I have always had a glass heater, but now I have in my hands a titanium heater by Schego of 200 watt. Let’s see what changes.
This article is also available in: italiano
Since I became an aquarist (and I sadly I mean the past century!) I always had glass heaters. Then I knew that there were titanium ones, and Schego has always been the brand that everyone exalted. Now, finally, I have a Schego 200 watt titanium heater. Let’s see together the pros and cons compared to a glass heater.
Technical characteristics of the Schego titanium heater of 200 watt
| Length of the heater | 250 mm |
| Diameters | 25 mm |
| Protection of water and dust | IP68 |
| Power | 200 watt |
| Cost | 47,99 euro |
The power consumption
It’s difficult to do tests on a heater, but we plugged it and measured the electrical consumption absorbed.
We obtained 180 watt of power consumption. In the video below you’ll see 190 watt. Even if the heater is of 200 watt, you have to consider that the consumption is related to the 240V promoted on the box or to the 230 V promoted on the website. So if you use a lower voltage of 215-220-225 V you’ll obtain a lower vaue, for example at 220V you have 183 watt. Declared!
Pros and cons of titanium
The first thing that comes to my mind as I have the heater in my hands is that it should be everlasting! It’s incredibly solid and it hasn’t glass part that can break. Technically is similar to a glass one: it has a series of inner resistors which are heated by the Joule effect as the current passes through them. But titanium shell protects the interior more, it can’t break and it can’t “explode” as glass could, and obviously glass risks to break even when it’s still hot, it’s extracted from the aquarium and left plugged outside the water.
The average thermal conductivity of titanium, even though it isn’t the best in absolute in sense, is definitely better than the glass’ one, with 21,9 W/(m·K) against 0,5-1 W/(m·K).
Moreover, generally speaking, titanium heaters are shorter than glass, and it can be completely submerged in water because it has an IP68 waterproof rating.
And the cons?
It has essentially two disadvantages. The Schego’s titanium heater doesn’t have a temperature controller, that however rudimentary every glass heater has. So it’s necessary to purchase a separate thermostat or use a controller like Aqua Go.
Moreover, the titanium heater costs more than a glass one and the difference can be as much as 50%. But if the advantages of the titanium are the ones you’re looking for, you’ll have the top category.
Our video
In the following video you can see the heater in action. It’s in italian, but you can turn the Eng subs on!
You can find the heater in the best shops, but it’s also avaialbe on Amazon at this link.
(For this heater, as well as for the Aquael, we have to thank our friend Gandalf that lend it to us for the test).
