Fair or not, I'm leery of Aqueon heaters, simply because some years ago one of their models had problems.
About 8 years ago I replaced all my heaters with Fluval M heaters, based partly on a lfs owner I knew who had them in 100 tanks without any issues. I've had zero issues with them and their settings have been accurate. I expect I could get 10 years out of them but I'll probably replace them this year and this cycle of replacement I'll get them again, hoping they're still reliable. I've always been a simpleton with heaters, if what I've got works I keep using them until that model stops being reliable. I've seen my share of heater threads and the bottom line is people have different favorites and more $ doesn't necessarily = better.
Some differences in experience with a heater might be in how it's worked. Wattage recommendations are related to differential between target tank temperature and room temperature. Only logical, but not everyone considers it-- room temp 70 degrees, tank temp 75 degrees works the same heater less than room temp 65 degrees, tank temp 85 degrees. That said, mine aren't worked hard and I don't overkill on wattage. (And mine are off during water changes.)
