Power strip advice needed

Frizz

New member
I would like to buy a couple of really nice, heavy duty & SAFE around water power strips. Haven't really had much luck finding anything. Anyone have a favorite brand or a place that yu can recommend? Can be local or online either way. I just want something safe with lots of outlets.
Frizz
 
I was kind of hoping for something with a GFCI in it. I would assume that DJ stuff does not have that or am I wrong?
Frizz
 
Nope the dj strips dont have built in GFCI.
If you are looking for true built in GFCI then you are probally looking at one of the heavier duty outdoor power strips. I know tripplite makes one and I believe belkin does (both decent names)

-- Goon
 
Also for clarification GFCI and surge protection are not necessarially the same thing. (ie a "surge protector", even a nicer one does not necessarially have GFCI)

--Goon
 
if you dont have one built into the wall
then lowes/hd sell gfci strips that plug right into the wall... they are heavy duty and used for construction sites... we have used these in the past and they do work well... they are also only about 14$ +/-

regards
 
Hi Frizz.

If the wall outlet is a GFI that you have your strip or strips plugged into, then everything on the user side of that GFI is protected by that GFI, they are simple to install in the wall in place or your regular grounded duplex outlet that homes normally are wired with...

My$.02
Bill:)
 
DIY... I did a 6 gfi box you can build it out of wood, acrylic I used an intermatic timer box that was plastic I already had the gfi's so it wasn't a big cost but every 2 items are protected and will only trip not the all at once
 
Thanks guys,
I will check into this stuff. Except not the DIY project. If I had the time, I still wouldn't have the skills or the inclination for that.
Frizz
 
Thank you for the kind offer but time is too much of a problem for me. We also live very far from one another.
Frizz
 
I would not use a plug-in style GFCI. If you lose power they will pop and not go back on without manual reset. You want to replace your wall outlet with a GFCI, they will continue to work after a power outage. The plug in style are meant for tools and such- items you dont want to pop on unexpectedly

If I am wrong, please correct me with the plug in style you have that will self reset- I cant find one, and plan on switching my outlet this weekend.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12877621#post12877621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scott11
I would not use a plug-in style GFCI. If you lose power they will pop and not go back on without manual reset. You want to replace your wall outlet with a GFCI, they will continue to work after a power outage. The plug in style are meant for tools and such- items you dont want to pop on unexpectedly

If I am wrong, please correct me with the plug in style you have that will self reset- I cant find one, and plan on switching my outlet this weekend.


you might check the plug in style being sold at lowes
(where we bought ours)

have used these for several years on my tanks
power has gone out few times and they have always come back on...

there was another thread about this yesterday
in some other forum and that point was brought up (re not coming back on after power goes out)... was the first had heard of that so i went and tripped the breaker to be sure and when the power came back on - all the power came back on for the tanks.

we have them on all our tanks.
on the reef we use 2 - separate one for the main return pump then one for the lights/accessories... that way if one breaker is tripped then one will still be on (pumps hooked up to each one for flow).

and would say they work remarkably well
once while had hands in the tank the plug in gfci for the lights tripped - couldnt find a reason why but must have splashed water somewhere or ???... was nice to see the safety features being implemented - working as they were supposed to though!... other then that think there was one other time they tripped while working on the tank - again think it was water being splashed somewhere.

besides that has never gone out.
iow appears to be a reliable piece of equipment.

dr randy holmes farley (from RC) has reported that he uses these on his tanks also

regards
 
is iow the brand? DO you have a picture or a description? I would love to try this unit out.

Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12878970#post12878970 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scott11
is iow the brand? DO you have a picture or a description? I would love to try this unit out.

Thanks


dont know what the brand is - check the ones out being sold at lowes... might recom once get them hooked up to make certain it will come back on if a breaker is tripped.

regards
 
I found one that works at lowes. It is the 5 outlet white shock buster. It is clearly more for indoor use than outdoor, and thats why I guess it works after a power outage.

thanks for the tip
 
I get the heavy duty Steel shop grade ones at Home depot. the plugs are alittle further apart from eachother which makes for easy plug in. I learned my lesson last year (almost the hard way) I used the cheaper ones and had no drip lines. so some water that was splashing onto the wires made it's way down and melted the strip thank god I smelled it before we left for the day.
 
I use the same one that JMC uses, it's an all metal 10 outlet made by Belkin. The power cord is 10' long also. They are not cheep but they are well made.

The flipside of using power strips is this, just because they have 10 outlets doesn't mean your electrical worries are over, they will still only carry about 10a safely, and not continuously either. I think the rating is 13a, so I always use a little less. If one is going to use a chiller, CL pumps and mh lighting, those items need to be plugged directly into a wall outlet and on their own circuit.

Has anyone ever overloaded an extension cord to the point the plug begins to melt? hehehe
 
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