Zer0 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 So I've had this heater running for a few days now, but it doesn't seem to operate properly, unless I'm doing something wrong. I set the temperature regulator to 79 degrees F, but it never heated up my tank to 79 degrees, it just hovered around 76-77 degrees. I have to set the regulator wheel to 83 to get the water temperature to a relatively stable 78-79 degrees. That seems sketchy to me. Is this heater just a piece of crap, or is this normal operation? I have a 10G tank btw Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Sounds untrustworthy. Is it new or have you had it awhile? The favored approach is to use an Inkbird ITC-308S temperature controller, which acts as a precise thermostat for any basic aquarium heater. The heater plugs into the Inkbird, and the Inkbird has a temperature probe of its own that goes into your tank, which determines when to turn the heater on and off for more precise heating. This way you are not depending upon the unreliable thermostat in a cheap heater, the Inkbird takes control. If your heater is older, I would consider replacing it as a precaution. An Inkbird can prevent overheating, and sound an alarm if a tank gets too hot or cold, but you should still attach a newer heater to it, for peace of mind. 1 Quote Link to comment
Zer0 Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 I'm going to look into the Inkbird, seems like a nice piece of equipment to have. The heater is brand new. Quote Link to comment
Jakesaw Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 2 hours ago, Zer0 said: I set the temperature regulator to 79 degrees F, but it never heated up my tank to 79 degrees, it just hovered around 76-77 degrees. I have to set the regulator wheel to 83 to get the water temperature to a relatively stable 78-79 degrees. That seems sketchy to me. Is this heater just a piece of crap, or is this normal operation? I have a 10G tank btw I wouldnt' worry about it. I just got rid of a 10 year old Eheim that finally got stuck on the " ON " position. Worked great the whole time, but the temp dial was never accurate. That's why we have thermometers on tank. Set the heater to match your desired temp and not worry about it. That'd be my course. But it's your tank. Quote Link to comment
Chutsk10 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 The Eheim Jager has two dials. One is to actually regulate the temperature and the other is to calibrate it. If you are testing the water at a stable 79 degrees but the regulator says 83 then turn the red arrow to say 79 degrees. Other than that, I've found the Eheim Jagers to be relatively reliable although running a controller like Apex or inkbird adds a second layer of security. 3 Quote Link to comment
Jakesaw Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, Chutsk10 said: The Eheim Jager has two dials. One is to actually regulate the temperature and the other is to calibrate it. If you are testing the water at a stable 79 degrees but the regulator says 83 then turn the red arrow to say 79 degrees. Have been rocking Eheim Jaegers for years and I didn't know that - thanks. Quote Link to comment
Simulated Fish Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Zer0 said: I'm going to look into the Inkbird, seems like a nice piece of equipment to have. The heater is brand new. what method are you testing the temp with? Quote Link to comment
jarviz Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 seems pretty standard. i messed around with 4 heaters recently and none were able to get it exactly what the dial was set for. Temperature was also a couple of degrees off, even the eheim 50W. Quote Link to comment
Zer0 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 2 hours ago, Simulated Fish said: what method are you testing the temp with? I have one digital thermometer and one analog. Quote Link to comment
MrP Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 I have eight Eheim heaters. Not a single one of them line up with the 78 that I keep the tanks at regardless how much I fiddle with the dials. 1 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 13 hours ago, Chutsk10 said: The Eheim Jager has two dials. One is to actually regulate the temperature and the other is to calibrate it. If you are testing the water at a stable 79 degrees but the regulator says 83 then turn the red arrow to say 79 degrees. Other than that, I've found the Eheim Jagers to be relatively reliable although running a controller like Apex or inkbird adds a second layer of security. Yep I got caught out with this only last week 🤣 Quote Link to comment
jarviz Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 Plus the temperature probe or thermometer would have to be directly next to the heater for them to read the same numbers (assuming the heater dial is even that accurate) Quote Link to comment
ausram Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I’ve always used eheim jager heaters for the past 10 years. Sometimes they do need to be recalibrated like was mentioned, but beyond that I’ve never had any issues. Even ran one dry on accident for 48 hours and it was fine after. Don’t recommend doing that but they are workhorses! Quote Link to comment
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