Two failed Stealth Pro Heaters

[roundfishross]

They were good heaters but the glass was too thin. They'd crack or blow up on you if you looked at them wrong (an exaggeration I know, but the glass was way too thin)

I agree with this totally. they were very easy to break!!

[Willie]

My comments are limited to the Pro Stealth version. I had one explode after a week of use in the tank, with no water change involved. After checking around, there are several examples of Pros doing the same thing on the Net. The tank had no discus, but the explosion took out a dozen sterbais. I removed not only this heater, but all the others from my 40 breeders, and replaced them. This heater explodes into 3 pieces - not a malfunction, but a design flaw.

Since then, I've had 2 other aquarists locally report the same thing on our club website. I strongly suggest that you remove and replace these. It's a lot cheaper than replacing high quality fish.

Willie

[saltydog]

Well crap. i just purchased two of these for my 180 after having issues with the titanium finnex digital control heaters. one new out of the box and one about a year old. the new one leaked stray current and the old one just went bad and stopped heating completely! Now i am worried abotu my new purchases and beleive me i spent far more than i should have becuase i did nto have time to order new ones and had to go to a local store to get them. thinking i should order a couple of other heaters and try returning these. i have used them about two weeks and have been working great so far!

[moik]

I just sent 8 back last week for warranty replacement..as of today I have 2 more that died..its a never ending cycle with stealths..only thing stealth about is your water gets cold or too hot wihtout knowing it...they have to realize at some point in time how much money they are loosing with warranty replacements and lost future sales..

[JEB]

I returned 5 so far because of letting temperature fall to about 79 degrees. One brand new 300 watt one was holding temperature but hissing in tank. Marineland sends replacements no problem but I keep paying postage to return them plus they can not be trusted. Had one blow up in the tank. Woke up to burning electrical wire smell. Searched the whole house and saw fragments of the heater on the tank floor. I was I big visitherm stealth fan but I am done now. The Marineland phone rep said they are not aware of any other heaters exploding. Funny since this forum seems to have plenty of posts regarding this problem

[moik]

one more stealth just died on me right now...water cold..scared to turn it up have cooked fish...unreal with these heaters anymore...maybe god is tellling me to change,,now..

[Jhhnn]

one more stealth just died on me right now...water cold..scared to turn it up have cooked fish...unreal with these heaters anymore...maybe god is tellling me to change,,now..

At least that's the best way for a heater to die, to just quit working, rather than exploding, electrifying the tank, or cooking your fish... At least there are some good choices out there. Jagers have served me well, and we're hearing good things about the Sera's and the Via Aqua titaniums, maybe the fluval E series, too. I'll let other people find out if the New! stuff is any good or not, because sometimes they find out the hard way that it's not, like the New! stealths... It's very difficult for hobbyists to really get a handle on heater quality because we all have just a small sample. It's one of the great things about the internet and this forum- we get the experience of a lot of people, rather than just our own narrow window on the world.

I've been using Jagers plugged into Finnex HC-0800 controllers from Ken, and neither have given me any trouble... I figure it's hard to get cooked fish with that setup, anyway...

I saw the pic of your Blue Scorp in the Discus University section- Very nice, very well cared for, obviously from the same Forrest batch as my own... Good luck with it all.

John

[moik]

Thanks John,they seem to be the same batch of blue scorps..can't remember that far back for sure..Really appreciate the positive compliaments,,Thanks, Vince

At least that's the best way for a heater to die, to just quit working, rather than exploding, electrifying the tank, or cooking your fish... At least there are some good choices out there. Jagers have served me well, and we're hearing good things about the Sera's and the Via Aqua titaniums, maybe the fluval E series, too. I'll let other people find out if the New! stuff is any good or not, because sometimes they find out the hard way that it's not, like the New! stealths... It's very difficult for hobbyists to really get a handle on heater quality because we all have just a small sample. It's one of the great things about the internet and this forum- we get the experience of a lot of people, rather than just our own narrow window on the world.

I've been using Jagers plugged into Finnex HC-0800 controllers from Ken, and neither have given me any trouble... I figure it's hard to get cooked fish with that setup, anyway...

I saw the pic of your Blue Scorp in the Discus University section- Very nice, very well cared for, obviously from the same Forrest batch as my own... Good luck with it all.

John

[2075turner]

Hey guys,

I just got this info. sent from a supplier I deal with. Not sure if the #'s work for my american friends but Marineland US distributors should be able to help you out if they don't. So here it is.....

"We have just received a notice from Marineland halting the sale of their Stealth and Stealth PRO line of heaters due to potential quality issues. This stop sale applies to all 100 watt or greater Stealth or Stealth PRO heaters.

Whether you purchased these heaters from us or some other retailer in the past, we wanted to let you know about the potential problem with those heaters. Some of the reports that we have seen have been very serious so we would encourage you to contact Marineland at 1-800-526-0650 (Option 2) or 1-800-432-6986 to obtain further information regarding a replacement. Your safety and satisfaction is of great concern to us so please call Marineland as soon as possible."

HTH

[BOBT00LS]

I wouldnt even bother calling Marineland nor would I want a replacement. Bring them to Petsmart and they will give you store credit for them without any receipt. I just got back and they gave me $40 for the 200W's and $30 for the $150W's on the spot. Use the credit to purchase another brand heater or any other supplies you may need.


Bob

[Dudley Eirich]

As an update to my original post, I sent one Stealth-Pro heater back to Marineland and received a replacement. I returned a second one about a week later and didn't receive a replacement so called them. They had no record that they received the second one. Fortunately I had mailed the package with delivery notification. They told me that the Stealth-Pro heaters were on backorder and offered a VisiTherm heater, which I accepted. It is interesting that they never mentioned the fact that they were recalling them, just that they were backordered.

[Foxfire]

The cost of Ti heaters is just a little more (compared to first rate glass heaters - anyone but a amateur buys better grade heaters and not wally-mart junk to save a few dollars), and since this is THE most critical piece of equipment for any Discus keeper (way above filters), why waste time, energy and money? No metal heater has ever exploded (yes, they too fail but explode? never. An exploded heater not only kills fish but can break a tank sending huge volumes of water into your home - sorry but glass heaters are not safe just due to that single issue. Add to the fact that they can be dropped and still function, do better when run dry and never crack if hot when they are suddenly covered with water (yes, they quickly burn out if run dry) makes this class of heater far better and far cheaper in the long run.) Glass has only draw backs and no advantages as I discovered in my heater thread - that is, except for the illusion of lower cost (after factoring the risks from the failure modes.)
My ramble.