Possible Heater issue

[Dade21]

During a water change I noticed as the water was draining that The heater light came on. It was not totally out of water. I unplugged it immediately. and it seemed to be functioning last night afterward. Should I Be worried about replacing it? It was the first time Ive ever had that happen and I know its not good for heaters to be on and not in water

[V227]

I think just about everyone in the hobby has made that mistake. Unplug the heater and let it cool off for an hour then remove it. Check for cracks in the glass, or water inside the tube. If the heater passes those tests, reinstall. Probably no worries.

[54seaweed]

When I sucked out all the sand in my tank my heater was exposed with no water for several hrs ,so long as the heater is a good quality they should have a auto shut off built in . it's actually a safety feature,
I use the ehiem 150 they seem to hold up the best in saltwater but I'm sure they would work just as good in freshwater never have any issues

[smallfry53]

Dade21 I would recommend for the future getting a power strip to plug your heater(s) and filter(s) into. It makes it easy to switch both off while doing pwcs.