luther1200
Premium Member
So is 80% of everthing else these days.
When safety measures are unsafe
- Thread starter Aquarist007
- Start date
Agu
Premium Member
This is just a wild guess but if I'm reading this correctly the B11 that burned up was connected to an APC ? If so you confused the heck out of it, sent varying currents to the B11 and probably had the direct power and batteries competing to see which one was in charge (that's a pun
). The B11 is designed for power on or power off, not maybe power kinda off/kinda on. I suspect the circuitry couldn't take the in between situation.
Based on having three B11's for about 5 years and none have ever failed. Even the one that backsiphoned tank water and still works after a good cleaning.
jmo
Aquarist007
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15300950#post15300950 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Agu
This is just a wild guess but if I'm reading this correctly the B11 that burned up was connected to an APC ? If so you confused the heck out of it, sent varying currents to the B11 and probably had the direct power and batteries competing to see which one was in charge (that's a pun
The B11 is designed for power on or power off, not maybe power kinda off/kinda on. I suspect the circuitry couldn't take the in between situation.
Based on having three B11's for about 5 years and none have ever failed. Even the one that backsiphoned tank water and still works after a good cleaning.
jmo
thanks Agu--that makes sense to me and explains why the one that was hooked directly to the gfci was working fine.
Aquarist007
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15301072#post15301072 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whys
So is this to say some equipment can not be safely plugged into backup power?
Scarry thought isn't it. I was hoping to hear back from the manufacturer today but I didn't.
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
My guess: the B11 does not have a UL, CSA, or ETL listing... probably not tested for safety?
Is the UPS that you use putting out an actual sine wave output? Or is it a "modified" DC wave acting as AC? Usually the ones that put out an actual sine wave are more complex and more expensive...
I would think that it's probably not a good idea to connect something like the B11 to a UPS.
I'm interested to hear what the manufacturer says about it.
Is the UPS that you use putting out an actual sine wave output? Or is it a "modified" DC wave acting as AC? Usually the ones that put out an actual sine wave are more complex and more expensive...
I would think that it's probably not a good idea to connect something like the B11 to a UPS.
I'm interested to hear what the manufacturer says about it.
Mike31154
New member
Have you popped that thing open to see a little better as to what may have fried? The batteries ok or did they leak all over?
As far as where it's plugged in, shouldn't really matter as long as it's an AC power source. All that's in there is a switching relay that is held on by AC power and when that is lost, the batteries kick in, provided you have the power switch on.
As far as where it's plugged in, shouldn't really matter as long as it's an AC power source. All that's in there is a switching relay that is held on by AC power and when that is lost, the batteries kick in, provided you have the power switch on.
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
Mike, he had it plugged into a UPS. Some UPS's, when switched into battery-supply mode, put out a psuedo-AC signal that is not a true sine wave. I think it is entirely possible that if the B11 was being run off of this, it could have fried something that was not capable of handling the not-quite fully AC output. If you don't get this, I suggest reading up on uninterruptible power supplies.
aquaman67
Active member
I'm confused.
Why was the B11 on a UPS?
It would never kick on, would it?
I mean, it won't come on unless there is no power to it and on a UPS there will always be power to it so it would never come on.
Am I missing something?
And like Agu I've been using these things since 2002 and never had a problem.
Why was the B11 on a UPS?
It would never kick on, would it?
I mean, it won't come on unless there is no power to it and on a UPS there will always be power to it so it would never come on.
Am I missing something?
And like Agu I've been using these things since 2002 and never had a problem.
luther1200
Premium Member
I was getting a little confused myself.
Aquarist007
New member
Here is a link to the stats---I'm not sure about wave outputs?
It would be definetly csa approval since I bought it in Future Shops Canada.
Yeah, I really interested in what the manufacture is going to say about it too--so far no response--despite mentioning I had posted a pic of it on Reef Central---thought that would have elicited a response
Aquarist007
New member
I agree with you guys--I have been using 5-7 of them for the last three years without this problem----one of the reasons for posting--the other being I don't want my house to burn down .
I did not hook the b11 up to the backup circuit of the APC
There is an antisurge only side to the backup. Lately we have had flickering of the electricity due to thunder storms ect. The b11 when hooked to the wall outlet would start up at the slightest gap in power so I switched one of them to the APC
(I just posted a picture of the apc1300 in the post above this one)
Aquarist007
New member
I am waiting to here from the manufacturer before I take it apart
here is a link to the backup unit:
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1300LCD
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
I see... it was plugged into the surge only side, not the UPS output... so disregard what I said before.
luther1200
Premium Member
Maybe somehow a surge got threw the ups anti-surge. And fried it somehow.
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
If I have this correctly, the events that occurred are as follows, in this order:
1. Something threw the breaker...
2. B11 starts to burn while running on it's internal battery
Is that correct?
The FIRST question I would want answered is: What tripped the breaker in the first place?
1. Something threw the breaker...
2. B11 starts to burn while running on it's internal battery
Is that correct?
The FIRST question I would want answered is: What tripped the breaker in the first place?
Aquarist007
New member
this is a difficult question to answer. I discovered a smoldering b11 and a tripped breaker at 5.30 am. So I am unsure of the sequence of events that took place.
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
Does it have any fusing?
luther1200
Premium Member
What the B11? No it doesn't have a fuse, but neither does just about anything else. Maybe a few power bars, but nothing else I am aware of has a fuse or breaker.
gabbagabbawill
In Memoriam
not everything requires fuses... for example if a pump motor (which doesn't have a fuse) burns up, the coil opens up and doesn't work any more but it's not supposed to catch fire or exceed a certain temperature. If it does, it wouldn't pass safety approvals like CSA, UL, or ETL, etc... that is why I asked if it was listed. (BTW, I am product safety engineer for my company, so this interests me... the standards are different for this product than what my company makes, but it is very similar because it is consumer electronics).
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