Power Problems with GFI

[BCReefer]

I am having some trouble with my electrical. I put in a GFI and it seems to blow every few days. I am running the following using a power bar.

175W MH
2 x 30W Atinic
100W Heater
1 Bak Pak skimmer
2 301’s
1 21” TV
1 VCR

what I am thinking is making a box that I am able to insert 4 GFI’s and have a normal outlet in the wall and not using a power bar. I am not blowing the circuit breaker so I think the problem is with the GFI. Also the GFI can blow even if the TV is not on.

Why would it blow for no reason sometimes? I can have everything on and it doesn’t blow then wham it shuts off.

How does everyone else do it?

Thanks
Patrick

[SuperFudge]

I could be wrong here,but i think most GFI`s are at about a 10 amp capacity.....you may be slightly over that....

These are rough guesses,
-M/H about 3.5 amps
-combined powerheads(skimmer included)1 amp?
-actinic ballast 1.5-2 amps?
-heater .5 amp?
-tv-vcr combo 3 amps?

Im no electrician so please take this with a grain of salt(preferably I/O images/smiles/icon_wink.gif)

Mine will do the same thing,i have a pump that draws about 9.5 amps on a gfi,if i shut the flow off,the pump seems to draw more amps or heat up the gfi to the point of popping.

Id try pulling a few items off there,such as the t.v. and vcr....even the heater too.

Marc.

[ 24 December 2001: Message edited by: Fudge ]

[DJ88]

Patrick,

I have a single cord that comes from the wall socket into a box with two separate GFCI's in parallel. Then from the GFCI's it goes to three separate power"bars"(boxes with multiple wall sockets inside).

It sounds like you have somethign that isn't shorted but is very close to it. As it runs(electricity flows) it builds up a potential between the two points. Once this difference gets high enough it gets enough energy to jump the distance between the two spots and trips your GFCI.

That is the only thing that comes to my mind. You will have to take a look at the wiring you have done and as well the equipment you have. Run without a piece for a while see if it trips.. remove another one etc etc etc..

Or you may have too much on it..

Short of redoing everything that is about all I can add right now.. It could be simpler than that... but..

In holiday mode.. Can't think too hard.. images/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[ 24 December 2001: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Littlefish]

Hi BCReefer


Fudge has a good suggestion for you!
Trouble shooting through issolation is your best bet images/smiles/icon_smile.gifthe fault you are having are really the tough ones to find b/c they are not always present but remember there may also be a problem with a piece of equipment that you don't see so Issolate first.
If you still cant seeit split the load between 2 GFCI's once you get it down to which load is the problem then you are in a better position to figure out where the fault may lie,after this put in a new GFCI and see if that fixes it and if you still have problems call in a local electrician

For me this is easier to do than explain I hope you got the jist of it images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

clear as mud
good luck
Littlefish
a tecky with a ticket images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Littlefish]

Oh I should also add before you call someone and after you determine where the fault is try using the new GFCI and see if it trips this will tell you if it is the equipment or the old GFCI.

See I told you this is easier to do than explain images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Goodluck
Littlefish

[djbh]

Hi BC,
I am an electrician,The advice these guys gave you was right on,this should sound an alarm.The GFI in my opinion is working properly,it is doing its job.When a breaker trips,it either trips on overcurrent or on dead ground.The GFI is designed in such a way that it monitors leakage from the hot,neutral to ground.Any leakage or passage will trip it.
A GFI is very sesitive and will trip way faster than its circuit breaker.
A GFI can trip on humidity,where the humidity makes it to the wires and thus creates a path from one side to the other.
In many houses GFI are installed outside in the carport or garage,they often trip because of humidity.My guess is that a wire or equipment has its connection exposed to humidity,somewhere.
**** Do not attempt to put your hands in or anywhere around a wet part of your tank without having installed a ground probe,and wiring it dirctly to the GFI.

The GFI is giving you a warning...take it as such.
People get killed every year from electrocution.

Do not rely on the GFI to save your life,put it this way,what happens if the GFI does not trip?And you attempt to put your hands in the water.
Once had a problem with powerheads,they leaked a voltage of 135 volts into the tank.When I put my hands into the tank I got a stinging sensation.Sort of like static.When I installed a GFI it tripped.

If you have a voltmeter put 1 prong into the water of your tank and the other prong onto the ground of your receptacle(Wall outlet)It should read 0 or close to it.
If you get a voltage reading something is leaking voltage.Turn off equipment 1 by 1 until you find the culprit.
Being an electrician I can tell you first off almost all magnetic motors will leak...
Powerheads...Pumps...
Is your heater in good condition?
It's not easy but you can find it.
Good luck.
Dan

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

I guess we have something that is almost shorting out...but not quite. When did you notice this problem and which equipment did you add at that time ?

Do you have a ground probe going to your tank ? Does your TV + VCR have a 3 pong AC connector ?

I guess you can try plugging half of the equipement in to a no GFCI socket and see if the other half doesn't trip the GFCI. If it does, then something in that half is problematic. So, I would some of the circuits from the problematic circuits to the non-GFCI socket and see if the remaining trips it. Eventually, you will nail it down to one or two devices.

Hope that helps.

- Victor.

[BCReefer]

Thanks for the information. My friend is an electrician so I will borrow his meter to read. the odd part is that it can't be the TV as the GFI blows with it off.

My 301's are only 6 months old, and the pup for the skimmer is 6 - 8 months. the lighting is 2 years old and the heater is brand new. The GFI blew before I purchased the new heater.

One question. If teh GFI blows once, does it become weaker and blow easier. Lastly, it never blows with the lights off, always during the day. I am thinking that it could be my power bar. I bought a cheap one and the other day when I was moving it around the GFI blew.

So I will check the water with a meter, make a new electrical box with 2 GFI's, get 2 new GOOD power bars and do some checking. Until I figure this out I will shut off the power to everything before putting my hands in.

Again thanks for all the help, I do not want to be a statistic.

Patrick

[djbh]

Hey BC,glad you are taking steps to solve the problem,the power bar may be the prob if you moved it and it tripped the GFI,a connection may be loose inside and created a difference in voltage to ground called a differential.
Happy new year.
Dan

[djbh]

Oh forgot the important part.A GFI is designed to trip and will not be weak from this action.If you read the instruction papers with the GFI they reccomend you trip it monthly(by the manual push button-usually black) to test the reliability.
Hope this helps.
See Ya
Dan