PFO Extension cords anyone?

fxbyjanice

fxbyjanice

New member
Hey everyone! I'm upgrading to a 170 gallon reef and need a couple extension cords for my PFO ballast. I have already tried contacting the old PFO cord supplier (J&J electronics) but after speaking with multiple people that didn't help either. :headwally:

??? DOES ANYONE HAVE A COUPLE PFO EXTENSION CORDS YOU'D LIKE TO SELL ???

If so, pm me with a price and we will see if we can make a deal.

I appreciate the help!!!! :inlove:

This is what the end looks like if it helps any

locseala.gif


P.S. I'm not going to attempt rewiring stuff either... that'd be scary! :hmm3:
 
Thank you moondoggy! Their website says not available but i'll give them a call tomorrow and double check. I appreciate the help! :)
 
Bummer, called Custom Aquatic and they don't have anything. Thanks for the lead though Moondoggy! :)

I'm wondering if it'd be really hard for me to go to Lowes hardware or something and get the same type of wire (gauge?) and splice it in. From what I understand it has 3 wires inside the main wire and I could wire nut them together then shrink wrap some wire wrap around it? Or would it be better to install standard plug ends to it instead of wire nutting them together?

Ok, look... I'm a girl. I have no one to help and I've never done anything like this before. lol, I'm always up for trying something new and heck, I learned how to install a sprinkler system with valves and a timer... I gotta be able to do this too. I just need a little direction. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks in advance everyone! :D
 
The best bet would be going to a Electrical Hardware store and bring in the wires and tell them what you want to do. Better knowledgeable staff usually.
 
lol... well, that sounds simple enough but I don't know what kind of ends to use or exactly how to wire them. I know it sounds simple but I've never done any sort of wiring stuff before.

Can you use just any type of plug ends to extend them? (Like the type that might be on a heavy duty extension cord?)

I can't find an "electrical hardware store" so I guess I'll have to try Lowes. :)
 
go to lowes, find the cheapest heavy duty extension cord. you now have male and female ends and you can cut to length the cords. cut off the proprietary end of the PFO cord, and you will have three wires, black, white, green. rewire the same.

you dont necessarily need the "quick disconnect" feature....you can have one long cord.


make sure to retape the new connection point adequately.
 
Try Premium Aquatics or Marine Depot.

Both of them like Custom Aquatic used to stock PFO.

You may be able to find something from them.
 
Thanks r-balljunkie! :) That seems pretty easy!!! :) Thanks for the info and confidence that it's not as difficult as I thought.

Grigsy - I check EVERYWHERE! (including Premium, Marine depot and C-Aquatic). They just aren't available... I couldn't even find used ones for sale on ebay or anywhere else. I even contacted the original supplier of the PFO plugs and they cant help unless I want to purchase a lot of 500 of them. lol... Thanks though... I'll try re-wiring them this weekend and say a little prayer I don't burn down the house. ;)

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!
 
just had a brain fart. been awhile since i ran a proprietary cord. one end is probably wired to your ballast, the other to your light. you can rewire from the mogul socket to the ballast with the same cord u buy. i guess it depends on how ambitious or OCD you are.....i would have already been back from lowes, with everything tore apart, LOL



good luck
 
I'll need to extend the end from the lamp to the ballast. So I guess I'll just cut that wire and splice in the 2 ends from the cut HD ext. cord.

The lamps are OCD mounted into my canopy and I'm not even going to attempt taking that apart by myself. I don't have any help so a "cut in 1/2 and add wire" is the way I will have to go.

LOL @ "already been back from Lowes with everything tore apart". ;) I'm ambitious but cautious with stuff I don't know about. I've been setting up a 180 system by myself and am in the final stages. I'm currently stuck on installing a G6 filter (mostly, just for water polishing) because it needs gravity and of course it's all too tall to put into the stand like I planned... Oh, things are complicated but I'm so close! Filter, wiring... ready to bring it to life and switch over my 100 gallon. :) Yay for me!
 
Went to Lowes... they helped (rolling eyes). I got some M/F end plugs to wire on my existing ballast wire... and they sold me a HD extension cord to give me the length I needed. So after getting home and looking at it a bit more I realize that the HD extension cord says 300v.... but in reading on another thread the PFO ballast wire is rated to 600v.

Ughhh, now i'm afraid to use that extension cord wire because it's not rated the same for volts and when I asked them they just scratched their heads. Sigh::::

Does anyone have any input on this? help? :|
 
You should be fine with the 300v wire. I would try it if it were me. The voltage rating is determined by the dielectric, and it only effects whether any current leaks between the conductors. If I recall correctly, ballasts only kick out the highest voltage on the initial startup of the light. Once the bulb is lit, the voltage put out by the ballast is much lower.

It's worth a shot :)
 
We purchased all of the remaining PFO stock after they went ou of business. Call me directly if you're looking for something specific.

Jeremy
 
Why is my project turning out to be a nightmare... lol, always a day late and a dollar short.

I just cut and rewired some standard plugs with HD extension cords yesterday. Ughhh, I'd be so bummed if I found out you had the actual PFO extension cord cables. I ran my newly wired by myself lighting yesterday for about 10 min and it seemed to work ok. I didn't burn down the house thankfully but man... sure would have rather done it with the right extension cords though... plus my way is ugly with black cords and big taped up plugs.

Ughhh, don't tell me you have those in stock Jeremy. Do you?

I guess going through multiple defective fluvial G6 filters will drive a girl crazy. Lets hope 3rd ones a charm or I might need a vacation from this upgrade project. Oh.. and my dolphin pump and plumbing was leaking too. Sigh:::: I fix one thing to have 4 more go bad.... I can do this... right?
 
fxbyjanice said:
Why is my project turning out to be a nightmare... lol, always a day late and a dollar short.

I just cut and rewired some standard plugs with HD extension cords yesterday. Ughhh, I'd be so bummed if I found out you had the actual PFO extension cord cables. I ran my newly wired by myself lighting yesterday for about 10 min and it seemed to work ok. I didn't burn down the house thankfully but man... sure would have rather done it with the right extension cords though... plus my way is ugly with black cords and big taped up plugs.

Ughhh, don't tell me you have those in stock Jeremy. Do you?

I guess going through multiple defective fluvial G6 filters will drive a girl crazy. Lets hope 3rd ones a charm or I might need a vacation from this upgrade project. Oh.. and my dolphin pump and plumbing was leaking too. Sigh:::: I fix one thing to have 4 more go bad.... I can do this... right?
Click to expand...


half the fun of the hobby is 5 trips to home depot every time you change your setup. after the 4th trip, i usually go to another home depot, to save face :(

do u have a local club you can lean on? it helps sometimes to get another reefers opinion and assistance for some of these projects. Reef geeks are always helpful :)

good luck with the rest of the project!!!

c
 
I had the same problem with PFOs I just cut the plugs off, added 3 wire heavy duty extension cord to the length I needed. I used 220v plugs (One male one female) on each end so they could not be confused with the power cord and they have worked well for 7 years. Yes you have the wire nuts and electrical tape on on side but you can hide that. Souds like you are on the right track
 
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