Mayday, Mayday, Mayday…. Technical Question Regarding Electrical……+ Pics
Hey all I seem to be encountering some trouble with my new tank im setting up, and im hoping maybe there are some experts out there that may be able to lend some advice as to just WHY this is happening…. And if possible provide a safe solution…
Ok so im getting my new 90Gal planted tank ready, at the moment it is dry, I have all my plumbing and electrics nicely tucked away in the stand. I have mounted surface mount electrical boxes that are rated for the exterior of the building in the stand. I have all my cables running from box to box in exterior rated conduit, and I have water tight seals on all the conduit-box connections. Main power comes into the stand Via a wall plug. This is then fed into a GFI unit. This particular GFI does not have plugs on the front, it simply has a trip/reset switch and then on the back it has power in and power out. Power is then split from the out of the main GFI to a variety of plugs and switches to run all the assorted pumps, sensors and selonidies. Power is also split to 24hr digital timer to run the lights. The power OUT from the timer then goes into ANNOTHER standard GFI WITH plugs, where my lights are then plugged in.
I have two 400w Metal halide bulbs, each with a separate IceCap electronic ballast. I have mounted the two ballasts in a steel box. Power for this box comes from a power bar that I mounted inside the box, the power INTO the power bar is plugged into the above mentioned GFI. Attached to the power bar are the two ballasts, a 12V transformer to run the fans in the lighting hood, AND a 120V fan that a mounted in the steel box that holds the ballasts.
All the marreted connections in the whole stand were done with Diox Grease and were then hit with heat wrap. I am very confident that the connections are all good, and seeing as the tank has not been filled yet I am confident that there is no water in the system….
THE PROBLEM……..
I can put a constant load anywhere in the system with no problems, HOWEVER If I energize the line going to the ballast box, after 30-120 seconds the closest GFI in the line trips!!! I am at a loss as to why…
-Do ballasts do something funny with their power when they are warming up bulbs?
-Could a transformer be pushing power back up the line?
-Or could the 120V fan be causing trouble?
-Would a GFI trip if too many amps are being pushed though at one time…. Then further to that question how many amps would two 400W ballast need to START?
Anyway my solution will obviously be simply give the lights power that is NOT through a GFI, but considering the amount of over engineering iv put into this thing it seems like a defeat for me to do this…. So any hints as to what the issue may be would be great!!!! If my descriptions have been to cryptic ill post pics and a diagram…
-Walk
Hey all I seem to be encountering some trouble with my new tank im setting up, and im hoping maybe there are some experts out there that may be able to lend some advice as to just WHY this is happening…. And if possible provide a safe solution…
Ok so im getting my new 90Gal planted tank ready, at the moment it is dry, I have all my plumbing and electrics nicely tucked away in the stand. I have mounted surface mount electrical boxes that are rated for the exterior of the building in the stand. I have all my cables running from box to box in exterior rated conduit, and I have water tight seals on all the conduit-box connections. Main power comes into the stand Via a wall plug. This is then fed into a GFI unit. This particular GFI does not have plugs on the front, it simply has a trip/reset switch and then on the back it has power in and power out. Power is then split from the out of the main GFI to a variety of plugs and switches to run all the assorted pumps, sensors and selonidies. Power is also split to 24hr digital timer to run the lights. The power OUT from the timer then goes into ANNOTHER standard GFI WITH plugs, where my lights are then plugged in.
I have two 400w Metal halide bulbs, each with a separate IceCap electronic ballast. I have mounted the two ballasts in a steel box. Power for this box comes from a power bar that I mounted inside the box, the power INTO the power bar is plugged into the above mentioned GFI. Attached to the power bar are the two ballasts, a 12V transformer to run the fans in the lighting hood, AND a 120V fan that a mounted in the steel box that holds the ballasts.
All the marreted connections in the whole stand were done with Diox Grease and were then hit with heat wrap. I am very confident that the connections are all good, and seeing as the tank has not been filled yet I am confident that there is no water in the system….
THE PROBLEM……..
I can put a constant load anywhere in the system with no problems, HOWEVER If I energize the line going to the ballast box, after 30-120 seconds the closest GFI in the line trips!!! I am at a loss as to why…
-Do ballasts do something funny with their power when they are warming up bulbs?
-Could a transformer be pushing power back up the line?
-Or could the 120V fan be causing trouble?
-Would a GFI trip if too many amps are being pushed though at one time…. Then further to that question how many amps would two 400W ballast need to START?
Anyway my solution will obviously be simply give the lights power that is NOT through a GFI, but considering the amount of over engineering iv put into this thing it seems like a defeat for me to do this…. So any hints as to what the issue may be would be great!!!! If my descriptions have been to cryptic ill post pics and a diagram…
-Walk
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