BRS Heater Meltdown

[zalick]

You mentioned the outlet was "loose". I assume this means the heater plug wouldn't hold tightly when plugged in?

Any loose connection is a potential fire hazard. The loose connection increases resistance, causing heat, which can start a fire.

Based on the pictures, I don't think it was the BRS heater but the splitter or outlet.

You should definitely replace the outlet. They do wear out over time, exhibited by plugs "falling" out.

Thankfully there wasn't a ! Glad you and everyone else is ok.

As a side note: I don't think those splitters are meant to be permanent installations. But I may be wrong.

 

[hyprc]

Isn't this like the third serious incident with these heaters since they were released (not that long ago)? This one does look like the outlet wiring may've played a role but just seems like a trend

 

[Multra]

You mentioned the outlet was "loose". I assume this means the heater plug wouldn't hold tightly when plugged in?

Any loose connection is a potential fire hazard. The loose connection increases resistance, causing heat, which can start a fire.

Based on the pictures, I don't think it was the BRS heater but the splitter or outlet.

You should definitely replace the outlet. They do wear out over time, exhibited by plugs "falling" out.

Thankfully there wasn't a ! Glad you and everyone else is ok.

As a side note: I don't think those splitters are meant to be permanent installations. But I may be wrong.

Agree with this. Higher resistance = higher draw which will easily melt plastic.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

Isn't this like the third serious incident with these heaters since they were released (not that long ago)? This one does look like the outlet wiring may've played a role but just seems like a trend

Just so that we're doing our due diligence, are there other threads that you can point us to on this issue? As of now, this is the only major issue that we're aware of involving our heaters.

 

[alton]

Looking at the pictures I see the plug for the heater has a grounding prong, controller is grounded but the plug in the burn't receptacle is not grounded?

 

[madweazl]

Eek, glad it wasn't worse! What took a digger? I'll get you a new piece next time you're up if it was from one of mine.

 

[FactoryKTMmotocross46]

You mentioned the outlet was "loose". I assume this means the heater plug wouldn't hold tightly when plugged in?

Any loose connection is a potential fire hazard. The loose connection increases resistance, causing heat, which can start a fire.

Based on the pictures, I don't think it was the BRS heater but the splitter or outlet.

You should definitely replace the outlet. They do wear out over time, exhibited by plugs "falling" out.

Thankfully there wasn't a ! Glad you and everyone else is ok.

As a side note: I don't think those splitters are meant to be permanent installations. But I may be wrong.

+1. As an hvac contractor, I have many pictures of loose electrical connections that have burned up literaly. Also dissimilar metal connections, like aluminum to copper.

 

[hyprc]

Just so that we're doing our due diligence, are there other threads that you can point us to on this issue? As of now, this is the only major issue that we're aware of involving our heaters.

The more serious of the two I can't find, I believe it mentioned the titanium casing separating and exposing internals to saltwater.

The more minor may or may not have merit (calibration drifting shortly after purchase on the controller) due to the OP using Apex's sensor to verify yours.
Link: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/come-on-brs-what-the-heck.679383/

 

[themcfreak]

I am glad it didn't end up worse. Did I read correctly that you had plugged a space heater into that splitter before? If so, the splitter may have already been compromised before the BRS heater (or previous heater, for that matter) ever got plugged into it. Google pictures of what happens with space heaters and splitters/surge protectors, etc. It is never pretty. If you don’t have enough outlets where the tank is, I would recommend getting an electrician to run a new line. Also, the advice of fixing the ‘loose’ outlet is key, also. So glad that it didn’t end up worse for you though!

 

[Brian_68]

I cannot totally discount the splitter without a fire investigation, however, the splitter had been used with the previous heater for four months with NO issues. (The outlet is loose, so the splitter helps to keep the plug in place). The splitter had also been used for a space heater, an air purifier, a vacuum, etc. The "new" factor in the equation was the BRS system. And 1amp should not be enough to overload one of those when they are manufactured for up to several amps.

I think you are honing in on the issue, you mention the outlet was loose. My bet is the issue lies with the splitter / outlet not the controller. A loose connection causes a bad connection which can result in a resistance. Pull some current thru that resistance and it generates lots of heat. The picture seems to indicate that as well, the heat was mostly in the splitter / plug area. Otherwise the plug to the controller would be more damaged in my opinion. Cheap splitters are questionable as well, not sure if that is the case here but if the connection is not tight same issue.

 

[Fourstars]

I think you owe BRS an apolgogy for even bringing this up on a forum, it obviously the splitter.

 

[bluprntguy]

IMO, looks more like the splitter was the issue. is it UL or CE rated? That‘s one thing I check for every time I buy anything for the tank. It’s more and more common to find stuff online that hasn’t been tested.

 

[robbyg]

This is describing my recent experience with the Bulk Reef Supply Heating System: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/titanium-aquarium-heater-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

Let me start off by saying that I generally love BRS. I think the videos and the information they put out is top-notch. I also think that Ryan generally wants to help the reef/aquarium hobby industry, and I love that about BRS. However, this is about a safety issue with one of the products that nearly resulted in catastrophe, and the poor customer service I received afterwards.


So we all know that heaters fail, which is why investing in a quality set up and a controller is a good idea. I recently purchased a couple of larger coral colonies, and set them up in my fish QT for a fishless fallow period (no fish in the QT). About a month ago, I upgraded the heater in the system to one of the BRS new heating systems in an effort to ensure a healthy QT experience for fish, or in this case, large coral colonies. In the setup process, I ensured that the cords went down to the ground so that any dripping saltwater would get absorbed by the carpet before the cords went up to the outlet. The heater cord plugged into the controller which set up on another shelf, so again, it was physically impossible for water to drip into the outlet. The outlet is horizontally away from the tank, so really difficult to splash water on the wall and have it drip down. The bigger concern is water dripping down the cords, but again, I've accounted for that.


So flash forward to the holidays. I go on vacation to California for about ten days. When I left, the tanks were all set for a prolonged absence, everything running right. While on vacay, I notice that I can't remotely control my Alexa-enabled devices on my second floor. It seems strange, but I didn't think anything of it. The pet sitter mentions that she can't get Alexa to turn the lights on, but mentions nothing else. A few days later, my housekeeper states that she can't power on the vacuum upstairs, and she has to reset the breaker. Which means that the entire time I couldn't turn on my lights, all of the power was out to the upstairs. This includes my QT tank holding two large colonies, and a small bedroom nano tank with clowns. Housekeeper reported the clowns were alive.

I come home to find everything in order, but the room with my QT tank has a singed odor to it. I check the power outlets, and sure enough, there was an issue. The BRS controller plug (heater is plugged into the device) has completely melted. It also melted the outlet expander it was plugged into, which I've used before for other things. There is soot all around the outlet, and you can smell it still slowly over heating. I feel very lucky TBH. The controller isn't working, and thus the heater isn't working. An entire colony is dead. Luckily the second one was fine. There was no salt water dripping, nor any way for saltwater to drip on or in the outlet due to placement on the wall relative to the tank. Nothing to splash, nothing to drip, and the physics would be impossible as well. No one was home, no one touched the tank, and corals can't splash. I would be more inclined to believe it was water-oriented if it had happened after I finished a water change, etc. But not when no one is home and the tank has been sitting for a couple of days and no way for water to drip. The door to the room was also closed, so there's no chance that the cats did anything to it.

Someone mentioned that those heaters pull a lot of amps. That's unexpected, because my Apex downstairs says my Jager heaters pull less than 1 amp each. I've used that outlet and the adapter for plenty of things, like a tank heater, space heater, vacuum, etc. that pull the same, if not more, and never had a problem. Also, before I got the BRS system, there was a Jager heater plugged into it the exact same spot since September with no issues. Then within the first few weeks of using the BRS system, this happens.

I contacted BRS, and they said that this was the first time they'd heard of the controller plug melting, and they wanted to send it off to the manufacturer for study. While I appreciate that this is all that they can do, I was disappointed a bit in the customer service. I was told that heaters failing like this was just part of the industry and issues with owning a reef tank. I was taken aback by this statement. The heating system was less than a month old, and failed when the physics were impossible for saltwater to drip on it. That is not expected or normal. And it failed while I was in California and came very close to starting a fire. If it had, I would have lost everything in my condo, including my two cats. While I certainly didn't expect them to replace my colony, I was expecting them to try to compensate for such a potentially devastating experience with some swag, preferred reefer points, etc. I'm not even sure I want to run the replacement in my house now, and may opt to return the whole thing and try another system.

Again, we all expect heaters to fail, stay on, stay off, etc. What I was really upset about was that the failure expectation is not on a brand new one and not to the level of fire hazard that it posed. And the BRS customer service rep making it sound as if this was both expected and should have been anticipated.

I hope that this is a freak accident...

I have seen this kind of thing happen several times before and I can tell you exactly what happened.

If you look closely at the first picture it is the Line Pin that overheated and the Neutral and Earth Ground are not nearly as encrusted in melted plastic because they never got hot themselves but instead got hit with heat and residue from the melting and smoke from the Line side Pin.

This is almost always caused by poor contact between the Pin and the socket. In almost all the cases it's the power strip that caused the problem. The two bladed contacts inside that socket did not make good contact with the heater Plugs Line Pin and the bad contact caused the resistance to go up and in turn caused heating inside that socket.

The power strip might have worked great for years but it just reached a point where the internal clips probably got loose and no longer held the blades together tightly.

 

[cedwards04]

I'm no electrician, but my dad and my father in law both are. This is without a doubt caused by the "loose" outlet you mentioned. It isnt making good contact with the device being plugged in, which in turn causes higher resistance, higher resistance = heat. Not the heaters fault, it just so happens that is what was plugged into it at the time. Could have happened with anything drawing a decent amount of power. Even a lamp.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I'm not sure if its mentioned anywhere what size the op used. but the 300 watt heater from BRS pulls almost 3 amps

 

[siggy]

Toaster 101. A loose or undersized connection with minimal surface contact will act just like a toaster.
Google;
As the electricity flows, the electrons jostle about and collide with one another, and with the atoms in the metal wire, giving off heat in the process. The thinner the wire, and the greater the electric current, the more collisions happen and the more heat is generated.

 

[DancingWind]

I'm sorry but this has ******** to do with BRS heater.
Loose connection - also known in the electrical industry under a technical term of: '****** electrical installation'
Properly installed/maintained/used electric sockets do not burn. Controllers do not burn sockets - they either burn themselves or blow the fuses.
Heaters or any other high power appliance should not be connected to such splitter matryoshka nonsense.
For long term high power setups if you are not absolutely positive that connection is solid - find another socket. Never leave it as permanent installation. Especially for you Americans using 110V circuits.
Thank your lucky stars - that is how homes get burned down.
PS.: may I suggest that you change the topic of the thread as this is clearly not BRS controllers fault.

 

[reefwiser]

Boy I have seen this a lot in my many years as an electrician. That’s a short in that splinter. The right hand prong of the plug was arching out constantly. This heats up the plug and shorts it out.
You can also see this from water getting on the prong an causing a short. Not an issue with the heater or controller. I would fix the outlet in the wall too before you use it again. Lots of quick electrical work done these days cutting corners