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Heater Question - Which is better?


AquaKey

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Which is better? 

A 150W heater that's on pretty much 24/7

OR

2 150W heaters that click on/off together?

 

Here's what I mean:

150W heater (this was without a controller but would use one to cut off the peaks and keep within 1deg:

Screenshot_20220127-174000.jpg

2 150W heaters:

Screenshot_20220127-174032.jpg

 

I have an inkbird and Apex so not worried about failsafe or dialing in the right temp. Mainly a question of whether it's preferable for a heater to always be on or cycle on and off. And whether sharp peaks matter within 1deg.

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Two 150W heaters are better than one 150W, especially if the single needs to be on effectively all the time.   No margin to provide Extra heating if needed.

That said, I've set my system for Two Stage heating.   First heater does most of the normal work, Second heater kicks in if first heater can't handle it.   And Obviously, I'm using Apex as the primary temp control boss.  And the inkbirds connected to each heater as the safety protection, set to something like 79F.

Heat_Tank  <-- First apex outlet, with one heater in it

  • allback OFF
  • If T-Tank < 77.8 Then ON
  • If T-Tank > 78.0 Then OFF
  • If Output vFeed_Main = ON Then OFF
  • Defer 001:00 Then ON
  • Defer 000:15 Then OFF

Heat_Tank2nd <-- Second apex outlet, with 2nd heater in it

  • Fallback OFF
    If T-Tank < 77.5 Then ON
    If T-Tank > 77.9 Then OFF
    If Output vFeed_Main = ON Then OFF
    Defer 001:00 Then ON
    Defer 000:15 Then OFF

 

 

Edited by obrien.david.j
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1 hour ago, xmas_one said:

Bear in mind the “tighter” you try to keep the temp range on your apex, the faster you will kill the solenoid in your eb8. Use the inkbird or the actual thermostat on the heater as the primary control, with the apex as an emergency off/cold alarm.

Fair.  I'm a pretty abusive of my EB832 ports.   My understanding is they're much more robust than older EB8's.   Maybe @SuncrestReef observations or experiences to make.

I have my EB832 control my CO2 solenoid for a CaReactor Ph setpoint.   Switches 40-100 times a day (over month of Dec'21).    I also used it for my heaters, as shown.   It's been setup this way, on the same eb832 for years.

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9 minutes ago, obrien.david.j said:

Fair.  I'm a pretty abusive of my EB832 ports.   My understanding is they're much more robust than older EB8's.   Maybe @SuncrestReef observations or experiences to make.

I have my EB832 control my CO2 solenoid for a CaReactor Ph setpoint.   Switches 40-100 times a day (over month of Dec'21).    I also used it for my heaters, as shown.   It's been setup this way, on the same eb832 for years.

This has been a common debate for years.  Neptune states the relays are rated for “over 1 million cycles”.

I had a conversation with the guy from fixreef.com who repairs EB832’s and other reefing electronics for a living.  Here’s what he had to say:

Zettler relays installed in all EB832s are rated for 10m cycles mechanically and 100k cycles electrically at max load:

F9F60204-AF16-4CFA-ACD9-1D4E8CCB3847.png

Unless your heater is near 2400w, you are nowhere near the max 20A load. 

EB8s, on the other hand, did have an issue, specifically with outlets managed by solid state relays (6 out of 8). They failed frequently. There was no mechanical wear, but electrically they were weaker than the larger mechanical relays. I think Neptune eventually realized their mistake and did not include them in the EB832 design. But the history cannot be erased, which may explain where the legend started.”

 

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Thanks guys, I think I'll make it simple and plug both 150w into the inkbird and plug that into the Apex. Inkbird will be the main controller with 0.5deg variance and Apex will be my backup to turn the inkbird off if it fails in the on position.

Probably was overthinking it before.

Btw I watched the fixreef video recently which led me to fix a nonfunctioning EB8, a write up is still on my to-do list.

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