Photos of my house fire...aquarium put it out.

I sent a copy of the fire investigator's report. I called and left a message for him last week but his message said he was on vacation until the 20th. I asked him to give me a call to verify he received the report and he hasn't called back. I will call again tomorrow.

We are finally moving in on Friday!!!!!!!! I can't wait. It's been a very, very long 3 moths and 4 days so far.

Thanks for all the replies. I really do appreciate it.

I don't know if I mentioned it but....the bottom of the powerstrip is all wires. The plastic completely burned away.

I am about 7 miles southwest of Nixa, which is about 15 miles south of Springfield.

We lived in KC for 6 months but my mother was very ill and I wanted to be nearby. Plus I really missed "home" and didn't like living in such a big city.
 
Thank God no one was hurt or killed! after 19 years as Police officer I've seen too many with tragic endings. I'm sorry it happened it's never easy to deal with.

I do appreciate you posting it though. 2 days ago I purchased that exact power strip and set everything up the night before. I went to bed shortly after couldnt sleep so I sat down in from of my computer and started criuising RC and found this thread.
Well... I immediatly disconnected the strip and returned it yestreday with a print out of this thread to LFS.
he refunded my money and told me he had just started carrying the product and assurred me that his coralife rep said it was a great seller and had zero problems and the whole sales rap.


I went back to LFS last nite to get some little things and he told he blew up at the rep and took all the power strips off shelf

Thanks again and good luck with the house!

do I see a bigger tank in the future??:D
 
Sorry to hear about the fire. I'm glad you've moved back in. I wonder if there is some way to fire proof either powerstrips or the inside of your stand or somthing? When i set my tank up I am going to basically make my own power strip. I will have a panel with outlets on the inside of the stand (all GFCI's of course) and switches on the out side of the stand. I'm just worried that the GFCI will trip to late and the fire might already be started. Like you said the breaker was tripped, but obviously it wasn't fast enough.

So I am trying to think of some DIY fire extinguisher. :D
 
How much does it usually cost to have an electrician install a GFCI typically Or how difficult/dagerous is it to do yourself?
 
I'm not an electrician so I'm no expert but I've done a fair amount of electrical work through the years. installing a GFI is no harder than installing a regular outlet. pay attention to the markings line and load
your power connects to the line and if you wire another outlet it goes to load now the 2 outlets are GFI protected.

I prefer a GFI breaker in the box as opposed to an outlet mounted GFI.
they are code for spas, whirlpool tubs and pools.

I dont think a GFI circut would have prevented this power strip failure.
the owner of the LFS where I bought and returned mine opened a used one to check and they are poorly made and designed.
it's just 2 sets of metal contacts the run between the outlets. plugs do not sit tight so you have contacts arent secure heat builds up and it starts to melt.
truthfullly I dont see how it got a UL listing.

I would suggest if you do use a power strip get one that has house type outlets not a the ones that are moulded into the strip it's self.

MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF THE POWER AND CHECK IT"S OFF BEFORE DOING ANY ELECTRICAL WORK!!!!
 
Last edited:
Man that sucks...looks like I am going to chuck my and get a few outdoor timers from HD instead.
Just FYI... any moisture to outlet is bad.....
 
I am just reading this for the first time at work and am now completely paranoid of the one I currently have hooked up at home! I will be stopping by HD tonight to find a replacement and my Coralife strip will without a doubt be in the trash!

So those of you who have said you have trashed/returned yours, what are you using instead?
 
I bought 2- 4 gang out door plastic boxes, good quality duplex outlets mounted them to a piece of plywood wired them together with a plug
as far as timmers I'm using 2 Home depot digital timers.
 
I ended up buying 2 DJ power units and 2 Intermatic digital timers with dual sockets. I got the idea from this setup (which belongs to lakersfan0014):

powercenter.jpg


Coralife power strip is out with the trash.
 
I also had a Coralife ballast melt. Luckily it burnt out without starting a fire. I thought there was a problem with the bulb or the connection at first. The ballasts were above the tank so they never ever got wet. When we checked it the part where the wire goes into it was melted. It could have caused a major fire. I think a warning about this product should be stickied at the top of every thread. There are enough stories of faulty units on this thread alone to see that there is something wrong with the way they are made.
 
a simple enclosed compartment located within the aquarium stand to hold all non waterproof electrical components and externally ventilated, would significantly decrease the risk of water associated electrical faults.

if you would not hang the same electrical setup on your bathroom wall, then don't do it under/near your aquarium.
 
Wow that is a nice setup
BTW Is the timer the one timer unit or the dual timer unit?
I told my LFS not to carry time due to the potential fire hazzard
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
AQma AQuarium Log – New Android app for reef keepers
Replies
0
Views
83
magu
M
M
Calling UK reefers – help shape the future of smart aquarium care
Replies
0
Views
281
Millsc
M
Fish lover
My reefer 170
Replies
6
Views
933
griss
griss
Niven
I'm back....and ready to jump back in, feet first in the deep end, speedo, everything!
2
Replies
20
Views
515
vlangel
vlangel
Reefing102
My UPS - Do you have a UPS back up?
Replies
12
Views
1K
tbone28
tbone28
Back
Top