jnarowe
New member
yeah, about the heat: Electrical current generates heat all along its path, including the insulated wires. So when the wires are zip-tied tightly together, there is less ability to expel the heat the way the wire was intended to. Most of the time this doesn't matter because the manufacturer will use the appropriate specified wire, or even "play it safe" by using a wire at one level better.
But if you go to s atore that sells a variety of powerheads, you will notice that the wire sizes aren't all the same for the same power pump, nor do they always step up as the power steps up between different power points.
When you tie wires in a tight fold, like a lot of us do for neatness and organization, you in essence lower the amount of power the wire can handle before it overheats.
Then if you add an outside event like a power surge, you can run into real trouble. I have and actually had a fire start under a secondary QT tank. The wire just wasn't able to handle the heat and caught fire.
Personally I would not use Gutter Guard. I think it presents too much surface area for algal growth and does not always make for a good fit. I have seen it often zip-tied to overflows which makes it less likely to be removed for cleaning.
The removable overflow combs I have are made ny Aqua-Medic:
I got mine from AquaCave.com. In fact, at the time they were selling them on eBay. I attached mine using Weld-On 16, although I am sure any acrylic or multi-purpose plastic adhesive would work.
But if you go to s atore that sells a variety of powerheads, you will notice that the wire sizes aren't all the same for the same power pump, nor do they always step up as the power steps up between different power points.
When you tie wires in a tight fold, like a lot of us do for neatness and organization, you in essence lower the amount of power the wire can handle before it overheats.
Then if you add an outside event like a power surge, you can run into real trouble. I have and actually had a fire start under a secondary QT tank. The wire just wasn't able to handle the heat and caught fire.
Personally I would not use Gutter Guard. I think it presents too much surface area for algal growth and does not always make for a good fit. I have seen it often zip-tied to overflows which makes it less likely to be removed for cleaning.
The removable overflow combs I have are made ny Aqua-Medic:
I got mine from AquaCave.com. In fact, at the time they were selling them on eBay. I attached mine using Weld-On 16, although I am sure any acrylic or multi-purpose plastic adhesive would work.
).
so I tie wrap everything. I was a little concerned about the heater cables as they tend to carry more load than the pumps, so rather than tie wrap I rewired the Aqua Logic power leads (to the heaters) to shorten them up. I guess if the wire is of a decent size then heat dissipation shouldn't be an issue. I know most cable I see on pumps and such is rated for 600v so heat dissipation when running 120v should be no problem.
, that two skimmer work together just fine. They do exactly what I intended - get the gunk out faster than just one skimmer could. 
