Re: Heater accuracy (Won Brothers)?

>>I recently purchased a Won Brothers Pro Heat II aquarium digital aquarium
>>heater for my 75 gallon. The old heater was too small and I plan to go
>>with
>>an auto water changer in the near future, which will only make matters
>>worse.
>>
>>The box makes claims of +/- 1°F accuracy, which if you read carefully,
>>refers to the digital readout, not the actual heater. The heater has a
>>range of 68°F to 93°F. I currently have it set at 68°F, but the tank is
>>reading 72.3°F on my thermometer and 71°F on the heater LED. I thought 4°F
>>of error was rather crappy given the +/- 1°F claims and the fact that I
>>wanted to keep the tank around 70°F. I contacted the manufacturer about
>>the
>>large error, but they did not bother to respond.
>>
>>Has anyone else had negative experiences with this product? It will be a
>>PITA to return it, as it has to go back across the boarder. So I don't
>>want
>>to go through the hassle, if I can expect another lemon.
>>
>>

> I have yet to find a heater that is calibrated. The dial markings
> seem to be approximate. I have come to assume the plus and minus are
> a measure of how accurately the set temperature holds.
>
> Thus I set the dial to 78, the tank temperature settles at 76. I move
> the dial to 80 and the tank settles at 78. Leaving the dial alone,
> the measure temperature will vary plus or minus, there is always a
> lag.
>
> Reliability is more important than accuracy of the dial. If a heater
> can hold +/- one degree, I would count that as a good heater. So, if
> you keep the 72.3F steady, isn't that what you really need?