Your Electrician Here

I'll check, but I just installed these circuits and I'm pretty sure the neutral screws are snugged down tight.

If they are tight, what else could it be? Any chance that jumpering the ground wire and neutral wire from one to the other has any effect? (One hot, one neutral and one ground wire come into the box. They go to the first GFCI, then I have small jumpers carry over to the 2nd GFCI).
 
Nope do not connect the neutral to the ground, this can start a fire if you lose the neutral leg in the panel. The feed wires are both connected on the line of the GFI? correct ? And how old are these GFIs ? GFIs with time when they are about 2 years old tend to trip easier. Other than that I don't think you can do much at this point. Also check if your grounding connections to the ground rodds are not corroded , if so loosen them up and clean them with a wire brush and sand paper. Hope this helps.
 
O Agios,

I have a controller which has powerbars that are controlled by the well, controller. The powerbars are plugged into a GFCI plug and when the controller turns on the lights (T5 Flourescents) it trip's the GFCI Ciruct ? Only happens on the lights. For now I have the light controlling powerbar plugged straight into a non GFCI plug (which I'd prefer not to do).

Is there any way to keep the lights from tripping a GFCI ?

Thanks
 
Henry sounds like one of your ballasts is going bad. Ballasts most of the time go bad slowly, still light up the bulbs but operating hot. Put your hand on the ballasts and see if one of them is hotter than the other. If one of them is more hot thats the ballast to disconnect. The other way is disconnect the ballasts one at the time to find the one thats defective.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9551930#post9551930 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randall_James
How about a simple basic safety rules posting? There are numerous posts of fires, electrical failures and other safety issues related to the electrical side of this hobby...

How much stuff goes on a power strip
How to keep salt water out of connections
GFCI does/donts and best practices
Total equipment per service circuit, when is it time to add a circuit
How to calculate total power demands on your tank.


I know some of this is really basic but it would sure help people to have it all in one spot...
Click to expand...

Do you think you could make a small list of things to look out for?

That way you wouldn't have as many people coming to you for fixing problems, if you helped us fix them before it actually happend.

Thankx for helping out all us reefers.
 
Hi Bry Guy, I am currently working on starting with a safety thread on GFIs. Also that will be my second project simple basic safety rules, fire hazards are probably the second most overlooked problem in this hobby with the first one electrocution. I will need some more time and I will do the thread you asked.
 
Hey guys and gals

In the next few years, I will be moving into a new house, and my 90 gal sps tank will be coming with me. I was thinking I will take the opportunity to do a few upgrades, and one of the things I wanted to do was install at least two, possibly three dedicated circuits for the tank in the houses electric system. I will likely hire an electrician to do this for me, but I would still like to know as much about wiring as I can so I know what is possible and what isn’t. below I will list my goals for the dedicated tank circuits:

-I would like these circuits to have built in serge protection incase of lighting strikes / power surges or what have you. These have been a problem for me in the past. How can I do this? what kind of hardware do I need?

-I would like these circuits to be equipped with GFI sockets. Honestly I’m not sure what GFI means or what the sockets do, I just know they are used in bathrooms incase someone drops the hair dryer in the bathtub. Could anyone elaborate on these for me? Are they worth it?

-Finally, I would like at least one of the circuits to be connected to a gas generator. Is it possible to rig up a system that automatically fires up the generator incase the power goes out while I am at work or away on vacation? A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is what I am going for here. What kind of hardware do I need to look into?

That is all I can think of at the moment. I would sincerely appreciate anything anyone could tell me about how I can achieve my goals for soon to be new tank’s electrical system. And if anyone has any suggestions for me on how to make the electrical system better (what didn’t I think of) that would be great too. Thanks everyone!
 
First of all make sure the wires are # 12 gage and have dedicated neutrals on each circuit, and a dedicated ground. That means you will ask for a quote for 3 dedicated neutral and ground circuits. The price will be probably the same. Terminate each circuit in a 20 Amp GFI. From there branch out and feed pumps etc. I also would install a surge protector in the electrical panel. The surge protectors dont protect only the 3 circuits but the entire panel against an indirect lightning strike. Theres nothing available that will protect your equipment if the lightning strikes close by. www.sycom.com has surge protectors that you can see as an example. home depot also caries them. The entire project would probably cost you about $ 800.00 in material and labor if the panel is within 20 feet of the fish tank. And anywhere from 800.00 to 1200.00 if is within 60 feet. A doungrade would be # 14 wires with 15 amp GFI and no surge protection or a plug in surge protector. Hope this helps. If you have anymore questions I would be glad to answer them.
 
hey O Agios. Cool thread here. What state you live in. I seen your ground rod set up. I'm in a fight with a inspector here in VA. over a ground rod. WE now have to have two ground rods. I ****ed him off when I told him to get a ohms meter and prove it.
Do you have to have two rods? Va beach inspector are fun little guy
 
sorry that is http://www.sycompower.com/ and for the generator you need an Automatic Transfer Switch or ATS but your generator has to be made to auto start to have the option of starting automatically. Here is a typical diagram I made for simple generator installations.You can print this and show it to your electrician.This is a simple manual transfer diagram that can also be used with an automatic transfer for a small generator.
manualtransfer.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10092594#post10092594 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coral killer
hey O Agios. Cool thread here. What state you live in. I seen your ground rod set up. I'm in a fight with a inspector here in VA. over a ground rod. WE now have to have two ground rods. I ****ed him off when I told him to get a ohms meter and prove it.
Do you have to have two rods? Va beach inspector are fun little guy
Click to expand...
Hey coral killer I used to work for Dorey electric and jerrit electric when i lived in Virginia beach by ocean ave. :) NEC code requirements, and i went throe this for a 280 homes project. NEC states you can have 1 ground rod if you have a certified letter from an electrical engineer stating the ground rod has less than 25 ohms resistance. I cad welded 5 10ft 3/4 copper ground rods fro a 13.2 kv transformer one time and measured the resistance and it was about 30 ohms. Here in Florida I spoke with the chief electrical Inspecton in Miami "Stue Bazerman" and he has tested from orlando to the Florida Keys and found is impossible to get 25 Ohms with a single rod. By the way to measure resistance in a rod connect 120 volts with a 1000w incandescent light bulb in series and measure how many amps go throe. Then use ohms law to figure resistance. You canot measure ground resistance by cheeking for resistance. Its alitlibit complicated. Another way to check if you have 25 ohms is connect a 5Amps fuse in series with a ground rod if the fuse blows then you have 25 ohm.
 
I heard that va beach was one of the last to have only one rod. no more. I don't know about the light bulb thing. Not bad, not bad at all

Dorey Huh.
I'm a old smith and keen boy myself. I only could make it for 2 yr I hate that place. Been on my own for the last 15yr. I miss the good old days
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10092773#post10092773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 0 Agios
By the way to measure resistance in a rod connect 120 volts with a 1000w incandescent light bulb in series and measure how many amps go throe.
Click to expand...
I guess I can not use this for a new ohm meter? still stuck with my Fluke? :)
 
You can't measure resistance resistance in a ground rod with a fluke amprobe etc. tectonics oscilloscope bla bla bla etc. You can use a ground rod resistance mesuring tester made by Fluke but it costs $ 1200.00 for the clamp on. Sending a current from any source and measuring the current and voltage going throu the ground rod, then you can use ohms law to figure the resistance. by the way a electrical engineer was ridiculed one time on a job that I was involved in(but not by me, by my helper), because he tried to measure resistance in a ground rod with a fluke tester ehehheeh
 
All good electrical troubleshooters still use a 200 w light bulb in series with the circuit breaker to find the short circuit. Alot of theory behind that light bulb in series. Trust me.
 
Problem with MH bulb shutting off after about 90 minutes. Any ideas.

Problem with MH bulb shutting off after about 90 minutes. Any ideas.

Hello O Agios

I have a brand new T5 (4x24w) and MH (150W) light fixture.
The T5's and internal fan run perfectly. The MH bulb runs for about 90 minutes, and then shuts off, and will turn back on about 30 minutes later. It seems to shut off quicker the 2nd time around...maybe 1 hr to 1hr 15 minutes. The distributer sent me a brand new light fixture, thinking it was a problem with the electronic ballast. I hooked up the new light fixture tonight, and the same exact thing. Shut off at about exactly 90 minutes. The distributer had it running for 2 full days before he shipped it to me and said it ran perfectly. I thought maybe it was an issue with the timer or power strip, so plugged it directly into the wall outlet, and it did the same exact thing (I had done this with the old fixture too, and it shut off plugged directly into the wall outlet.

The only thing that wasn't swapped out, is the MH bulb itself.
Could it possibly be a bad MH bulb? If a MH bulb isn't seated exactly perfect, does it still light up? I know the T5's have to be seated right in this fixture or they don't work. I doubt I'd have another bad ballast in a different fixture.

Could it be that the circuit is being overloaded in my room? I would assume it would trip the circuit, but it hasn't tripped, and nothing in the room is flickering. Everything else is running fine....just the MH shuts off.

What would you guess?

Thanks!
Pam
 
Case 1) Its the light bulb. With electronic ballasts probably an ANSI-M102 you can use only pulse start lamps. They are differently build from the magnetic ballasts lamps.So check your light bulb.Is this a Chinese bulb ?
Note 1) The way a ballast works is 1. supplies the proper working voltage to the lamp, 2. limits current so that the bulb dos not blow up. 3.provides a high voltage arc so that the bulb starts reaction.
Case 2) The bulb is not screwed to the socket properly, tight enough and when it heats up the socket it disengages the contact therefore it has to cool down now and restart. I use a lubricant such as Vaseline on the thread if is tough to screw the light bulb, just enough to make the threads shine, and then screw the bulb.
Case 3) the place where your ballast is overheats, therefore triping the thermal protection on the ballast.


Most likely you are using the wrong light bulb.
Let me know how it turns out, hope this helps.

DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB WHILE IS HOT.
 
Hi O Agios. Thank you so much for your quick reply.
It's a very expensive Elos Planet light fixture, and the MH bulb came with it. It's an Elos 10k MH bulb, so I know it's not the wrong bulb. Maybe there's a manufacturing defect with this one bulb. The ballast is internal, so it's not a matter of me having it somewhere where it's heating up too much. The fan is internal, and is angled correctly. The bulb doesn't screw in.... You place it in one side, put a little pressure on it, then slip the other side in.
I'm assuming that if I didn't have it inserted correctly that it wouldn't light, just like the T5's. Elos will take care of me, I'm not worried about that, but just trying to get this figured out. Is there any way that it could be an issue with me using too much amps/volts from that one outlet or the room? It's strange I have the exact same thing with a second light fixture....which is why I asked them if I could have a bad bulb.

Thanks!
Pam

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10100155#post10100155 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 0 Agios
Case 1) Its the light bulb. With electronic ballasts probably an ANSI-M102 you can use only pulse start lamps. They are differently build from the magnetic ballasts lamps.So check your light bulb.Is this a Chinese bulb ?
Note 1) The way a ballast works is 1. supplies the proper working voltage to the lamp, 2. limits current so that the bulb dos not blow up. 3.provides a high voltage arc so that the bulb starts reaction.
Case 2) The bulb is not screwed to the socket properly, tight enough and when it heats up the socket it disengages the contact therefore it has to cool down now and restart. I use a lubricant such as Vaseline on the thread if is tough to screw the light bulb, just enough to make the threads shine, and then screw the bulb.
Case 3) the place where your ballast is overheats, therefore triping the thermal protection on the ballast.


Most likely you are using the wrong light bulb.
Let me know how it turns out, hope this helps.

DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB WHILE IS HOT.
Click to expand...
 
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