Electrician here...If you need advice or help

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bigdaddystar

New member
Electrician Here,

If you have any questions regarding Installations, wiring, or issues

Feel free to ask and I should be able to help you out...

And I encourage all of you to use gfcis on your equipment with the exception of your return pump ( although you should....nobody wants to come home to a dead tank courtesy of a tripped GFI)
 
depends what you are referring to...I am assuming you mean something along the lines of discharging a capacitor or other storage device.

If it is in that context then yes you can.....the key to dealing with electricity is never become part of the circuit.....

In the case of a capacitor you would take a insulated wire to the prongs to any good grounded source like steel...i would do each side since you may not know which side will discharge it
 
I am talking about induced voltage from lighting...like, those T5 single reflectors build up a charge from photons striking them, and it is an unpleasant little zap when you ground yourself to it.
 
do you really think the charge is built up from 'photons'?

Im guessing the likliehood of that is less then the buildup from the induced magnetic field of the transformers?

and wouldnt grounding out the shield/reflector should discharge everything? is there any link or reference to what you are suggesting? i would love to read up on it? thanks
 
So you are saying the bulbs themselves are givng you a shock.....if you are touching or near just the glass part of the bulb? Does the fixture housing shock you as well? It does sound more like an improperly grounded source.....that is definetely not normal...

I would try running a wire from the fixture housing..screw it down to it and take it to a known good ground source and she if it is still present....that doesn't quite fix your problem but its a good start to see if it dissipates...you always have to be very cautious with the lights...they are the leading cause of electrocution. The ballasts can deliver enough electricity to kill if they short and you are shocked when you say have your hands in the tank.
 
letsgofishin said:
do you really think the charge is built up from 'photons'?

Im guessing the likliehood of that is less then the buildup from the induced magnetic field of the transformers?

and wouldnt grounding out the shield/reflector should discharge everything? is there any link or reference to what you are suggesting? i would love to read up on it? thanks
Click to expand...

Well, glass is an insulator, and those single reflectors only contact the glass portion of the bulb, so I am pretty sure it is induced voltage from either photons striking the aluminum, or there is some crazy field generated (outside the glass) by flourescents.
 
flourescent bulbs/fiztures use high frequency and as i recall, the electrons can go 'around', insulators.. the surface becomes a pathway...

but again, this is a long long ago lesson... but if photons can create electricity that well, then all we would need for solar panels is sheets of aluminum exposed to the sunlight?

but would love to hear/read more... i will read thru the link youi posted.. thanks
 
Yeah very similar concept is you can actually take a flourescent bulb out to the big transmission lines (power-lines) and hold it up and it will light up without being plugged into anything (induction) but in the hobby thats a little strange

The other thing I can think up is condensation...is your hood properly ventilated? Even the slightest mist can be an excellent conductor and of course I am guessing this is a retrofit fixture with no protective cover on the lights
 
My 3 way switch in my bathroom has been wired incorrectly and I was wondering if I can fix the issue without turning off the circuit panel outside. I am reluctant to mess with the panel as I have no clue what I'm doing and don't want to accidentally turn off the power to my tank.

Is it safe to just go ahead and unscrew the switch?
 
bigdaddystar said:
Yeah very similar concept is you can actually take a flourescent bulb out to the big transmission lines (power-lines) and hold it up and it will light up without being plugged into anything (induction) but in the hobby thats a little strange

The other thing I can think up is condensation...is your hood properly ventilated? Even the slightest mist can be an excellent conductor and of course I am guessing this is a retrofit fixture with no protective cover on the lights
Click to expand...

I am not trying to go all tesla on this...but the issue is that the high frequency current (the same that can light that bulb wirelessly) is generating a charge on the aluminum reflector as well, but rather than discharging photons like a bulb, it builds charge like a capacitor...at least as far as I can tell.

I may be totally off on this, but I work on a lot of tanks and have seen this on many light fixtures, halides or flourescent, damp or dry, grounded or ungrounded.
 
qwuintus said:
I'll give it a shock. I mean a shot...
Click to expand...


lol.

something like that should be relatively simple. someone who is sure of what they are doing could (foolishly) get away with working while it is hot, but as someone who has electrocuted the hell out of myself quite a few times, i really recommend getting a friend, getting on your cell phones or yelling through the window or whatever and figuring out how to cut that circuit. it sucks to lose a day or two to an addled brain because you zapped yourself...damn you three-phase 220!

The thing about rubber soled shoes is obvious, but the one-hand thing is good to know. Electricity doesn't really mess you up too bad unless it crosses major electrical systems in the body, ie heart and brain. Working with two hands, the current travels from one hand to the other, across the heart, wreaking havoc as it goes. One hand, on the other hand (rimshot please), will just get you a nasty electrical burn and maybe some sore muscles.
 
hmmm... Well it sounds like I would need balls of steel to proceed after reading that.

Or actually balls of rubber?? haha

Eh, I think I'll ask my brother for some help with the circuit board.
 
There is definetely a fixable issue here...the question is what is causing....
I have heard of entire houses experiencing this problem and I mean right down to the lathe and plater wood faucets you name it....with that scenario the problem lies with a bad ly corroded main neutral....you could actually take a meter to the faucet and read voltage.....

These are the steps I would take to see if there is an issue that is equipment...

Try to ground the fixture further like I already stated
If you have a simple plug tester ensure the plug is wired correctly to the house
If this is a retrofit fixture...make sure all your electrical connections are correct and no sign of rust....it does not take much saltwater to rust a connection...pay specific attention to the neutrals
If there are mutiple ballasts try to disconnect one at a time and see if the problem goes away...if there are fans involved do the same for them.
If you are comfortable with performing all these

there should not be that much induction to shock you. There is another problem...I would suspect neutrals
 
i have 3 individual plugins/or outlets running off one breaker. if i put a gfi outlet on the final outlet, will the two outlets in-between the end, with the gfi, and the breaker also be gfi protected?
 
Hi bigdaddystar,

Recently one of my circuit breaker keeps tripping, it has 1 washer and 1 dryer connected to it. It's been working for 11 years and all of sudden starts to trip.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Ron
 
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