Cheap heaters vs expensive heaters

Hi guys.
Just wondering. What would be the reason or reasons to buy a jager or sicce heater compared to some of the cheap R100 to R200 heaters?

 

Got a cheap R55-00 heater in 2004 and it's still going strong. Depends how you look after it and what you can afford. Why buy a Fiat Uno when you can buy a Ferrari.

 

I also see the jager is much longer than a sicce heater. Does this length of the jager help heat more water flowing over it so then helps take strain off the heater coming on too much?

 

Running 20+ tanks...I've settled on those Via Aqua heaters, cheap and they do the trick. I always have a spare 50, 100 & 200W in the cabinet just in case...but so far so good

 

Cheap heathers work for me

 

I have Jager, and a lot of cheapies, recently bought 3x 500w for R169ea, the one Jager now has been discarded as it has moisture in it, the cheapies all going strong, have so for years.
Last I looked the Jager 300w was around R750, I don't believe they are that good, same with filters, I can buy 3 DoPhins for the price of one Eheim.
I am probably a cheapskate...

 

Some LFS (especially up North) seem to be ridiculously expensive.
300W Eheim/Jager I will buy for around R420- ; but that is still more expensive than cheapies.
Does it last longer than a cheapie? It depends, some cheapie last forever while others need replacements much sooner.
But I guess, peace of mind is something you can't put a price tag on. So in my 'important' tanks I use Eheim/Jager.

 

That is true @JCL.
One thing i see the jager and sicce has is it can't burn your fish that lay against/on it.
But for the price I would get sicce to jager.

 

From my own experience, I have had the cheap brand heaters and they were always off temperature. I got Eheim heaters and because I can calibrate them, they are always spot on. I suppose if your fish is not iffy then you can get cheaper brand when temperature drops of one or two degrees is fine. But when you get to fish like Discus you obviously want it very stable so then only the expensive ones will do.

 

I've never had an expensive heater before. No point in my case, as the limiting factor is my brain.... I often forget to switch them on...

 

After a big water change I also forget to turn it on sometimes. As long as i dont forget to turn it off before

 

hi always gone with the cheapy heaters, my pleco tends to pop heaters and thats about the only time they give me problems. if i buy filters i go with eheim because if something does go wrong i can get replacement spears and not have to buy a hole new filter

 

I don't buy the argument that because something is more expensive it automatically follows that it is better than something less expensive, or cheaper if you like.
A lot of consumer electrical and electronic goods share many of the same components or manufacturing facilities, especially goods produced in China. There are huge factory complexes, the so called "factory cities", that make millions of similar goods for many companies under many different brand names.
Often the amount charged for a brand lies in the value of the brand or trade mark it is sold under, i.e. people will pay more for brand A, because it is well known, has a long history, spends a lot of money marketing itself, has more prestige etc. than brand B which may be equally good, hasn't been around that long, is less well known, doesn't have the marketing punch etc, etc.
Good examples of this are generic medicines which have to be the same as the original, but are often sold at 80% lower prices than the original drug.
At the end of the day it is often the perception of quality, more so than the actual quality itself that drives the price of an item.

 

Jagers are still made in Germany.....just saying.

 

...and thus they are better than anything else?

 

well, for my needs in keeping and breeding some expensive discus fish, I would prefer to use them over cheaper products as I still find them to be more accurate, with their calibration feature and then also I've found them to be more reliable too. For instance, i do use life tech heaters in some of my angel and guppy tanks and I've had some of these go way above their set temp and over heat the water in a smaller tank and then also had some that have had their red temp adjusting spindle come loose.

i guess for me, I'd rather for example drive a car designed and engineered in Europe than in the east, and then for that matter too keep fish that are bred in Europe than those that come from the east....

but hey, each to their own and if cheapie heaters work for your needs, go for it.

 

Bought my first heater over 35 years ago, ...a Eheim.
None if the cheapies brand were around then.
Agree with @pHish_man, I also use some Lifetech heaters (provably amongst the better ones of the cheapies) but they can be troublesome on occasion.
Had a Dophin pop (glass just shattered) while I looked at it while I plugged it in, so I saw it first hand. No I didn't do anything stupid (as an electrical engineer I know what I am doing, at least in that field -lol), won't even look at those heaters anymore.
Had about 6 heaters of another brand (small for small tanks) which would get stuck and not switch off, burnt myself when preparing water and also lost 45 fry I was breeding (ended up with fish soup), got rid of all of those)

While I hear what @Jwh is saying about manufactured in China and perceived brand value, and he makes some good points, I prefer the solid feel of the Eheim heater, ...never had an issue with them and they will be around in another 35 years.
Like a friend said, 'the price is long forgotten but the quality remains'.