Reefkeeper - time to move on?

[kl3377]

I have been running a Reefkeeper for a while and I noticed today that one of my Tunze was stuck on. I have two Tunze set to Wavemaker and plugged in to #1 and #4 on the PB. I also think that about a year ago #2 was stuck on as well, was running a UV sterilizer at the time. This power bar issue seems to be pretty widespread and it makes wonder what the point is of a controller that can not control equipment reliably. Is it time to look at another brand? Anyone have a recommendation for something that is as easy to use? Are they all this unreliable? I guess I just expect more from a Power Bar that has a price tag of $100 for 4 outlets.

 

[n2585722]

I have 6 PC4's. 2 of them I have had since 2008 and the rest over 6 years I have never had any failures on mine. I don't run wave makers from the relay outputs though. In fact I don't run anything that powers on and off several times a day from the relay outputs. Mechanical relays will eventually go bad after thousands of on and off cycles. The triac outputs CH2 and CH3 do have an issue with the back EMF pulse turning them back on on low power pumps. This can be fix by adding a surge protector with a 330 volt clamping voltage between the PC4 and the pump. You can also get a PB4 power bar. The replacement for the PC4. These have built in protection for the triac's to prevent the back EMF pulse from turning the triac back on. Also the latest controller from Digital Aquatics is the Archon. It is compatible with most of the RKE and RKL modules. I assume you have a RKL or RKE since those have been out since 2007 I belive. Anything earlier would be very old by now.

 

[Jyetman]

I have been running a Reefkeeper for a while and I noticed today that one of my Tunze was stuck on. I have two Tunze set to Wavemaker and plugged in to #1 and #4 on the PB. I also think that about a year ago #2 was stuck on as well, was running a UV sterilizer at the time. This power bar issue seems to be pretty widespread and it makes wonder what the point is of a controller that can not control equipment reliably. Is it time to look at another brand? Anyone have a recommendation for something that is as easy to use? Are they all this unreliable? I guess I just expect more from a Power Bar that has a price tag of $100 for 4 outlets.

Not sure about reefkeeper but on my apex energy bars use triac circuits and if it pulls less than a certain amp the outlet fails on or off. Might be worth a try like on mine add a 12 volt adapter or etc that's connected to nothing plug it to the outlet with the tunze see if you have better results.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

tunze have thier own wave controllers... use that and simply plug it into the power bar..

 

[kl3377]

The 12 volt adapter is probably not an option now that the outlet is "stuck on". I may look in to the Tunze one but it just adds more cord, wires, etc to the set up. I am wondering if the newer PB-4 eliminates the problem, mine is a PC-4, would love to hear from anyone who has purchased these.

 

[kl3377]

tunze have thier own wave controllers... use that and simply plug it into the power bar..

Is the Tunze Wavemaker more reliable?

 

[n2585722]

The PB4 should not have an issue on CH2 and CH3. They have built in circuits to eliminate the issue. The PB4 also has a higher capacity power supply for the buss. The only downside is the PB4 does not have a current readback. CH1 and CH4 still has relays.

 

[kl3377]

Are the relays on the PB-4 better than the PC-4 or the same? The reality is I probably end up with a PB-4 because I can link the PC-4 and the PB-4 from what I can tell.

 

[zachfishman]

Not sure about reefkeeper but on my apex energy bars use triac circuits and if it pulls less than a certain amp the outlet fails on or off. Might be worth a try like on mine add a 12 volt adapter or etc that's connected to nothing plug it to the outlet with the tunze see if you have better results.

THIS. The two inner power outlets on the PC4 bars (outlets 2 and 3) may power very low wattage devices even when set to OFF. I found out the hard way after my alk doser (plugged into outlet #2) ran an extra 10 minutes every evening when outlet #4 powered off to let my skimmer venturi soak. Alk shot to 15dKH in two days!:eek2:

 

[kl3377]

Can someone diagram the 12v adapter method. Not sure I fully understand what to do.

 

[n2585722]

A surge protector will work also. Illuminated power strip liberators will work with most pumps. The outlet doesn't really stay on. When the Pump is powered down it creates a pulse of several hundred volts. This pulse unfortunately turns the triac back on momentarily which causes the cycle again.This happens very rapidley which makes it look like it is always on. This is very low current. So all it takes to suppress the pulse is a little passive load. A 47000 ohm resistor is usually enough of a load.

 

[kl3377]

A surge protector will work also. Illuminated power strip liberators will work with most pumps. The outlet doesn't really stay on. When the Pump is powered down it creates a pulse of several hundred volts. This pulse unfortunately turns the triac back on momentarily which causes the cycle again.This happens very rapidley which makes it look like it is always on. This is very low current. So all it takes to suppress the pulse is a little passive load. A 47000 ohm resistor is usually enough of a load.

Thanks, I used a surge protector and it now works. I will probably buy some power strip liberators to neaten up the appearance. One for each outlet so I dont have to think about it. Thanks again

 

[n2585722]

No problem.

When using the illuminated power strip liberators. Test it to make sure they work with the pumps you have. When the PC4's were designed it was before the green craze took off. Only a few pumps had a isssue back then. That is the reason for the redesign and the PB4. Also some of the newer modules are power hogs so they added a larger buss power supply to the PB4. The PC4 is no longer in production.

Just remember if you ever want to upgrade the Archon will work with most of your modules. The ones that it doesn't work with are no longer needed with the Archon. It has built in wifi and network connections. It is completely web based and will work from any device with a web browser including ipads and smart phones.