Ebo Failure!!!

[brewmaster15]

Well,
I know nothing is perfect but  I had my first problem with an ebo heater  on Sunday.  I just set up another breeder tank , and   put in a brand new  Ebo 100  in it. Plugged it, set it for 82, and went to bed. Woke up this morning and checked  the  tank temp.. ... Darn that water was cold !  Glad there was no fish in the tank!  Heater never went on. I tried it in other tanks, on other outlets, different temp setting, nothing.
 Any body else have  this happen with ebos, model TS
-al

[devin]

al - i had this happen - i setup a new tank in the basement and plugged everything in - the heater came on - i thought all was good - i went to bed, woke up and checked the tank...it was freezing...only my problem was i plugged everyting into a switched outlet - when i went to bed i turned out the lights (and the tank)...it was like a scene from christmas vacation - my wife figured it out...not exactly the same - but funny...;)

[Carol_Roberts]

I think it's pretty funny  :P (because I did the same thing once)

By the way, I have my bedroom tank lights all plugged into an outlet controlled by a wall switch so I can turn them all on at once.

I don't plug any of my tank lights into the power strip - that way I can keep my lights on while I clean the tank.

Carol :heart1:

Yes....after about 8 months of use, I had one go out...really a little frightening!  Now, there are always two heaters in the tank.

Terri

[Ryan]

Al,

YES... I was just about to post this. Remember I set up the second 55 gallon for my red turks last week? Well, I put in two Ebo 250's and set them to 86F... that usually keeps the tank somewhere between 84 - 86F. Well, I couldn't seem to get the temperature above 82F and the red turks were acting sluggish. I watched the heaters for a few hours, and noticed only one of them came on occasionally. I stuck my hand in and tapped on the other heater, and it lit up, but went right back off.

It stayed lit the entire time I was moving it around and trying to get it to work, but the second I let go, the light went off. Luckily I bought a spare one, but I hadn't planned on using the spare from the beginning! That Pet Place wouldn't replace it or take it back because I'd had my order for over a month before finally using the heater for the first time. I guess from now on I'll have to test everything the day it comes in whether I'm using it right away or not. I just hadn't expected problems with an Ebo from the start :-/

Ryan

WOW, mine was a 250 as well.

Terri

[devin]

hey ryan - thats kinda wierd that a single 250 wouldnt get a 55 above 82...i have a single 250 in my 75 and that thing will crank the heat right up - its set at 85 and the tanks stays at 84.....i had to steal the 2nd one outta the tank for my holding tank...is the room that the tanks are in very cold or something...just curious...

d

[Carol_Roberts]

I have a single 250 in my 55 also and it maintains the heat without a problem - maybe your thermostat is off a couple of degrees - have you tried turning it up?

I've not bought any Ebo's recently - prices are way down - I wonder if quality is too?

Carol :heart1:

[Ryan]

Devin,

Good question. I think it's a mix of cheap thermometers and the fact that my tanks are now in the path of my room's AC vent. The tank is probably warmer than what the thermometer was registering, but it still wasn't as warm as it had been when the tank was on the opposite side of the room. I just moved all my tanks to the other side of my room last week.

The tank used to get a lot of sunlight in its original location and I wonder if that also had something to do with it. I notice the heaters are running a lot more now than they did before I moved the tanks around. In fact, they're on right now in both tanks--strange for a 94F Florida afternoon!

Ryan

[Don_Lee]

I have never used Ebo Jager heaters, although always heard they were great.  I have good luck with Rena TopCal heaters, I have 2 300's in my 180 and they do pretty good with keeping the temps up.  Have had fairly good luck with Tronic too.

Don

I have several ebos and none of them are accurate as far as the temp on the dial goes.

[April]

yes...ive had two that wouldnt even heat a 20 gallon. but..........I took it back to big Als..........and they replaced it. as they are guaranteed.  so take it back and they will replace it.

[taybelZ]

Al,

I watched the heaters for a few hours

Ryan
....... i hope you the on and off light didn't trip ya out  ;D ;D
i had to return an ebo jager 250 watt back, it somehow had water/steam inside it. Didn't look too good and i wasn't up for any suprises. The weird thing was it couldn't heat my 55 up past 82 as well... but then when i put in a 200 watt ebo it got it up 2 84+ weird huh???
perhaps something to do with the thermo setttings.

hey we may be on to something here,
It happend to me last month with a ts 250, it got a 30 gallon so hot I could barely stick my hand in the tank, lost some sweet rsg's I was growing out. I got the heater replaced, but it was the first time ever in 18years that I ever had a heater fail, even the screw top ones.

Jason

[brewmaster15]

Anybody have EBos contact info? An email address/website would be great.

thanks,
al

just got my replacement yesturday, I looked all over the box and instructs and only came up with this.

EBO-JAGER
149 Eucalyptus Drive
El Segundo, CA 90245

[DarkDiscus]

You guys are making me nervous with all these instances of Ebo failure.  I never had one of my Visitherms fail in 12+ years of using them.  I know they have been universally reviled as being generally faulty, but I've never had a problem with them.  Now that I've gone to Ebo and hear all these stories...

John :scared:

You know John, I have never had a problem with Visitherm either.  Easy to use, easy to see.  I use them in the Tang tank, and I have had it forever!  I was really discouraged with the EBO failure.  So, I have two ebos in each discus tank.  

Terri

[Ryan]

John,

I agree with Terri. Keep 2 Ebos in every tank. In fact, it's probably a common practice to keep 2 heaters in every tank, regardless of the brand. Then you can rest a little easier knowing that if one shorts out, you have a back-up to keep things toasty until you can get the problem taken care of.

Ryan

[brewmaster15]

John,
 don't panic  ;D and I'm not saying that  because I recommneded them to you! ;)  In all  my discus years I have heard of only one  Ebo's thermostat sticking and fish getting cooked... Jasons in this post. I have lost fish to both visitherm and profiles, as have many  other discus keepers.  I still think  Ebos are the safest for the high temperatures we keep or treat fish at. I don not  however  think they are as flawless as I used to think :'(, since everyone here posted there experiences.
-al

[DarkDiscus]

At least there were no stories of Ebos getting stuck on and boiling the fish!  I will get 2nd heaters for my tanks next time I order.  I never really had to worry too much before because my other fish could all survive easily at room temperature for a little while if I did have a failure.  The only issue I ever had with a Visitherm was that my oscars used to pound on them - they never broke, though.

John

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
  Thanks Jason,  
   I used that info and did a search and heres what I came up ...


Ebo - Jager, Inc.
149 Eucalyptus Drive
El Segundo, CA 90245
Tel: (310) 615-0286
Fax: (310) 322-4859

I suggest  since  we discus  hobbyist use Ebos  so much, that we  make known our Concerns.

Take care,
al

[devin]

there's a similar thread over on "the" other board - chad has had similar probs with ebo's....kinda scary i just bought 3 of the new ones - they're still in the box - better test 'em...oh man....

d

[Mike_T]

I used to love Acura Heaters because they were so easy to read and set, but I've realized about 1 in 3 either doesn't work at all, or doesn't work up to par. I once placed three 250 watters in a 90 gal, and had to crank them all up to 92 before the temp stabilized at 84F!  :-/ ::) I even had airstones under two of them for heat circulation...now I'm Ebos all the way.

-Mike T

[devin]

hey mike the only problem with those acura's is that the glass is so thin - ive had them shatter in my hand....i've also tried the new rena cal - it seems to work well...and the visitherms - i have one in my african tank that is ten years old and still crankin like new....

d

[Dragonfly]

Hello everyone,
Not that fuel needs to be added, but I have had similar difficulties with Ebo's I cannot get one to the job I usually have to have two. As the general rule it is three to five watts a gallon as everyone knows and I have a 250 and a 150 in a 75 gallon and my thermometer never registers the same as the thermostat on the heaters. I know that could be the heaters fault but in all my tanks? This bums me out a bit because I have close to a thousand watts of heaters going at any given time and it absolutely reflects in my energy bill. Al, let me know if you get anywhere with Ebo, unfortunately I doubt you will.

Thank you,
Alex  :elvis:

[Dragonfly]

John, FYI Chad had an Ebo stay on and fry a breeding pair of his and has three other faulty Ebo's. Hate to paint gloom and doom but it has happened just not to any of us. I am looking in to the titanium tubes, I just hate to spend money on new heaters when I have so many new and almost new Ebo's but that is the quagmire we are in keeping such expensive kids.

Alex

[DarkDiscus]

Alex,

With all the heaters out there, I'm sure it happens all the time.  There really isn't anything you can do about it, either, unless you go heaterless and crank the temperature up to 85 in the fishroom.

It is scary, though...

:scared: :scared: :scared:

John

[April]

i think anyone who has had a bad experience write ebo as they say one letter is worth 10,000 responses. only way they will know there is a glitch they better work on. Chads cooked his pair .and so did Jasons. he came home to boiling water!
im sure they get the returns.....but a letter will bring it to their attention far better.  ;D

yeah it was freaky, actualy burst the thermometer in the tank,
I'm thinking of getting those "add on" heater thermostat controlers just as a safeguard.

Jason

and I got a feeling that ebo doesn't aprove of laying the heaters horizontaly on the bottom, just read the instructions.

[devin]

so has anyone sent a note to Ebo yet....?

just curious...

d

[brewmaster15]

Hi all,
Just got off the phone  with Ebo. They were very polite and helpful. I'll be  shipping mine back for a look at.  They require  $3.50  for shipping.
 
Some general  info.  I described how we have  all been experiencing  problems with what used to be a flawless  heater. And how we were starting  to doubt teh reliability.They were very surprised(genuinely). They said they   rarely get returns and take great pride in their work. I mentioned the concerns about quality and they  basically said that they always use the highest quality material .

I asked explained the numbers of people with probelms  and asked if they would mind me posting a  suggestion that those with probelms  contact them, and they  would appreciate  it you all would.  
 
Please call 310-615-0286 and tell what  you have experineced

My personal suspicion  is there may be a probelm they are unaware of  because  many people probably throw away the faulty $12-15 heater and buy a  new one.  I almost did.

Hope this helps,
al

Ps,  per EBO>>>>
 the Ts model is  submersible , but  for it to be UL listed   , the wires can not  be in the water. They actually make  2 versions  of the same heater, one that has  a minimum  water  line and one that has a maximum water  line. Ebo said  it was a consumer choice , but they as  the manufacter would prefer you not have  the heater wire sumbmerged.   They gave  me the Ul listing as a reason, water hardness affects the seal at the wire,  some fish aggressively attack the wire, etc

great work Al!

although I think I'm still gonna go with a external thermostat/control, there is just some fish I don't want to gamble with.

Jason

[devin]

AL - so that means that we shouldnt be laying the ebos down horizontal in the tank - has anyone ever experienced a problem keeping them vertical and doing water changes?  i guess we should all do the right thing and turn them off prior to a WC....will have to rewire so i can just turn off with a switch...hmmmm...back to home depot...;)

d

[brewmaster15]

Hi , I just wanted to bring this up to the top again for  Mr. Bass

-al

I have never had a bad experience with Ebo heaters. They are my choice to use. I did buy a Tronic to try out when they were new. 6 months later, it cooked a dwarf cichlid tank I had set up. Never again for them.

Mat

[mench]

I have used only ebos in my 11 tanks with no problems for years.I only use 1 per tank and they are mounted horiz.near the bottom of the tank.They are also all 250 watt.I have been thing of trying the new digital titaimtumn (sp) heaters with the outside controls,only thing holding me up is I can get 2 of the ebos for the price of one of the digital guys.If we could get a deal on a large order maybe I would buy some.
I always mark on the tank when I installed the heaters in the tank.After about a year I like to test the heaters and start replacing them.
Mench

[daninthesand]

Bad Dog

I see you had trouble with a Tronic. I use tronic but only for a short time and so far so good. Seems like it depends on your personal experience.

Anyone else out there have bad (or Good) experience with tronic?

Dan

[Don_Lee]

I used tronic heaters for awhile exclusively.  I always noticed that my temps were not staying very stable, and sometimes it seemed to take awhile to warm up my tanks when doing w/c and during setup etc.  I switched to Rena TopCal about 6 months ago and find them to keep a much more even temp, no probs so far.  I had really figured on getting some Ebos when I replaced the Rena's, but now I don't know about that!

Don

[Wahter]

I always mount my heaters (Ebos included) diagonally and have it mounted in front of the flow of a powerhead. Both heater and powerhead (as well as the powerfilter) connected to the same outlet (most of the time with a switch) - so when I turn off the filters to do a water change, the heater gets switched off too.

Walter

I never had one fail yet but don't they guarantee a +/- 1F?
Well, mine are always -3-4F.
I was not worried about this before; I over adjust to compensate this. Now you guys are getting all heated up. That's false advertisement, don't you think.
An the adjustment knobs are very sticky within a month in use.

To cover all bases, I use 3 different manufacturers of thermometers.

Thanks and Take Care.

[Lynn]

I have not been happy with the last 6 EJs I bought. None of them can get the temp past 88, and half of them stay stuck on or don't come on at all. I have begun looking for a better heater..so far I like Jalli titanium and Rena TopCal Excel.
Ebo Jaeger has lost my business until we have another 3 page thread stating how great they are again!
>:(
Lynn

[bokgrasul]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
For me ,it really helps!
8)

[stygian7]

John,
*don't panic *;D and I'm not saying that *because I recommneded them to you! ;) *In all *my discus years I have heard of only one *Ebo's thermostat sticking and fish getting cooked... Jasons in this post. I have lost fish to both visitherm and profiles, as have many *other discus keepers. *I still think *Ebos are the safest for the high temperatures we keep or treat fish at. I don not *however *think they are as flawless as I used to think :'(, since everyone here posted there experiences.
-al


I had two Ebo's fail (stuck on) in the past six months. Niether was more than a year old either. Luckily, I wasn't on vacation and caught the problem both times at about 92 degrees-not quite high enough to cook my fish. When they work, they are quite accurate and precise. I've also had both Rena-Cal and a couple of Acura 100's stick on. Maybe I'm cursed. I'm now trying the Pro-Heat II titanium heater. Not incredibly precise (+/- ~2 degrees F) or accurate (however, these allow user adjustment-a pain though). Only had it for about a month, so still too soon to judge.

I've been considering a teclima (teco ca-200) chiller/heater. I'm planning on metal halides, so I think the chiller might be good insurance and they have a heater built in. Does anyone have experience with these?

[Smokey]

This is something I DO NOT QUITE UNDERSTAND,
I have been useing the ebo-250 w. for over a decade. The reason .. others had failed. etc.

I have has two of the black top models be unreliable; However. I still have found them to be th most stable heater, avaiilable in Canada. Reguarding, Triontonics .. I have 22 operating .. no problems .. fully submerged - mind you the auto-shutoff does not seem to work -- lower the water too much , refill , boom.

Ahhh, only in Canada.

Smokey

This has been a very long ongoing debate .. aka simplydiscus.

I rely on the Ebo's for reliablity, long life. AND TOTAL TEMPERATURE CONTROL. This has been my personal expierence.

Perhaps, here in Canada, we have tighter controls.. aka -- CANADIAN STADARDS CONTROLS [ CSA]. ??

After all, we are not used to liquid water ... only the frozen version... Smokey

And Yes ..we have had snow falls; permanent on the higher slopes. temperary on the streets .

[stygian7]

Must not be CSA since the Rena Cal heaters are a Canadian product and I've had those fail too. ;D

[Smokey]

Hmmmm , perhaps I have been lucky.

Ebo's have done good for me. MPE.

Tanks

Smokey

[Dave C]

I have the pricelist from Ebo Jager and they sell U.L. / C.S.A. models and models that have no certification. They're all the same heater. The noncertified heaters cost them less to manufacture since they don't get the same inspection so they sell for pennies less. But the other heaters, the ones you'll find in the stores and online vendors are all certified by both governing bodies. I don't know exactly when Ebo went from the green models to the newer ones but if you've had 10 years of experience with Ebo you probably have some old ones which were much more reliable. I've never lost a fish to my Ebo Jager heaters.

[Smokey]

The CSA approved heaters; have dopuble insulation on the electical chord.

I have used the Green tops, the black tops, and now the blue ring top Ebos. Purchase 6 - last month [ 250 watt].

Time will tell if the blue ring top ones stand up as well as the orginal Greens.

PS. airpumps also come in non-CSA accrediated models ... $5.00 less money each - Hagen! is the supplier .

P.S - I have the confidentual Hagen PRICE LIST . UPDATED ever 6 months.

A benifit of managing a lfs.

A/C 400's now retail for $109.95 [ in westen canada].
He*l, I remember buying them for $39.95.
Now the motor is incorperated into the plastic body moulding.

Ahhh modern-ization !!!

Smokey

MPO - use the heater that have not ended up in "YOUR" garbage bucket.