Stealth Heaters recalled!!

[USC-fan]

Well last weekend I can home to a dark tank and had no power. Was gone for 2 days and the temp in the tank drop to 61. Could not get the power to turn back on, the breaker would not let it.

So I tear the tank down to get the fish out and into a spare tank to try to save them. LOST everything but my 2 b/w clown fish and some zoas.

What happen? The top of my Stealth heater came apart, caught fire and trip the breaker turning off power to my system. Thank god for the breaker or I would have lost my house. Call my LFS to tell them what happen and they told me these heaters had been recalled.

NEVER BUY THESE HEATERS!

[Amazon4]

This has happened to me...the tops can split apart. They don't always "just die" when they go.

I lost a QT tank of lyretail anthias a week before they were ready to move to the DT. Tank OK at 1am when going to bed. Milky white at 7am and a popped stealth in the 20g sump. It was really sad.

This was about two years ago. I did not know of a recall since then.

[USC-fan]

Wow after reading this thread. I am lucky it didnt crack my tank.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1834202

Really a freaking $40 heater!!! I just hate this. I had these fish for YEARS! Purple tang was in that tank for 3 years. Just so upsetting.

Just look at this google search....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&p...d89de37295e86f

Amazing this product is still on the market.

[njlpowell]

That's Marineland for ya. I am sorry for your loss. I use Ebo Jager, have always had good luck with them.

[moondoggy4]

Sorry for your loss ,it is gut wrenching.

[shock_therapy]

wish i would've read this. mine just blew up on me 2 hrs ago. thank you marineland!
hopefully tank makes it through this mess.

[SkullV]

Does anyone have any documented information about this recall?

[sean2sean]

yea mine just blew up.... luckily i was using it in my rubbermaid bin....

[reeftanknewbie]

can't seem to find info on the recall. I and several others in my local reef club had purchased this heater and have all had problems. They were able to get free replacements and now use them for the water changes......These heaters are Chinese junk.......

[USC-fan]

Originally Posted by SkullV

Does anyone have any documented information about this recall?

My lfs store told me there is a recall, has sent out a newsletter saying just that in dec but i missed that, and they cant even get the stealth heaters any more. I email marinelane to get a claim for replacement cost for the livestock and they inform me that is no recall.

http://www.tidelineaquatics.net/nla/...12_15_2010.pdf

Marineland is lucking bc what they make you do is get a replacement cost quote from a lfs, when a lot of SPS were not brought there so he was unable to give me a price quote for those pieces. That was well over $500...

[KMP]

Im not that guy that's going to say - I've used them for years with no problem; but I will be that guy that's going to say - I've used them for years and I'm going to move them to water storage duty only. To many of these stories - sorry for your loss.

[Drewbaby]

Are those of you that are having issues running the heater fully submerged or with the top out of the water?

[shock_therapy]

Mine were completely submerged. The side of the heater literally blew up like a bomb.

[tkeracer619]

There was a recall but it was not on ALL of them just a certain range of serial numbers.

They are junk. Almost all heaters are junk now. I am using two 10 year old jager heaters on a ranco. They work great.

For what it is worth, titanium heaters are about your best bet. Always run them on a controller of some sort.

[sean2sean]

right now i am using a inline heater. hopefully it wont fail like the stealths.

[frankpayne32]

It's amazing how many of these stories you hear. I really think it's the recent batches though. They used to have a good name. I've been using the stealths without issue and continuously for over three years. I'm sorry for your loss.

[edandsandy]

Sorry to hear about your loss, we lost all our Koi due to this heater AND
About 23 baby Banggaii Cardinal fish that were almost 3 months old all in the same week!!!! It was gut wrenching to raise the babies this far to have a heater kill them.
I wonder if the MFG. Is willing to reimburse us for our loss?????

[beeker]

does this pertain to the Maineland stealh PRO heaters? at all

i have 2 pro heaters and have had them for about 8 months now with no issue, most all of heater brands i have tryed break or die within a year these seem to be the only ones i've had last, i sure hope i don't come home to an experience like this though

[Garage1217]

Very sorry for your loss. That is a big bummer.

I hope stories like this make some of you switch to jager. Not that it is impossible for something bad to happen, it is that they have a extremely reliable track record.

[mjg1961]

Just called Marineland and asked about a recall and they said there is none?????????

I have a 150W Stealth Pro still in the box that I got from Fosters & Smith a couple of months ago so I was concerned.

[tkeracer619]

The only way you get recalls is if you return them. For a refund or not. Broken or not.

Yes, this includes the pro model. They seem to be the worst.

[dmopar74]

all heaters on the market are crap. i was a stealth fanboy till about 2/3rd of my heaters started dropping off at the 3-4 year mark(not turning on). i also have 3 jagers, 1 died(wont heat).

atleast if they would stick on i could still use them(ranco controlled), seems the cheap heaters stick on so im back to them.

i wont run a tank i care about without a ranco anymore.

[Swolek]

Originally Posted by Drewbaby

Are those of you that are having issues running the heater fully submerged or with the top out of the water?

I'm curious about this too. I never had issues with them until I started keeping saltwater and brackish tanks (and in fact still have an old one running in a freshwater set-up). I ran one for a few years in a 10-gallon FOWLR without any problems...interestingly, I didn't keep it fully submerged. This makes me wonder if they don't do well when fully submerged in saltwater. Or there's been a serious drop in quality that happens to coincide with me switching to saltwater.

[Mike31154]

Never a good idea to fully submerge any heater. Think about it, mechanical linkage of a knob or dial has to interface somehow with the control mechanism inside the heater. This means some sort of seal which will eventually fail. Keep the control portion (and the electrical cord by golly) of your heaters out of the water, no matter what brand it is and what the manufacturer claims. I have two 150 watt Stealths in my tank, couple of years now I think, no problem. They're placed in the water at the recommended level, with the control head and cord out of the water. Pretty much every heater I've seen has a minimum & maximum water level line, very good idea to stick with that.

[btkrausen]

I've been warning people against these heaters ever since my incident, in which you posted the link to above.

I've had some bad luck with heaters even after this incident. Maybe we'll find a high performing heater that doesn't blow up or just quit out of nowhere.