electrician needed (1 Viewer)

[Raymond]

I am having a problem with my chiller burning out every surge protector it is on. Everything was working fine until the chiller kicks on for less then a minute, it burns out the surge protector and everything goes off. What is the problem here? Can anyone help me?

 

[R-BallJunkie]

have you tried to move the plug to another breaker in the house, with an extension cord, to see if that is the problem?

is the breaker flipping?
you might be exceeding the rating of the breaker, especially if you have your lights pumps etc plugged into one outlet/breaker.

The cheap (not recommended, and definitely not to code) fix is to upsize the breaker amperage if this is the problem. The breaker box, out in the garage, or behind the house usually. If its 10A service, try a 15A. You are usually safe with one size up.
With that said, this is not best practice, and you could set your house on fire doing this.

c

 

[Raymond]

o ok i will look into it. thanks chuck

 

[flipside]

have you tried to move the plug to another breaker in the house, with an extension cord, to see if that is the problem?

is the breaker flipping?
you might be exceeding the rating of the breaker, especially if you have your lights pumps etc plugged into one outlet/breaker.

The cheap (not recommended, and definitely not to code) fix is to upsize the breaker amperage if this is the problem. The breaker box, out in the garage, or behind the house usually. If its 10A service, try a 15A. You are usually safe with one size up.
With that said, this is not best practice, and you could set your house on fire doing this.

c

You'd make a great politician, bro.

 

[R-BallJunkie]

have you tried to move the plug to another breaker in the house, with an extension cord, to see if that is the problem?

is the breaker flipping?
you might be exceeding the rating of the breaker, especially if you have your lights pumps etc plugged into one outlet/breaker.

The cheap (not recommended, and definitely not to code) fix is to upsize the breaker amperage if this is the problem. The breaker box, out in the garage, or behind the house usually. If its 10A service, try a 15A. You are usually safe with one size up.
With that said, this is not best practice, and you could set your house on fire doing this.

c

You'd make a great politician, bro.

+1

i have perfected the art of C.Y.A.

a quick test is to just swap breakers at the box(find the next size up, and swap), that way you can trouble shoot. if thats the fix, grab the breaker, head to home depot and buy a larger one.

 

[mushrooms]

how big is your chiller Raymond? it may be drawing too much amperage, look at the plug if it gets hot? try not to plug the chillet to the same receptacle you are using for you tank(pump, lights),

 

[Raymond]

its a 1/4 hp but i need to control it with my RKE inorder to work.

 

[mushrooms]

I am having a problem with my chiller burning out every surge protector it is on. Everything was working fine until the chiller kicks on for less then a minute, it burns out the surge protector and everything goes off. What is the problem here? Can anyone help me?

did you try to plug the chiller to the wall, not to the surge protector? try that just to make sure is not the chiller

 

[Raymond]

im scared too because what if that whole section get burnt too. then im screwed

 

[Raymond]

ok so nothing is wrong with the chiller. i used the extension cord to plug it somewhere else and its doing good. So the problem is the outlet. looks like i need to up the amps

 

[R-BallJunkie]

ok here is the cheap and safe fix

1) dont put chiller on a surge protector. it has an internal fuse. you should be fine.

2) i have noticed sometimes breakers get fatigued. not sure if this is true, but its a five buck (or less) fix. OR swap the breaker with another one, that doesnt/didnt have a big load on it.

you probably have 2 outlets. plug the chiller direct, all remainder items on the surge protector

if you intstall a GFCI outlet, you can ditch the surge protector. its a simple as replacing the old outlet, dont have to be an electrician to replace it./
c

 

[Raymond]

the chiller is plugged into my reefkeeper and the plug of that goes to the surge protector. That was how it was when the surge protector got fried. Cant plug the chiller separate because it needs a controller. In total i only have 2 plugs to plug to the surge protector...because of the reefkeeper. but i still have no clue about the breaker deal.....do i just go out and buy a new one?

 

[MarkieB]

r. but i still have no clue about the breaker deal.....do i just go out and buy a new one?

Many different sizes. Like at my house being old, it is VERY hard to find new breakers that fit my box. I would suggest you take the old one with you to Home Depot. Also you need to really cut off the main power breaker before playing in the box. We want you around.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4798418_cha...ce=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

 

[R-BallJunkie]

the chiller is plugged into my reefkeeper and the plug of that goes to the surge protector. That was how it was when the surge protector got fried. Cant plug the chiller separate because it needs a controller. In total i only have 2 plugs to plug to the surge protector...because of the reefkeeper. but i still have no clue about the breaker deal.....do i just go out and buy a new one?

buy a separate controller, like a ranco. 50 bux, your done.

 

[Raymond]

yea i have that but then buying the rke is pointless

 

[thenewone]

i have a buddy that is an electician lmk if you still needed

 

[Raymond]

o ok ill let you know after i come back from atlanta

 

[MeuserReef]

In my opinion, this sounds like a simple case of an "el-cheapo" surge protector. Get that out of the equation first.

The amp draw from the chiller will peak when the unit first kicks on, then fall to its normal operating amperage after the compressor inside of the unit gets fully started. It sounds like the surge protector isnt capable of handling the "startup" current. Simple fix.

I have to agree w/ Chuck in that a Ranco ETC is the better alternative to controlling the chiller. The RKE will not be pointless if the chiller control is removed, trust me! Think of it this way... if your chiller was to fry something, would you rather it be a $50 Ranco or a $400 RKE?

 

[Raymond]

o ok another thing the first time it fried a surge protector, it was on the ranco controller. I dont think the surge protectors were cheap...paid atleast $40 each. just need to check the breaker....

 

[MeuserReef]

If the breaker is not tripping, then there is no need to address it. Your issue seems to be happening at the point of where the chiller plugs in.

I know Chuck mentioned that you can "test" by replacing the breaker with a larger one but to consider that route a permanent fix is dangerous.

You also mentioned that you have your RKE plugged into a surge protector? I would plug the PC-4's directly into outlets capable of handling 15 Amps, otherwise you are placing a "bottleneck" into the circuit by adding the surge protector. If your surge protectors are rated for 15A, then you should be OK with them.

I hope you get this resolved. Good luck