Aa Now Im Scared

[betta989]

im scared my heater will maufunction buring down my house and frying my fish will this happen!?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Over heating a tank...unlikely...

Burning down a house, I have never heard of this ever happening.

First off, companies design these heaters not to cause harm. I believe if heaters do malfunction, they will do so by shutting off. There is a little lever (solenoid) inside the heater, and when the heater is activated, the lever closes by applying an electrical current which closes the circuit and turns the heater on. If the heater malfunctions, the lever will not be able to move to close the circuit, to turn the heater on.

Burning down a house, well, the heater is inside a tank, and the last time I checked water puts out fire......hope I did not sound mean right there.

The only way I can see a heater, or any electrical unit for that matter, burning down a house is if water can get down in the outlet causing a short, which could trigger a spark and possibly a fire.

-FHM

 

[erk628]

I agree with FHM said usually when a heater malfunctions it will either get stuck on and get the water to hot or it will just shut off.

 

[Mikaila31]

heaters can malfunction. I've had one die on me before and one that sent the temp up to 90*F. A GFCI outlet should be used with tanks. This will cut power in the even of any shorts or if water gets where it shouldn't. My GFCI tripped about a week before my heater tried to cook my fishies. Its never tripped out of the blue like that before and hasn't since. I've had kids pull the quick release or clasps on my canister too. Causing a big mess, it always cuts the power as soon as the power strip gets hit.