link to comment
MPSchenck Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Hello, I recently bought this very unit, RS1, and I'm using it will a Cobalt Neo-Therm 100W heater. The ReefSafe Solutions RS1 is basically a super nice housing for an InkBird ITC-1000 temp controller. The power handling capacity of that controller is cooling 10A/250VAC/ heating 10A/250VAC, found here under Product Description & Relay Contact Capacity. So I used this calculator to figure it will control up to a 1000watt (9.09 amp usage on 110 volts) heater without an issue. It should also handle a fan or cooling device of similar wattage since both the heater and cooling device won't be on at the same time. Hope this helps. Link to comment
outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Just curious cause someone on a thread had said there heater wouldn't work with the controller. Maybe they just didn't set up the controller correctly Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Just curious cause someone on a thread had said there heater wouldn't work with the controller. Maybe they just didn't set up the controller correctly Was it the thread where the OP was international and did not have the USA style plugs? Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 All the controller will do is shut off power to the heater when it goes above a certain temperature. Therefor all devices that have plugs work I believe. However I would recommend setting the Neo-Therm to 78 and then the controller to 80 so that it will not constantly power on/power off the heater and reduce lifespan. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Like set the controller to 78 and the heater to 80? That's how I set my RS-1 up at least. My thought is that the controller is overall more precise and less likely to fail so don't even involve the heater's built-in thermostat unless it's needed. I suppose it could work the other way around though, with the controller acting solely as a backup... Also can you give more info on how the powering on/off reduces the heater lifespan? I'm not sure I've heard that before but I am curious. Link to comment
outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Was it the thread where the OP was international and did not have the USA style plugs? No it was in the thread when reef safe solutions was having a close out on the first model. Think you bought one then as well. Link to comment
Water Dog Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Yeah, I have an RS-1 with a Cobalt Neotherm 100 as well... Neotherm is set at 80 and RS-1 is set at 78. been working great, no issues thus far. Link to comment
Mojado Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Just curious cause someone on a thread had said there heater wouldn't work with the controller. Maybe they just didn't set up the controller correctly Controllers work best with heaters that are just "dumb" resistors with mechanical thermostats. Just set the heater's thermostat for the highest temperature setting (or some safe high setting in case your controller leaves it on) and let the controller turn it on/off. There are some "smart" heaters however, like the Aqueon Pro Heaters, that have smarts in there that digitally monitor the temperature, have solid state switches to turn on/off the heater, turn off when removed from water, etc. These smart heaters aren't recommended to work with a controller. Link to comment
outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Well I have the easytherms coming and not the neotherms. Not sure if its a smart heater or not but does state that will turn off if out of water and resets once cooled off. Controllers work best with heaters that are just "dumb" resistors with mechanical thermostats. Just set the heater's thermostat for the highest temperature setting (or some safe high setting in case your controller leaves it on) and let the controller turn it on/off. There are some "smart" heaters however, like the Aqueon Pro Heaters, that have smarts in there that digitally monitor the temperature, have solid state switches to turn on/off the heater, turn off when removed from water, etc. These smart heaters aren't recommended to work with a controller. Link to comment
Mojado Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Well I have the easytherms coming and not the neotherms. Not sure if its a smart heater or not but does state that will turn off if out of water and resets once cooled off. yeah, you're good. This is the words you were looking for: "bimetal thermostatic switch". Just set it for a temp that's high, far enough away from your controller's accuracy, yet not too high that you'll nuke your tank if the controller fails, and you should be good. Link to comment
outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 What does Triac thermostat switch mean cause thats whats listed on the heater? yeah, you're good. This is the words you were looking for: "bimetal thermostatic switch". Just set it for a temp that's high, far enough away from your controller's accuracy, yet not too high that you'll nuke your tank if the controller fails, and you should be good. Link to comment
outerorbiter Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Ok heard back from cobalt and the said all of their heaters are compatable with controllers with the exception of the new-therms needing to be plugged in to certain outlets on an apex. Link to comment
Themerchant Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 you can also add an extra level of protection by installing a Ranco temp controller (add somne silicon on temp probe) http://www.instructables.com/id/Wiring-a-RANCO-ETC-111000-000-Digital-Temperature-/ Link to comment
inkbird Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 Hello, I recently bought this very unit, RS1, and I'm using it will a Cobalt Neo-Therm 100W heater. The ReefSafe Solutions RS1 is basically a super nice housing for an InkBird ITC-1000 temp controller. The power handling capacity of that controller is cooling 10A/250VAC/ heating 10A/250VAC, found here under Product Description & Relay Contact Capacity. So I used this calculator to figure it will control up to a 1000watt (9.09 amp usage on 110 volts) heater without an issue. It should also handle a fan or cooling device of similar wattage since both the heater and cooling device won't be on at the same time. Hope this helps. How about the INKBIRD ITC-1000 updated version ITC-308S? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FTYRORS You don't need to DIY one. Link to comment
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