Osmolator Universal 3155 Issue

[warden13]

I just hooked-up my Osmolator and for some reason the alarm kicks-off when my T5 timer turns the lights on. The timer & Osmolator are on two separate plug strips. I don't know if the timer is sending out some sort of magnetic charge which seems to trigger the Osmolator's alarm. Any ideas?

 

[rvitko]

Yes, the osmolator has two magnetic components, the float switch and the relay. You need to move the 5017 and the associated float switch as far away from the ballast as possible and it may be necessary to plug it into a seperate circuit.

 

[warden13]

I moved the float switch and the relay (5017) to the opposite side of the tank. It seems to be working better but every time I touch the relay, the alarm sounds. It has been running for a week without me touching it. I moved it last night and the alarm went off again. It even went off in the middle of the night without me touching it. The water level was fine and there was plenty of RO/DI water in my water bucket. I unplug the relay to reset the alarm. Am I causing the alarm to go off by touching it or could this be caused by a loose wire?

 

[rvitko]

The relay is a component inside the controller, I assume you mean the transformer? You may need to plug it into a circuit seperate from the ballast. Often the magnetic interference uses the home wiring much like an antenna and a component susceptible to the interference needs to be on a seperate circuit.

 

[warden13]

I did plug it into a circuit separate from the ballast and the alarm continues to go off. I am not sure about how the separate plugs are wired within the same room. Do you have any other suggestions that I can try? I am going on vacation in a week and need to figure this out. Thanks for the advise.

 

[rvitko]

Try plugging it in in a separate room of the house and just dipping the sensor in a bowl of water. If it still gives you trouble send it in, but I think the ballast is the root of the issue.

 

[warden13]

I will give that a try. Another option I was thinking of was to buy a timer which will switch off the unit when the ballast is on and turn it on when the ballast is off. Do you think that would correct the issue or is it not good to turn off and on the top-off every day?

 

[rvitko]

The only danger in turning it off and on is you defeat the 10 minute safety, since it resets every time it is turned off and on. On a long trip it could run 10 minutes every day if it is faulty and that could be a problem. Just out of curiosity what kind of ballast is it?

 

[warden13]

The maker of the ballast is Vossloh Schwabe. I purchased the 2x54W T5 High-Output Retrofit Kit by IceCap (Not over driven) purchased from ReefGeeks. I have another question for you. If the alarm goes off, doesn't the auto topoff shut down? If so, does it reset itself after a period or do you have to turn it on and off?

 

[rvitko]

I was just curious as I have seen this before with Workhorse ballasts. It depends. If the float switch is what triggers the alarm it resets itself when the water level drops. If it is the time out relay it must be manually reset.