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Well, just got a big scare this weekend. The wife and I were getting ready to go out Saturday night and I caught a whiff a a strange smell. I just thought is was my wife drying her just-permed hair. You know how aweful that can smell. 
Went out of my closet and saw she was done, but the smell was getting stronger. I immediately became very nrevous and ran to the tank room, small getting stronger the closer I got. I openned the door to the fish room and the wave of smake and the putrid smell of burning plastic hit me in the face. Good news, no visable signs of flames, but the smoke was almost unbearable and probably borderline toxic. Quickly found the source though, one of the WON titanium heater controlers was melting and sending up the putrid black smoke along with a little soot. Unplugged the heaters (had two hooked up) and dumped them both in a bucket of water. Half the casing and contents of one heater had melted to nothing and started to melt the other one beside it. The wall that the heater controllers were hanging on was black with burnt plastic.
It took almost three days for the smell to go away in the tank viewing room and my fish room still smells, although it is getting better daily. I am really scared to think what might have happenned if I had not been there. The really bad thing is that I only really ever used the heaters to heat the water when I first set up the tank. I don't think they have had to run since.
The other thing is that I did not have a photoelectric smoke detector in that room, rather one that was more useful at detecting open flames. Needless to say, that has been rectified.
So, if you have one of the WON pro heaters, beware. I had two of the 500 watt heaters.
Went out of my closet and saw she was done, but the smell was getting stronger. I immediately became very nrevous and ran to the tank room, small getting stronger the closer I got. I openned the door to the fish room and the wave of smake and the putrid smell of burning plastic hit me in the face. Good news, no visable signs of flames, but the smoke was almost unbearable and probably borderline toxic. Quickly found the source though, one of the WON titanium heater controlers was melting and sending up the putrid black smoke along with a little soot. Unplugged the heaters (had two hooked up) and dumped them both in a bucket of water. Half the casing and contents of one heater had melted to nothing and started to melt the other one beside it. The wall that the heater controllers were hanging on was black with burnt plastic.
It took almost three days for the smell to go away in the tank viewing room and my fish room still smells, although it is getting better daily. I am really scared to think what might have happenned if I had not been there. The really bad thing is that I only really ever used the heaters to heat the water when I first set up the tank. I don't think they have had to run since.
The other thing is that I did not have a photoelectric smoke detector in that room, rather one that was more useful at detecting open flames. Needless to say, that has been rectified.
So, if you have one of the WON pro heaters, beware. I had two of the 500 watt heaters.
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