High Tide Aquatics

Electrical Meltdown, Word of Warning!!!!

screebo

screebo

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Well, right when I though everything was peachy.........I came home to the signature smell of an electrical melt-down yesterday. I couldn't track it and was very concerned. You know it well, the smell like someone has the oven on self clean. I noticed that one of my Mh lights was not on so I guessed that the ballast had blown. As I was removing the ballast, I found that the cord and quick disconnects had "ended up" against the back of the cabinet, well below the water line and had fused together. I've never seen an electrical melt down that severe that did NOT catch fire. I'm very, very lucky it did not ignite.

Moral of the story, drip loops in every cord, no quick disconnects anywhere near the splash zone and ground fault connector for electrical. We all get in a bit of a hurry sometimes when building/wiring and this cannot be overlooked if you like your home un-charred!
 
Strange, one of my halides went down as well, later today I'm going to take it apart to figure out why. It was strange because the ballast was warm, but the bulb wasn't on.
 
I'm really counting my blessings! The connectors literally were fused together, quite charred and very stinky. I bought the Photon Plus fixture from Scott at Aquarium Specialty and fortunately, he has Ice Cap quick connectors that I can simply wire in line to replace the damaged ones. I'm "hoping" the ballast survived the melt down. we'll see pretty darn quick. Expect the unexpected. :O
 
houser said:
Whoa John! Dodged the bullet.

What are the ratings on the connectors and wires? Any idea? Or just shitty ones?
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Extra Heafty, that's why the only logical deduction is that salt water migrated to them and created a limited conductive path for the 110V. Product suggestion?..............water proof quick disconnects between the ballast and the fixture. Strange that this is not common practice for ballast mfgrs. Not to belabor a point, but WHAT A STINKY MESS! New connectors are on their way from Scott at A.S. Priority mail is such a great value.....$6.00 for 2nd day delivery USPS Priority. I've been using them a lot for small package mailings lately.

Brainstorm!..........Perhaps I'll encapsulate the connectors in appropriate heavy duty shrink wrap such is used on LiPo battery packs for R/C and seal them in. I could always slice them out if I needed at a later date.
 
I was thinking this was the higher voltage output side of the ballast and not the line voltage side that's why I asked about the connectors and wire ratings. I think only now I get what happened to you.
You really are trying to mix RC and your tank aren't you? Outfit the T-rex with some pontoons!
 
houser said:
I was thinking this was the higher voltage output side of the ballast and not the line voltage side that's why I asked about the connectors and wire ratings. I think only now I get what happened to you.
You really are trying to mix RC and your tank aren't you? Outfit the T-rex with some pontoons!
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I did fly a "toy heli" into the tank last Christmas. It sank about 4" below the surface, was retrieved, rinsed and dried and flown for a few more missions. :O The T-Rex may be getting fitted with some LED blades and string lighting on the fusalage. Chemical light sticks get tie-wrapped to the skids and it's a night flyer! Yeah, baby! I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
 
Rating of the wire should be 600v 105 degree centigrade I think. That heath shrink tubing is great; San Mateo Electronics has it in stock, two different types; need a heath gun? I have one
 
Thanks, Mario. I should be OK, my wife's hair dryer is a scorcher! :D
Dave: it is the High voltage side between the ballast and the bulb that has/had the connectors that melted. Everything looks very capable of handling the current and voltage had it not become wet with salt water.
 
Yeah but don't they put out KV pulses? 600V/105 deg is fine on line side, but you need more on the ballast side. I'm not familiar with what you're using for connectors but quite often they are rated 600V as well.
 
The connectors are stock but look to be very high capacity. The problem is they are also unprotected from wetness. They should have not been allowed to reside behind the cabinet in the first place. Grrrrr. Bad Screebo, bad Screebo.......
 
I have to check on that one; off the shelf at electrical supplies is hard to find something stating Volt. Deg. and KV; they show specs on them but not that detailed. Oh, and water resistant is important.
 
What you'll commonly find is connectors that effectively "pair" with the wiring. So 300V, 600V, 5KV, 10KV, etc... Amp ratings for each connector too. I use a lot of terminal blocks and the ones I use have them stamped right on them. I just grabbed one here at work and it has 3 separate ratings on it depending on what standard/country it's for. 600V in one, 750V in another, 800V in the third!
 
That smell is just now leaving the condo. New connectors will be here early next week. I'm hoping the ballast didn't go down in the process of losing the connectors. I guess that's a vote for the stamina of the electronic ballast! It's a Vertex MH1-250EB
 
Tell me about the smell, I was sick of it and vomit several times (in the right place BTW) while removing the sump; I had a migraine extend for over three days...
If you need an emergency ballast in case is not working LMK
 
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