VERY strange electrical problem!! Any ideas?

cwegescheide · #1 12/22/2007, 10:03 AM

Hi everybody. I've got a very strange electrical problem. Its hard to describe but let me try to explain. Just recently I have been having an electrical problem with my reef. When my halides come on in the morning all of the sudden ALL power is lost to the reef.

My reef has been setup for 1 year as it is currently setup for 1 year. All plugs are attached to 1 outlet with 2 power strips to 1 outlet. Everything has been fine for 1 year. Now all of the sudden when the halides come on I loose power to the reef and THE CIRCUIT BREAKER IS NOT TRIPPED!!.

So we were trying to figure out what happened and plugged a lamp into all outlets in the room to figure out how many outlets were dead and the wierdest thing happend when we plugged a lamp into another outlet 10 feet from my reef... The power came back on!!!! WIERD!!

This probably makes no sense to anybody and it didn't make any sense to me either until it happend this morning and my wife showed me what she did to get it to come back on.

So can anybody suggest a good electrician?

checkinhawk · #2 12/22/2007, 10:12 AM

how many amps are plugged into the outlet?how many amps is the outlet rated for?i think it has something to do with the 1 outlet to 2 powerstrips to 1 outlet.that sounds like a alot of draw for just one outlet to handle.

cwegescheide · #3 12/22/2007, 10:16 AM

Ummm i have no idea how many amps its rated for. Would it say on the outlet if i pulled it out of the wall?

checkinhawk · #4 12/22/2007, 10:21 AM

it is probably a 15A breaker its on.im willing bet your draw is close to the max amps for the breaker.have you tried to separate some of the power from the outlet and see if it still cuts off?is it a house or condo,and do you know how old the construction is?

NewNanoDude · #5 12/22/2007, 10:24 AM

Is there another outlet you can split the load between? A reef is alot to run on just one outlet. I have 2 outlets by my tank. I have one for my lights, and the other runs all the pumps etc. If I put everything on one outlet i am sure I would have some problems. Actually I do believe I tryed that once and killed the power to half my apartment.

checkinhawk · #6 12/22/2007, 10:26 AM

what ballists do you run?do the turn on all at the same time or one at a time?i was told from, John(faois)that the icecaps have a huge spike in amps on initial start up.i have my halides come on 1 minute apart.

benf · #7 12/22/2007, 10:32 AM

Is it a dedicated outlet or does another outlet in the house share the same circuit?

cwegescheide · #8 12/22/2007, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by benf
Is it a dedicated outlet or does another outlet in the house share the same circuit?

Yes several outlets share the same circuit. I'd like to have a dedicated circuit for my tank stuff. Currently I cannot run my microwave while the Halides are on. Cindy doesn't like that at all LOL.

CheckinHawk:
I have a Giesemann Eco fixture and I do stagger the lights (2 of them) to come on 1 minute apart with my controller.

NewNanoDude:
Yeah I do have another outlet on the other side of my tank that I could split the load between. I'm home this next week so I guess maybe I could do this over next week.

cwegescheide · #9 12/22/2007, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by checkinhawk
it is probably a 15A breaker its on.im willing bet your draw is close to the max amps for the breaker.have you tried to separate some of the power from the outlet and see if it still cuts off?is it a house or condo,and do you know how old the construction is?

My house was built in 1992. I think its wierd that my kitchen and half of my living room is on 1 circuit. Currently if i run my microwave while the halides are on I pop the circuit breaker. It really is a pain. I would like to have a dedicated circuit for my tank thats for sure. Dont know how they could do it since its a cement block construction and I really don't want conduit ran outside around the outside and a hole in the side of my house.

Maybe i'll call an electrician and ask them how much it would be to have a dedicated circuit put in and how they would do it. My house is (I think they call it a loft style) 2 story so the main room has a very high slanted ceiling. I'd much prefer they ran the electrical thru the ceiling and down the wall but i have no idea how they would do that. Oh well I guess a phone call wouldn't hurt.

Anybody know of any good electricians? I wonder how much this would cost..

checkinhawk · #10 12/22/2007, 10:58 AM

if i were you i would have an electrician add in a 20A dedicated circuit for you.it shouldnt cost that much to do and would give you piece of mind and your better half her microwave back

concrete isnt a problem for pros they can put the outlet right into the wall just like normal.

cwegescheide · #11 12/22/2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by checkinhawk
if i were you i would have an electrician add in a 20A dedicated circuit for you.it shouldnt cost that much to do and would give you piece of mind and your better half her microwave back concrete isnt a problem for pros they can put the outlet right into the wall just like normal.

Could you reccomend somebody that you know of? I just requested an estimate from Mr. Electric (some Tampa area business I found off google)

Yeah i gotta put in a dedicated circuit. Cindy ALWAYS complains about the microwave thing.. Hey! I know... This will be Cindy's Christmas present! (look honey now you can use the microwave any time you want!!!) Now thats pure Genius!!!

If this gift isn't thoughtful I don't know what is... OK I'm off to return the earrings...

checkinhawk · #12 12/22/2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cwegescheide
Hey! I know... This will be Cindy's Christmas present! (look honey now you can use the microwave any time you want!!!) Now thats pure Genius!!!

If this gift isn't thoughtful I don't know what is... OK I'm off to return the earrings...

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL she will LOVE YOU for the microwave.i dont know of any electricians myself but im sure you can find a good one(check the BBB)maybe you can find a reefer to do it for frags

gatorolsen · #13 12/22/2007, 11:53 AM

just fyi - mr electric charges a flat fee to send an electrician out - basically a referral system for independent contractors - I found that out when I called to get some estimates and found that 2 different companies were answered at the Mr Electric call system - and they wanted a fee for the estimate where other businesses did not.

Maybe do a post search in this forum for local tank room builds and pm to see which electrician they did

Gatorolsen

Largo50 · #14 12/22/2007, 12:38 PM

This sounds like the same problem I've fixed in mobile homes I own. The problem was loose connections in the outlet chain and once a broken wire in a wall. The symptoms happen when the wires heat up and break connection. Once the end outlet would show voltage but have not enough amperage to light a light bulb.

I found the problem by going outlet to outlet on the same circuit and tightening the connections on the outlets or switching the push in connection to a screw connection.

The wire break was harder to find but by testing the outlets in the chain one by one when the end outlet was not working I found the last working outlet and the first dead one. The bad wire is in the wall in between.

Hope it helps.

benf · #15 12/22/2007, 12:52 PM

Is the outlet thats on the other side of the tank a different circuit? If so, its a good way to test to see if its a load issue. If u do decide to run a dedicated ciruit...run more than one. Initially i ran 2 20A ciruits for the tank and few months later had to run a third and now wish i ran a 4th. Only real PIA in doing it yourself is going in the attic and running the line. The job itself isnt too bad. Probably took me 2 hours to do. For me the only thing that was scarry was the last wire in the breaker box which was the hot wire.

cwegescheide · #16 12/22/2007, 12:57 PM

Yes Largo50 that sounds to me like what it is. I still would like to have a dedicated circuit for the reef since thats what i decided thats what I'm getting Cindy for Christmas If thats not romantic i don't know what is..

hexedagain · #17 12/22/2007, 01:38 PM

Dude, you are sooo gonna get lucky for that. LOL
I sent you a pm.

MikeBrke · #18 12/22/2007, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cwegescheide
Yes several outlets share the same circuit. I'd like to have a dedicated circuit for my tank stuff. Currently I cannot run my microwave while the Halides are on. Cindy doesn't like that at all LOL.

Ha ha ha, that made me laugh so hard. That is when you know you are a serious reefer!

Doug864 · #19 12/22/2007, 02:55 PM

The microwave is suppose to be on its own circuit.
Check and see if the emty outlet next to the one with Everything plugged in it is on the same breaker. If it is it won't help you.
Pm me if you want some free reefer support.
Regards,
Doug

mflamb · #20 12/22/2007, 08:59 PM

I pm'd you the name and number of the electrician that wired my 4 20 amp circuits for my tank. High quality, great price.

BlitzK · #21 12/22/2007, 10:34 PM

If you want to save some money and dont want to do all of the work yourself, you can run the wire in the attic/walls and let an electrician hook it up for you.

Either way, you should probably have ~2 20amp circuits ran to the tank. That will give you plenty of head room and if for some reason one circuit dies/pop/etc you have another dedicated one you can still use if needed.

rogergolf66 · #22 12/23/2007, 12:38 PM

Does a 20A circut take up one slot or 2 slots in my electrical box?

benf · #23 12/23/2007, 12:50 PM

1 slot Just need wire rated for it, outlet rated for it and of course the breaker rated for it.

rogergolf66 · #24 12/23/2007, 01:31 PM

Well I may run a couple of them also then. I didn't even check before but it looks like I have 2 slots on my electrical box. My attic is tight but it would be worth the work.

Thanks

drosen · #25 12/23/2007, 10:41 PM

If you decide to run circuits yourself - be sure to use correct ROMEX wiring (rating / type) and follow local building codes.