Equipment Review and Discussion :: Marineland visi therm stealth crapped out

[Chrisbarnett]

Well yesterday I looked over at my digital thermometer and freaked out because my water was down to 65F. I checked it with a glass thermometer, then went to feel my heater and check it was plugged in. It was plugged in, but the heater wasn't warm at all. So I turned it up and the heater still didn't come on.

But of course it says in the warranty to get a replacement I need a receipt or photocopy and I bought this heater months ago from my lfs, so I don't have a receipt. I emailed Marineland about it, and am waiting for a reply.

In the meantime I had to put a little 100W heater to limp on overnight until I could get another heater today. I bought the Hydor Theo 200W.


I'm a tad disappointed by the stealth heater. I mean it went perfectly for a while, but crapped out so suddenly and for no apparent reason. Hopefully I can still get a replacement.

I'll keep updated when Marineland replies.

[BullDog]

Hmm. Good luck!
I've heard only good things about stealths, but I've never had one, since I've never seen one in town. The one complaint I've heard about stealths is that they don't have an indicator light. Both of mine have lights, which is handy, because I know that the heater is coming on and off.

[Chrisbarnett]

Yeah I had no problems with mine either, and had raved about it. Now I'm disappointed with it. lol.

The Hydor does have a on/off light which I like.

[steve]

For some reason, I like to keep one Ebo Jager and one Stealth in the tank.

I have 4 Stealths and 1 has stopped working, and another won't turn off -- I still use it when the turts are out of the tank and I'm heating their water overnight. The one that stopped working was the newest one, the others I've been using for a couple of years.

[Chrisbarnett]

I would've probably gone with Ebo Jager if I didn't have to get a new heater right away and could of ordered it online. Oh well. My previous Hydor was the 100W I put on my tank to limp along. Still works perfectly after about a year so I have some faith in them.

[Daniel3507]

maybe you got a lemon heater? i hadnt heard anything bad really about them. mine is still working like a charm. knock on wood

[steve]

Maybe you can take it back to store and ask them? Not sure if it is worth your time though

[Chrisbarnett]

I got it from the local privately owned aqquarium shop. They don't offer returns sadly. I think I'll give marineland a call tomorrow as they have not replied to my email.

[marisa]

Out of a total of 3 Stealths, 2 have stopped working (long ago, actually). They've all been replaced with Ebo Jagers.

Chris, I have a 300-watt Hydor. It worked fine for about a year, but then the thermostat became stuck. There's no way to regulate the temp---it's either on when it's plugged in or off when unplugged. This is the second winter it's being used this way, but it will soon be replaced with another Jager.

[Chrisbarnett]

Chris, I have a 300-watt Hydor. It worked fine for about a year, but then the thermostat became stuck. There's no way to regulate the temp---it's either on when it's plugged in or off when unplugged. This is the second winter it's being used this way, but it will soon be replaced with another Jager.

That sucks. I hope I have better luck with this one.

** On a side note**
Last night I plugged in the stealth out of water for a second(I know, that's a No no) and it became hot. So I think it has some thermostat issues.

[marisa]

One of my non-working Stealths will get hot, but after it's in the water for a while it goes dead.