Deciding on Temperture Controller due to Jager heater issues

[laupao]

Everyone,

I'm sure some of you have seen my post about jager heaters. After messing around with it, i cannot fully calibrate it successfully. However I did manage to get the water temp to 84. I hope at that setting the heater does its job and somewhat maintain that temp. I have a 55 gallon tank with a 300w jager heater.

I'm really afraid of the heater going nuts and have the stuck on light. Do you guys think I should get a temperature controller.

Like this one from Kensfish: Finnex HC-0810 Digital Heater Controller

http://www.kensfish.com/product936.html


Let me know how you guys feel about it.

[TURQ64]

I have that controller, and it has worked fine so far,but...I have three Finnex 500 watt heaters with controller that all shorted out in the controller. That leaves me not trusting Finnex circuitry..

[Skip]

turq.. am i reading the description wrong.. that it takes up to 800watts.. so if your adding 3 - 500watts.. then maybe that is was the problem with it burning out.. :)

[TURQ64]

No, the 500 watter's each come with their own controllers....I have the 810 running a pair of HOB type heaters...stays within a degree..

[Skip]

oh.. i see :)

[TURQ64]

Due to this type of failure, I've decided Finnex is crap, and I won't buy any more.The 500 watters were a good idea for storage barrels, but not when they fail so easy..water gets in the seam of the two halves of the plastic controller, and shorts across the circuit board....back to 300 watt jager's...when I plumb in the 250 gal storage totes, I'm going to try a regular water heater...Sorry for the drift....

[jcardona1]

I love the Ranco controllers and titanium rods sold by Jehmco. Been using my current setup for a few years now without a hiccup.

[ericatdallas]

I haven't personally used these, but while searching on eBay I found EXPENSIVE laboratory grade controllers on sale. I tried to buy one, but I was in a meeting when the auction ended and missed out. I think I priced it at $500 and it sold for $35 plus shipping (I think it was like $15). So someone got a REALLY sophisticated piece of lab equipment for a steal.

I haven't really tried to look for one, but every now and then I'll see some on sale. None going for as cheaply as this particular unit though. Not sure on the features, I just Google'd the Brand/Model. My guess is precision, reliability, load capacity, and because they were selling it to labs (aka people with deep pockets) they hiked up the price.

[Jhhnn]

I use Jager heaters plugged into those finnex controllers exclusively on my tanks, and have had zero problems. The calibration on the controllers isn't perfect, so I compensate with the dial settings. The sensor cord is short, only ~3ft. I calibrate & set the jagers to 88-990F, use the controllers to regulate the temp at a lower value. I have 4 such setups, some over 2 years running, with never a hiccup.

I have a Ranco controller on my aging barrels because of the higher power rating, Jagers in each, and a powerhead to circulate between the barrels. It's definitely a better controller, and I can see the temp at a glance on the display. Nice long cord on the sensor, too. Jehmco sells 'em, as do others, I'm sure.

Another of our members, I don't recall who, uses these, I think, & reports good results-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/All-purpose-Temperature-Controller-STC-1000-sensor-/220812377568?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3369717de0

[ericatdallas]

I was looking at those on eBay just yesterday. Pretty good price. I'm very hesitant to buy things made in China that require precision or quality control nowadays.

[Jhhnn]

I was looking at those on eBay just yesterday. Pretty good price. I'm very hesitant to buy things made in China that require precision or quality control nowadays.

I think everything is made in China. Almost, anyway. I'm just leery of anything that's too cheap. Those controllers need to be wired & mounted in a panel or enclosure to avoid exposed high voltage terminals, unlike the finnex or pre-wired ranco's from Jehmco, which are self contained, ready to go out of the box.

There's a typo in my post, above- should read 88-90F...

[ericatdallas]

I think everything is made in China. Almost, anyway. I'm just leery of anything that's too cheap. Those controllers need to be wired & mounted in a panel or enclosure to avoid exposed high voltage terminals, unlike the finnex or pre-wired ranco's from Jehmco, which are self contained, ready to go out of the box.

There's a typo in my post, above- should read 88-90F...

Agreed. I shouldn't pick on China, I meant Chinese knockoffs/generics/brands. There are a lot of quality Chinese products but the ones sold on eBay usually lack the quality controls found in higher-end products. It's safe to say that US mfg goods (budget end) are a lot safer than for the Chinese side because US mfg have to meet and exceed regulations or face fines and lawsuits.

My point was, for something you're buying for reliable control, I'm hesitant to use those. Also hesitant with components that draw a lot of current (see below in "Bad Luck").

Bad Luck with: NiMh batteries (tested at well under advertised specs and die quickly), Li-ion batteries (same as NiMh). I've also seen a lot of surge protectors, outlet taps, and ballasts burn out and start fires. We tore a few apart and even though it says (UL) compliant, the cabling and components are not to standards.

Good luck: basic electronic components (i.e. switches, transistors, plugs, etc) , International Edition of textbooks (newspaper print, but hey, cheap), and things that aren't electronics. My auto-feeder works pretty well too, but it's made of cheap plastic (about what I expected) but has all the features of my eHeim. It's a battery hog though. I had fresh batteries in it for a couple of weaks and it drained them dead while my eHeim has been going for a few months now and both use 2AA batteries.

[Cowboy]

Do the controllers themselves ever have issues? I would rather have one heater of 3 or more go bad than have the controller get stuck in the on position. My thought is invest in a good thermometer with a loud alarm that will sound if the temperature is too high or low. I love the idea behind one controller, just not comfortable leaving it in total charge of the temp

[nc0gnet0]

My point was, for something you're buying for reliable control, I'm hesitant to use those. Also hesitant with components that draw a lot of current (see below in "Bad Luck").

I have eight of the above linked ebay controllers. The oldest is now almost three years old, all work flawlessly. 5' probe and I use one on my 1500 Watt RV water heater that I use to preheat my storage barrels. They work/look best if you can panel mount them in your stand, but if not you can get a plastic project box at radio shack for 5 bucks. You do need to wire them and have a basic undertanding of a wiring diagram. They also read temperature in celsius, no big deal there. They have a .3 deg C trigger (meaning your water will need to drop .3 C before it truns on) and they are calibratable. If you check the sellers feedback and dig a little, you will find almost everyone that has purchased one of these loves them.

I am pretty sure that every contoller on the market is assembled with chinese parts, even the ones sold by Jehmco.

[joanstone]

I won't buy Finnex any more and I have recently had a BioTherm controller not register the temperature correctly. It said the temp was 106 when it was really 78. I've been considering the JBJ controller myself.

[DiscusBR]

I have used a Finnex HC-0810 Digital Heater Controller attahced to two 150W Jagger heaters for almost a year with abslolutely no issues. Temperature is kept stable. As Jhhnn points out, its main shortcoming is the short length of the sensor cord.