malfunctioned heater

[tbrazil230]

A buddy of mine has a 35 hex tank and about 4 or 5 months ago he replaced his heater with 1 from Walmart well sometime yesterday it malfunctioned and didn't shut off and when I picked him up for work this morning his water temp was all the way up to 100 degrees and all but 1 small angel was dead, now I'm worried that my top fin heater might do the same thing, is this a common problem and I though they were designed to fail in the off position

 

[shellieca]

Oh sorry to hear that about your friend. Unfortunately there's always a chance of equipment malfunctions. I have some Top Fin heaters myself that so far I've had no problems with, I check my temps daily to make sure all is good but I know there's a chance something could go awry in between my checks.