Ways to avoid electrical fires from having too many tanks..What should I do?

[Squawkbert]

1) Power strips w/ decent surge protection - keeps spikes from nailing/overloading low load appliances

2) Get it all up. No cords, power strips etc. resting on flat surfaces, drip loop in place for every cord.

3) Most aquarium devices don't draw tons of current, so the risk of overloading a given outlet is pretty low. If you're running a bunch of MH lighting and really heavy duty pumps, chillers etc. you may want to do the math and see hwo much current you're pulling on a circuit w/ everything on...

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

1) Power strips w/ decent surge protection - keeps spikes from nailing/overloading low load appliances

2) Get it all up. No cords, power strips etc. resting on flat surfaces, drip loop in place for every cord.

3) Most aquarium devices don't draw tons of current, so the risk of overloading a given outlet is pretty low. If you're running a bunch of MH lighting and really heavy duty pumps, chillers etc. you may want to do the math and see hwo much current you're pulling on a circuit w/ everything on...

I think that aqauraium equipment is pretty low tech. Making surge protection a waste of money.

Call an electrician to put in a couple more hard wired recepticles. That will get rid of the excessive extension cords/power bars.

 

[wackydan]

I think that aqauraium equipment is pretty low tech. Making surge protection a waste of money.

Call an electrician to put in a couple more hard wired recepticles. That will get rid of the excessive extension cords/power bars.

Very true... Surge protection is a waste.

 

[5xevy]

It's sad. Went to my LFS today and finally asked about the multiple fish that have been there a couple of weeks, where the tank says, "Not For Sale!"

It was a from a customer friend of theirs who had a fire that started with the aquarium. Don't really know any more details.

 

[watermelon]

It's sad. Went to my LFS today and finally asked about the multiple fish that have been there a couple of weeks, where the tank says, "Not For Sale!"

It was a from a customer friend of theirs who had a fire that started with the aquarium. Don't really know any more details.

Yikes!

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

It's sad. Went to my LFS today and finally asked about the multiple fish that have been there a couple of weeks, where the tank says, "Not For Sale!"

It was a from a customer friend of theirs who had a fire that started with the aquarium. Don't really know any more details.

before we all get too worried... find out more. The guy could have using the wrong equipment. Or something not UL listed (like a cheap Chinese knock-off)

There is likely more to the story than just an aquarium fire.

People use more current on household circuits every day on a regular basis.

 

[Beasts]

And how about drip loops in all cords running directly from the aquariums to prevent water from following the cord to the receptacle?
I have been pleased, while reading this thread, to find that I followed all of these suggestions when installing the two dedicated circuits for my 410! What a relief!
Beasts

 

[5xevy]

I didn't want to pry (and don't even know if the LFS exactly knows for sure), and it didn't get me worried. I just figured no matter what happened, it was still sad.

 

[wackydan]

I would imagine the likely source of most fires is appliance related.

In our case this would probably be anything that outputs significant heat.

So, the high output lighting would rank high as a potential culprit.
I imagine some pumps can get quite hot as well, especially if seized. I also imagine that an immersed pump in a sump is far safer from causing a fire than an external.

I've seen wall warts get very hot, and even melt, but no fires as a result - though that is entirely plausible.

I know the 24 hour mechanical timers tend to get hot sometimes as well.

 

[fjpod]

Great information... but unfortunately doesn't address the issue here.

Extension cords are NOT permanent and should never be treated as such.

Also, if you are worried about fires... surge protection wont protect you from a fire. GFI plugs won't do much either (especially when using 2 prong, polarized plugs)

You need arc-fault protection. Arc faulting is the major source of electrical fires. You should also note that new electrical code calls for an arc-fault breaker on all bedroom receptacles in new construction.

I can vouch for this. My brother just lost his house due to a fire which started due to arcing in the switch on a standard power strip, He only had one item plugged into it, a medium sized power head and the strip had it's own internal circuit breaker. He had two twenty amp circuits with standard breakers dedicated to the tank. Nothing tripped to save the day.