Heater Problem ! ( Pic added )

[DR.V]

Hi all,

I was feeding prawn to my fish in the big tank. Somehow my finger touched the water and I can feel some electricity in the water. It felt like being shocked by electricity but in small voltage !

I tried to find the culprit here. I was thinking it could be the heater , cannister filter or submersible pump from the sump. I tried to switch off one of them and put my hand back in the water. The first thing I tried is one of the heaters ( I used 2 in the tank ).

1. Sera 300W, after I switched it off, the electricity still in the water.

2. Stainless Steel Aqua One 250W , after I switched it off the electricity is GONE !!!

So the problem was with the Aqua One SS heater !!!! I even tried dip the electricity screw driver ( the one with the light bulb in it) and the light went on !

Any one had the same problem ??

Well I thought this heater was a good one and was about to order some more from our sponsor on Monday.

[DR.V]

Oh lucky ! None of the fish DIE !!

[Proteus]

I have used several 300w SS heaters for years and never had an issue, but I am sure out of every 100 or so there maybe a black sheep. (that goes with most products)

Was it touching the gravel by any chance?

Glad your fish are all ok

[DR.V]

Nope, I place the heater on the bottom of the sump.

It doesnt touch anything other than the suction cap.

Hmm since you said no problem for the past years Pro, I might still order some more on Monday :p

[Proteus]

That is with the 300w model, having no issues

I have had issues with others brands, including AquaOne, but they were all glass heaters.

[DR.V]

Yes mine is 250W Pro ...

[Mulisha]

I have had the same thing happen to me as well sometimes if i have a small cut or something or just the end of my fingers they feel like i'm get a small zap. I find if you quickly put ur fingers and arm in the tank and not just put ur fingers tips in there and see if you still get the same feeling.

If i stick my hole hand in quickly i don't feel it but i'm not sure why.. :lol: :lol:

[DR.V]

Hmm dont dare to plug the heater back on again lol

Dont wanna risk the fish and playing around with electricity myself :p

[FishLover]

lucky you are alive.


I would try a meter instead of my hand. Water and electricty does not mix well. LOL

[oscar]

I would also suggest the use of a multi meter or similar.

Electricity is dangerous stuff.

[aquafrogstuff]

I suspect the 'electricity' you were feeling was due to stray currents finding their way to earth through you. Don't suppose you remember whether you had shoes on or not??

Anyway, if this is a manufacturing defect then the product should be pulled. One in a 100 duds is still totally unnacceptable in this day and age, particularly in aquarium supply market where manufacturers know that the end user has water present which significantly increases risks.

I would absolutely avoid any product that had repeated reports of this kind of defect. Mains fault to earth through you could kill you.

[Proteus]

I would absolutely avoid any product that had repeated reports of this kind of defect. Mains fault to earth through you could kill you.

Looks like you wont be able to use heaters ever again then...

I know people on here who have been zapped by Sera, Hydor, AquaPro, Resun, Orca & now AquaOne heaters. (and some old model Jagers)

As for the 1 in 100 number, that was used as an example, it may really be 1 in 1,000 or 1 in 10,000. Either way other variables need to be factored in to things like, has the unit been dropped? has the immediate environment run dry or partially run dry? is the heater touching anything, even glass? Have you carried or removed the heater by its cable?

Given that, I would say the potential for issues is still minimal, but when something does go wrong, how much of it could have been caused by ourselves.

Obvioulsy some instances will purely be a fault of the product. I am yet to see the perfect heater, some are close, but not perfect.

[DR.V]

I suspect the 'electricity' you were feeling was due to stray currents finding their way to earth through you. Don't suppose you remember whether you had shoes on or not??




LOL funny enough first time I touched the water I wasnt wearing any shoes. Then I put my shoes on and touch the water again lol and feel nothing.

So I guess the fish survived because it doesnt touch the earth directly ??

[TomNS]

glass is an insulator so there is no path to earth when the heater is on and the tank is sitting on the stand.

When you put your hand in the tank you create a path to earth and hence you feel the current, the fish will be and are fine.

Just pull out the heater and turn the others back on, use a multimeter in the water to an earth point the check if it is all clear.

It is not a full 240v as it would have thrown you - it is a stray voltage from somewhere - always use your right hand when you are going to touch electrical devices that are suspect (after a meter check) as the current won't pass through your heart.

Tom

[DR.V]

Thanks for the advice Tom

[DR.V]

Rusted Stainless Steel

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/4184/img0359mv7.jpg

[Dee]

glass is an insulator so there is no path to earth when the heater is on and the tank is sitting on the stand.

When you put your hand in the tank you create a path to earth and hence you feel the current, the fish will be and are fine.

Just pull out the heater and turn the others back on, use a multimeter in the water to an earth point the check if it is all clear.

It is not a full 240v as it would have thrown you - it is a stray voltage from somewhere - always use your right hand when you are going to touch electrical devices that are suspect (after a meter check) as the current won't pass through your heart.

Tom

Some good solid advice there :thumb Thanks Tom :)

Cheers,

Dee :)

[wickedglass]

OMG, Dr V,
rusted!!! stainless!!!

we've both been lucky, yesterday I stuck my arm into one of my tanks and wondered why on earth the water was cold. I looked at the header and realised the glass had cracked right around and the end had come off, so I took my hand out and pulled the heater plug. When I took the heater out, the top part of it was warm, so there must have been current all over that tank ... and me lucky enought to be wearing rubber shoes :P

[oscar]

I purchased two of the Virtually indestructable Hydor units a short while ago. After about 1.5 weeks in the tank, one of them cracked basically right the way round at about mid way.

Sounds like it's not a good time for heaters at the moment.

By the way...corroded stainless is not all that uncommon. Espescially in the lower grades of stainless, and at $35 odd dollars for these units i'll guarantee they're not made out of Gr316.

[DR.V]

lol they cost lower than $35

But I purchased 5 of them and only 1 is faulty.

Hydor ?? I thought they're really good... But I guess there's always 1 in so many.

Good luck all.

[norto]

As a sparky Doc i would more than strongly suggest you don't use any hands right or left to test the water, I know you never know whether the electrical devices are faulty or when you stick your hand in there but after the first time you should probably turn everything off and get out the electrical devices and give them a good going over as these things are made to be safe totally submersed in water so any problems with the devices you should be able to see.Looking at your heater i would say that there was a very small amount of water getting through to the inner workings that is why you only received a small shock but with out testing it is hard to tell better oof to turn it off :!:
Norto. :)

[chrissyoscar]

With the stainless steel heater, was any salt added to the water?
I think it was Ben who in a previous post mentioned that his stainless steel heater started to rust after he added salt to the water.

[Phlipper]

All stainless steel will rust eventually, but it may take a while, and the better quality units do withstand rusting better than the cheaper ones, Aqua One stainless steel heaters are not made of the high quality steel so they tend to deteriorate quickly especially in a salty environment. Frankly I prefer to use a good quality glass heater with a cheap plastic slip on cage protector to stop glass breaking.

[Proteus]

Frankly I prefer to use a good quality glass heater with a cheap plastic slip on cage protector to stop glass breaking.

Couldnt have put it better myself... however I still use the AquaOne SS as the controller is very convenient (plus I dont add salt to the tank that it is in).

[Phlipper]

Yes......if there's one thing that peeves me is trying to read the temperature dial on most heaters, most times the only way to do it is to take the heater out to see the marked temp increments.......or maybe my eyesights failing these days :?