Smoking DC8

[lunkerbunker]

I smelled burning plastic in my aptartment today, after investigating I noticed that my DC8 was smoking. The DC8 was extremely hot and melted my plug from my metal halide ballast. The rest of the unit is now on the fritz and seems to have a mind of its own.

I had to disconnect the unit because it would turn different items on and off as it pleased... The chiller turned on even though the tank was at 78 degrees in the tank. My atinic supplements would also turn on and off by itself. Now I'm not even able to manually control the unit.

This unit is less then 3 months old. Please advise me on what I should do. I currently have no means of controlling some of the items and am very stressed out....

 

[lunkerbunker]

Some pics

 

[lunkerbunker]

Some pics

 

[lunkerbunker]

 

[plaz]

Did this happen after being setup for several months, or was an item recently plugged into it?

 

[clp]

lunkerbunker,
Please give us a call 408-578-3022.

Curt

 

[sidewinder770]

hmm....very similar to this thread. Did you ever find out what happened in that case (last post says you sent it back to the manufacturer)?

 

[clp]

The manufacturer's tests were inconclusive; to us it looked like water damage due to the corrosion on the connector. In the event that water damage was not the root cause, we implemented load testing during manufacturing to ensure that a potentially defective receptacle is not shipped.

Curt

 

[lunkerbunker]

my dc8 is in a completely seperate cabinet from my tank. this was definitely not caused by water damage. the light is also new and has no corrosion on the connectors.

i'm curious in what would have happened if i didnt unplug my dc8? they unit and the plug it destroyed seemed really hot. could this have caused a fire? i will call you tomorrow.

 

[lunkerbunker]

i left a message and now waiting for a call back. what time are you open?

 

[clp]

I got into the office late; I'm going to try to call you now.

Curt

 

[lunkerbunker]

pm'd you

 

[Carlos]

wow,

I am glad the board is here to posts such experiences.

I must say, even if the bad DC8s are only a very small percentage of the total number of units sold, it does make me a bit fearful of what I have at home. Like they say, it only takes one...

It would be nice to see some type of self monitoring or dual stage safety feature to prevent bad things from happening.

To be honest, I litterally touch both DC8 and DC4 units each and every day for sings of over heat or some other stress. After the stories and pictures here, one cannot be too careful.

Carlos

 

[lunkerbunker]

i spoke with curt from neptune and i wanted to trade my dc8 for a dc4 heavy duty. i realized it wouldn't be enough outlets and i really didn't want to spend another $150+ for another dc4 especially since i'm skeptical about the product. lets see what curt does for my, i'll keep everyone updated. thanks

 

[lunkerbunker]

can these type of short circuits damage my equipment plugged into the dc4 or dc8? just wanted to get some thoughs.

 

[clp]

This type of failure would like damage the plug on the appliance.

Curt

 

[plaz]

In regards to "trade my dc8 for a dc4 heavy" - did you have something plugged in that was over 6 amps? Do you think that had something to do with the meltdown?

 

[plaz]

Also, did the damage happen shortly after you plugged something in? We are trying to set ours up at a time we will be home for a week or so to monitor - but if damage was delayed, that won't help. We both travel and are getting really worried about a potential fire hazard.

 

[lunkerbunker]

plaz,

pm'd you

 

[lunkerbunker]

Hi Curt,

Did you ship the replacement items yet? LMK becasue I dont have any means of controling some of my equipment. Thanks