Your Electrician Here

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12371782#post12371782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
It takes more than 60 amps to blow-dry my head each morning. Sometimes the aluminum wires in the walls melt if I make coffee and toast while while using the blow dryer.

Is that bad?








:D
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Actually thats called a "melt down" . We have developed ways to prevent this problem.
1) Lower the AC to -10 deg f
2) Throw water on the melting wires
and
3) Dont drink coffee in the morning, its bad for you...instead drink something healthy... Randys 2 part every morning "A shot of 2part every day.......keeps the doctor away"


:cool: :D :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12388324#post12388324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve 926
Where can you get a good whine on collins ave ?

Steve

:smokin:
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Hi ya Steve hehehehe LOL and i thought heres a electrical question :D:beer:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10994988#post10994988 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Young Frankenstein
To vary speed at different temperatures you would need a thermistor, a 555 timer, a lm317 regulator and a 2N3055 transistor, it gets really complicated and you just gave me an idea for my next project :D at this point you need a 1 Amp 12vdc power supply, any pc power supply can deliver that. You will also need a 120 v 20 amps or 30 amps thermostat ( you rely need only 1 amps, but the line thermostats are usually rated 30 amps) I am currently using 2 of those line thermostats and picket them up for $ 9.00 each. I am gone post some picks tomorrow.
Click to expand...

O,

Any update on this project ?

Thanks
 
I hope you are still answering questions. I have a 125 gallon tank and everyday it is tripping the circuit that it is on for about a week and now today when that circuit tripped it want even come back on even after I unplugged everything .I need to know what to do about this and how do I upgrade the circuit so that it can power everything. I have not done any electric work so I will need really plain directions and diagram if not a problem.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13080051#post13080051 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by renne39
I hope you are still answering questions. I have a 125 gallon tank and everyday it is tripping the circuit that it is on for about a week and now today when that circuit tripped it want even come back on even after I unplugged everything .I need to know what to do about this and how do I upgrade the circuit so that it can power everything. I have not done any electric work so I will need really plain directions and diagram if not a problem.
Click to expand...
Whats the amperage of the breaker and how many wieres are conected to the circuit breaker?
 
With the breaker off, meter for continuity between the hot and neutral at the plug. It should be an open circuit. You will always have continuity between the neutral and ground.

Your wiring may be shorting out, which is why the breaker wont reset even with it all unplugged.(Damn rats) Or, its another appliance on another plug somewhere that is on the same circuit.

You'll need to be sure to isolate that circuit to test it, ie make sure nothing is plugged in. Its a good idea to map out your breakers to plugs / lights anyway.
HTH
 
Hello,

I could use some help with electrical and general suggestions! My wife and I are planning on having an electrician put outlets in our basement. My goal is to switch from a 46g bow fowlr to a 200 - 300 reef over the next few years buying equipment piece by piece. I plan on keeping the 46 as a quarantine tank and starting with corals in the 46g at first. What do I ask the electrician to do beisdes 20 AMP circuits and about 12 GFCI outlets? I read in the posts you were recommending 2 circuits for 125g. I also saw something about 12/3 romex and mc cable.

Also, if you don't mind a general off topic q, I see a lot of coast to coast overflows on threads, but don't understand how the acrylic is attached to the glass. My 46 was a fresh water hand me down. I want to try to have the back panel drilled.

BTW YF great movie!

Thanks :rollface:
 
You are on the right track.

I would not limit myself to (2) 20A circuits though.

If you use 12/3 wire, you can get (2) circuits with a single pull, they would share a neutral wire. This is perfectly acceptable and an easy way to get (4) branch circuits to an area by pulling only (2) cables. The choice of MC or ROMEX or THHN/CONDUIT will depend on the local codes and location of the wiring (exposed or in wall).

So in a nutshell I would go with (3) or (4) 20A circuits for a 200G tank if you can afford the slight increase in cost. Putting important equipmet in individual GFCIs is also a very good idea (as you appear to already understand). That way a nuisance trip or fault does not bring down everything. I would stay away from GFCI breakers for that reason.

As for the coast to coast. I would use glass for a glass tank, and acrylic for an acrylic tank. Click my red house for my version maybe overkill for your 46 but it will give you some ideas. It will be perfect for the 200. There are plenty of coast to coast threads here in the DIY forum. Start a new thread if you have questions, you will get lots of answers.
 
helo need a little help on GFCI out let please,,
GFCI out let that came with the house doesn't strip easy and how come GFCI we got from homedepot stipped so easy ,
where can i get GFCI out let that doesn't strip easily like hd one,,?
thanks
 
You will need to provide us with more information to answer your question.

What is plugged into the GFCI that is tripping? Does the same exact equipment cause the other GFCI to trip?

You may have a faulty GFCI that is nuisance tripping, or you may have a GFCI that is not sensative enough and is NOT tripping. Before we can figure out what is going on, we need more details :)

How often does the GFCI trip? Is there any pattern to when it trips? Again, exactly what devices are plugged into it? Etc.
 
Series vs parallel wiring. I have two 175W MH Magnetic ballasts. Wondering if I can safely and easily wire them together so that I only have one plug in (only have one timer, so this would be convenience based mostly). Do I merely wire the Hots to hots and the whites to whites? or do I wire one hot of one ballast to one neutral of the other ballast and then wire to outlet with the other two free wires? FWIW, this will be running on a dedicated line to the tank (20A).

Thanks,
Ron
 
Ron,

You always wire devices in parallel, never in series. That is HOT together and NEUTRALS together. Are they retro ballasts? You will need to put them in a METAL box for safety and shielding reasons. If they are not retros and are instead finished units, you will need to do the wiring inside of an aproved junction box.
 
They are retro ballasts. I have placed them in a "breaker box" type enclosure. Just wanted to be sure that I was wiring them correctly.

Thanks Bean,
Ron
 
more infor

more infor

i have an neptune DC8 plug into homedepot GFCI out let cam home one day ,,,it tripped,,have no idea,,( it still tripped if i only use it for return pump)
now i swithed to the other GFCI out let that came with the house,,and since then until now,,,it never happen
there must be a different brandname of GFCI out let out there,,
is there a best brandname you guy would refer??

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13313933#post13313933 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
You will need to provide us with more information to answer your question.

What is plugged into the GFCI that is tripping? Does the same exact equipment cause the other GFCI to trip?

You may have a faulty GFCI that is nuisance tripping, or you may have a GFCI that is not sensative enough and is NOT tripping. Before we can figure out what is going on, we need more details :)

How often does the GFCI trip? Is there any pattern to when it trips? Again, exactly what devices are plugged into it? Etc.
Click to expand...
 
In thoery they should all work the same. In reality some units may be more sensitive than others. WHen you say a "home depot" gfci outlet, do you mean the extension cord type? Many people report that they nuisance trip more than the receptacle type. You must also make sure that you do not plug the extension cord type of GFCI into an existing GFCI receptacle. In other words, GFCI units can not be run in series.

If it is a receptacle type, then you may want to try a different random brand like leviton, hubbell, cooper, etc.
 
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