Does this heater keep stable temperature? I've heard horror stories about preset heaters cooking the betta because temp went way too high .

No, probably not in the sense you mean. This is an eight watt "always on" type of heater, it has no thermostat. The heater will continue to emit eight watts worth of heat whenever it is plugged in. With very few exceptions all small "bowl" or "betta" heaters work this way, the only difference is the wattage. They are available in 5 to 15 watts, you need to match tank size, ambient temperature, and other variables to heater wattage. A thermometer and monitoring is essential, especially at first to determine what temperature a particular heater keeps a particular tank, and if room temperature rises so will the water temperature. The term "preset" is not really applicable to these heaters, preset heaters have a thermostat that is permanently set at a certain temperature. If a heater description uses the term preset without stating a specific temperature (usually 78°) then it is NOT a thermostatic heater- it is an always on type. In too small of a tank or too warm a room these can overheat the water. Bettas are very heat tolerant, which is why using these heaters is feasible, but care is still needed. In anything under 3 gallons I think eight watts may be more than needed unless in a fairly cool room.

Is there any reason that I couldn't use this outside to keep a dog's water bowl from freezing?

To answer the original question....it depends on how low the temp dips, but I would say no. I've tried several different "devices" to keep water from freezing in cold MN winters, and most of them will fail if it gets much below 0. I'd do a search for devices that are especially made for the purpose you have. Some are quite inexpensive, and if your temps aren't too cold, will work fine, at least most of time. The only thing that works well enough to be dependable for me are heated pails, and the pail has to be pretty big, 2 to 3 gal capacity (and kept full or near full of water) to keep the liquid contents from freezing when it gets really cold. (These are the pails I have, except they're blue. I've had them for more than 10 yrs, they still work and look like new, but I ONLY use them in the winter months, they're put away and not used at all over the summer. I believe I pd about $30/ea at that time, so they've never been "cheap". https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovators-FB-80-Heated-Bucket/dp/B01I5JP69M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501103428&sr=8-2&keywords=heated+livestock+bucket. I've also taken a 5 gallon pail, cut it in half, wrapped a heat tape around the lower part of the pail, taped it in place so the tape doesn't touch itself, put the upper part of the pail over that lower half, thereby covering the heat tape on the bottom half and making it inaccessible and preserving the handle on the upper half for carrying. Then, tape the whole thing together using strong, outdoor weatherproof tape or some other means of keeping the contraption together......Viola, a 2 1/2 gallon DIY heated pail. Those worked quite well, kept the water from freezing but didn't warm the water and usually lasted as long as the heat tape did, several years if you only used them in the winter months. Since you usually have a good supply of 5 gal pails around the farm and you only needed a short heat tape, they weren't expensive to make, especially important if you had need of several pails. However, a decent heat tape isn't so inexpensive anymore nor do they seem to last as long. That, plus getting older and lazier, are the reasons we now use store-bought, ready-made heated pails.) These pails are not ideal, either, because they do such a good job, they actually warm the water, not hot, not even close, just lukewarm. While one would think that's a good thing for the dogs....warm water on a cold day....they don't like the water to be warm. They much prefer their water to be cold but do drink it warm when that's the only option. Spoiled, fussy little buggers!

Product Dimensions	4.32 x 13.46 x 18.03 cm; 170 g
Item model number	11182
Colour	Black
Number of Items	1
Quantity	1
Batteries required	No
Batteries Included	No
Voltage	110 Volts
Wattage	8 watts
Item Weight	170 g

MARINA Chauffage submersible Betta - 8 W - Pour aquarium

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