Welcome,
Guest
. Please
login
or
register
.
May 02, 2024, 18:25:06
Home
Forum
Help
Login
Register
Ohio Reef
»
Forum
»
Reef Discussion
»
Do It Yourself
»
DIY T5 Safety
2024 Ohio Reef Frag Swap
« previous
next »
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
Author
Topic: DIY T5 Safety (Read 2341 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Blazinreef
Adult
Posts: 970
DIY T5 Safety
«
on:
June 08, 2014, 17:24:45 »
So I have my DIY T5 HO in my canopy with my LEDs. I noticed the other day that it was flickering a little bit and struggling to come on. After a while it didn't come on, so I just turned it off. I remember when I built it that there was a little wiggle room for the bulb, but it turned on so I figured it was close enough and wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. The lesson here is make sure your endcaps are holding the bulb nice and tight and there is no wiggle. Luckily, while building my new canopy I noticed this, it didn't do any damage or burn the house down, and most importantly....my wife doesn't know!!! Be Safe!
Logged
Firefighting: How hard can it be? You just put the wet stuff on the red stuff right?
57 Rimless SPS/LPS in the works
OLD:180g mixed reef, 60g sump, 2 30g frag tanks, 30g macro algae tank. 300g total system.
Wall_Tank
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 3,754
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #1 on:
June 08, 2014, 18:11:59 »
Salt creep will do that to you too. Make sure all seals are good. I have some endcaps if you need some
Logged
lazylivin
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 11,471
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #2 on:
June 08, 2014, 22:13:25 »
Consider installing a GFCI.
http://www.ohioreef.com/index.php?topic=5734.0
Logged
Facebook Profile
TikTok Profile
Shop Lazys Coral House
[/color]
Blazinreef
Adult
Posts: 970
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #3 on:
June 08, 2014, 22:26:39 »
Thanks wall... I have a few extras laying around. Here's the odd thing Lazy...it is on a gfci all through the apex as well. Not sure why it didn't trip.
Logged
Firefighting: How hard can it be? You just put the wet stuff on the red stuff right?
57 Rimless SPS/LPS in the works
OLD:180g mixed reef, 60g sump, 2 30g frag tanks, 30g macro algae tank. 300g total system.
lazylivin
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 11,471
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #4 on:
June 08, 2014, 22:28:52 »
Are you sure it is a GFCI and not a surge protector? Can you post up a picture of it?
Logged
Facebook Profile
TikTok Profile
Shop Lazys Coral House
[/color]
Blazinreef
Adult
Posts: 970
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #5 on:
June 08, 2014, 22:32:23 »
GFCI on the wall in the outlets installed specifically for the aquarium. The odd thing was, when I was taking it down, even though I had the outlet off via the apex the wires hit and it tripped the GFI. Not sure what was going on.
Logged
Firefighting: How hard can it be? You just put the wet stuff on the red stuff right?
57 Rimless SPS/LPS in the works
OLD:180g mixed reef, 60g sump, 2 30g frag tanks, 30g macro algae tank. 300g total system.
lazylivin
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 11,471
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #6 on:
June 08, 2014, 22:38:39 »
You may want to double checking the wiring on the DIY fixture and GFCI to be sure it is correct.
Logged
Facebook Profile
TikTok Profile
Shop Lazys Coral House
[/color]
bbtm64
Lifetime Premium Member
Adult
Posts: 965
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #7 on:
June 08, 2014, 23:46:26 »
If the GFCI sensed any unbalance it'll still trip. Only way to keep it from tripping is to turn the circuit off. It only takes a 5ma unbalance for one to trip.
Logged
Brent McCloskey
Wall_Tank
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 3,754
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #8 on:
June 09, 2014, 08:00:23 »
I would not be surprised that it didn't trip. There is nothing in the endcap assembly to ground it. It was just arcing and getting hot, but I doubt the current was going to ground.
Logged
lazylivin
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 11,471
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #9 on:
June 09, 2014, 12:04:33 »
Good to have electricians on the site. Sounds like a gfci won't always protect from fire.
Logged
Facebook Profile
TikTok Profile
Shop Lazys Coral House
[/color]
Wall_Tank
Administrator
Adult
Posts: 3,754
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #10 on:
June 09, 2014, 12:55:19 »
Loose electrical contacts are bad news....The only good way to inspect for problems is with a IR camera. I have attached a picture.....this was a 3 phase breaker, but this was a result of all 3 wires being loose......
There are Arc Fault Breakers that are supposed to prevent fire causing arcs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc-fault_circuit_interrupter
But since this fault occurred on the output side of a ballast, I'm not sure that would have protected it either.
Logged
bbtm64
Lifetime Premium Member
Adult
Posts: 965
Re: DIY T5 Safety
«
Reply #11 on:
June 09, 2014, 22:40:05 »
I should see if I can borrow one from work for a day or two. We have a couple really nice ones.
Logged
Brent McCloskey
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
« previous
next »
Ohio Reef
»
Forum
»
Reef Discussion
»
Do It Yourself
»
DIY T5 Safety
Powered by
EzPortal