What's the approx. working lifetime for a heater?

[PinkSugar]

A friend of mine is offering to give me his 100w Visi-Therm Stealth heater that he's used in his saltwater tank for two years. He says it's worked flawlessly for the entire time he's had it (as would be expected of a Stealth heater!)

Should I take this heater, or buy a new one since his has 2 years of continuous use under its belt? How many years can you expect a heater to last?

Also, I'd be using it in a freshwater aquarium... any issues with going from salt to fresh with the heater? (build-up on/in it, etc?)

Thanks so much!

 

[mfdrookie516]

it's really hard to put a working time on a heater. It could be anywhere from 1 second to 50 years or more. The nice thing about visitherm stealths is that marineland has a lifetime warranty on them (make sure to get the receipt if they have it, that'll help you big time). If it quits heating, or wont stop heating, they'll replace it for you.

As for switching from sw to fw, you could probably get away with a good rinse, but if it has alot of build up on it, vinegar will help with that.

 

[PinkSugar]

Fabulous, thanks for the input! I think I'll take the heater and try to give it a nice vinegar cleaning, then go from there.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I got some heaters that are older then me still working and some that have burned out fast or not work at all out of the box.