my Stealth Pro heater just blew up!

[porpoiseaquatics]

I mean....blew apart! I'm not sure why exactly. It's in a sump and never ran dry. I've isolated the sump from the DT. Thankfully this is a backup tank and not my 93 cube.

Anybody else ever had one do that?

 

[smallblock]

nope not to be a smarty pants but we all know better

 

[smallblock]

once a stealth always a stealth, no sir I dont like it

 

[acroholic]

MarineLand has recalled all Stealth heaters 100 watts and up. Take what's left of it into any PetSmart and you can get a refund or a replacement. I did that with mine at the PetSmart in Alpharetta.

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Recall Notice:
>
February 11, 2011

Dear Valued PetSmart Pet Parent,

Marineland has issued a voluntary withdrawal of the Stealth PRO Submersible Heater (100, 200 and 250 watt). The product is being withdrawn due to a quality issue.

If you have this product, please stop using it immediately and take the following steps:

1. Unplug the heater from the wall to stop the flow of electricity
2. Let the heater cool for 15 minutes
3. Remove the heater from the tank

Please bring the product to your closest PetSmart for a full refund or exchange. Replace the product with a comparable heater as soon as possible to maintain the temperature of your aquarium. A PetSmart store associate can help you select the right heater for your aquatic environment.

If you have questions about this withdrawal, please call Marineland Customer Service at 800-526-0650 or 800-432-6986.

At PetSmart, we are concerned pet parents, too. We will continue to do everything we can to help you and your pet during this time.

Sincerely,



Debbie Gonzalez
Vice President, Brand and Customer Marketing
>

 

[rasbora]

The recall posts have been up on many forums. I had one overheat last year and cook the tank. I remember checking the tank around midnight, the temp was 76F, the next morning it was well above 100F.

 

[crew]

I don't know what kind of heater I have... can't remember

It's solid black, no glass. Is it a stealth?

 

[cr500_af]

Crew;637505 wrote: I don't know what kind of heater I have... can't remember

It's solid black, no glass. Is it a stealth?

Probably... I've never seen another all-black plastic covered heater.

FWIW, the "standard" (non-Pro) Stealths in certain sizes are also subject to this.

 

[smallblock]

That had to catch on fire in that picture, Thats just crazy

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Thanks for the post Dave. I thought I had heard that but wasn't certain. I'll take mine by there tomorrow. I cut the cord off so it couldn't be plugged in and fry something. Mine just exploded instead of sticking on the "on" position like most do so thankfully it didn't cook the tank.

Here's a pic of mine:

 

[shrimpy brains]

Holy cow! You were very lucky. That looks like it could have done allot of damage.

 

[smallblock]

LOL sorry to laugh at you man but thats crazy, I wouldnt be laughing if you or the tank had gotton hurt. That is some quality craftsmanship right there fellows

 

[crew]

on a side note... what should I replace it with?

 

[acroholic]

The Eheim "Jaeger" brand is great, but those heaters are so long, none of them fit in the sump of my 100 gallon reef. I ended up with a Top Fin submersible because it fit, and it has rubber endcaps that raise the heater off the bottom of the sump, so you can lay it sideways in a sump. Working well so far, but then again, I never had issue with my Stealth. I just returned mine as a precaution.

That looked like a nasty blow up Jeff.

 

[crew]

Same here acro, I always thought that stealth was THE heater to buy.. no glass, etc etc

guess not?

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

What's really weird is it was plugged in to a DJ panel and it didn't trip out anything. I would've thought that it would have at least tripped out the single breaker on the panel. I got VERY lucky. I even had my hand in the tank prior to finding it blown apart.

 

[jennm]

Owwie...

BTW - the heater in the picture Dave posted (Acroholic) does not look like a stealth - it's glass :-/

I posted about this in Feb. At that point it wasn't called a "recall" per se... but retailers were told to stop selling them. I quit selling them years ago when I started noticing a pattern of failures. I even mentioned this a couple of times to a company rep but they didn't seem terribly concerned about it at the time. :doh:

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53693&highlight=stealth+recall">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=53693&highlight=stealth+recall</a>

I've been dubbed the "president of the Stealth haters club" around here ;)

I even got ripped on RC by RHF about the failures on these things, quite a while back. Guess I was right on at least one thing! :lol:

Jenn

 

[lilrobb]

JennM;637600 wrote:
BTW - the heater in the picture Dave posted (Acroholic) does not look like a stealth - it's glass :-/

True,
That's an Ebo/Eheim Jager...

 

[jennm]

LilRobb;637601 wrote: True,
That's an Ebo/Eheim Jager...

That's what it looks like to me too...but I wasn't certain.

But it does look intact Except for the power cord but it's impossible to say from the picture what burned up first, and whether the cord was just collateral damage.

Jenn

 

[eagleeyemike]

I was checking my saltwater lastnight for my water change and the Stealth Heater I had in there shocked me pretty good. So this is good info I had no idea being new to the hobby that these heaters were such a problem. I have 3 of them plugged in, until I get home tonight. Make that lunch time.

 

[jennm]

Without a receipt they will probably just offer a store credit. If that doesn't fly, call Marineland directly.

Jenn