GFI Question

bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
I ran a seperate 20amp line to my fuse box. 20amp breaker and 20amp outlet. Plugged into that I have a American DJ switch panel. Should be rated 15 amps I think. I have 2 300 watts heaters, return pump, canopy fans, MJ power head 1200, 4 - 54watts T5HO and 2 - 400watts MH. No problems. I keep reading that we should always have a GFI outlet so I got a 20amp GFI outlet. I just installed it and when I started to switch everything on it keeps tripping the GFI when I turn on the T5HO's. Didnt trip the switch panel which is 15amps rated before or now. Completely bypasses the 15amp panels but flips my 20amp GFI. Any ideas?? Bad GFI maybe? Or am I wiring this wrong?
 
mech-a-nic

mech-a-nic

Member
I run about the same setup with the GFI too it has no problems you have a power leak someware start unpluging 1 thing at a time till it does not trip. theny you got your problem. I have noticed the DJ bar will give me a tingle if my arm is wet and I rub across it working on the wiring. Is yours touching water or metal. Mine is isolated by wood.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

I am no electrician...GFI outlets are the same as any other outlet. The difference is that if it gets overloaded it will trip and not start a fire, or if it gets wet it will trip out and not have an electric shock.
You say you installed 1 GFI???
To run my 90g tank and all the goodies I had 4 doubles = 16 outlets installed, all on its own breaker in the box.
 
bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
Its isolated to wood. It only trips when I start the T5HO's. My concern was why my 20amp GFCI and not the 15amp switch panel. My American DJ panel has a 15amp breaker on it. It completely passes that and trips the 20amp GFCI. You would figure it would trip the 15amp first. It wasnt overloading that before.
Oh and then last night I switch off both ballast at the ballast itself as it has its own switch and flipped the switch on the panel. GFCI didnt trip. I turned the first T5HO ballast and fine and then I turned the second on and fine. Seems like when they both turned on together at first it would trip it. After it warmed up for awhile I tested by switching it off at the panel and turning both of them on and it worked fine with no tripping. This morning before I came to work I wanted to test it again and when I switched it on it tripped again.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Maybe a short in the T5. As soon as it fluctuates the GFCI trips, as it is designed to not let any fluctuations happen. That’s what makes it a safety device.
Still that is allot of power on one outlet. No doubt you are using power strips besides. It sounds like a dangerous overload to me.
Run some more wire, get a few more GFCI outlets and salve the problem. Here is a list of what I have running on 16 outlets...
  • 2 X 175 MH bulbs each has its own ballast.
  • 1 double actinic PC light.
  • 1 Moonlight strip
  • 2 canister filters
  • 1 skimmer
    4 koralia power heads 2#3s 1#4 and 1#2
    A pump for auto top off.
    1 small mag power head to stir auto top off water
    Auto top off unit
    2 heaters
Nothing else is on those lines but the fish tank. This group of outlets have their own breaker in the box. The only power strip is the command center for the lights.
You posted that you changed 1 outlet to GFCI...you need more. JMO
 
mech-a-nic

mech-a-nic

Member
You only need 1 GFI per circut or just put in a GFI braker and use reg outlets. Check your kitchen or bathroom only 1 outlet is GFI it will trip with any outlet on that circut they work by cutting the power when it sences power on the 3rd leg ( the longer round prong)
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
GFIs do not trip from overloads. They trip from ground faults - at least when they are working properly. The reason why your GFI is tripping but not your breaker is because they trip for entirely different reasons.
Lighting systems with electronic ballasts cause harmonics in the line that can confuse the circuitry in the GFI and cause nuisance tripping. Sometimes this issue can be mitigated by using a very high quality noise filter between the lighting system and the GFI, such as an Isobar filter (made by Tripp-Lite). If that does not work, and you are reasonably certain that the lighting system is not faulty, then the only solution is to plug the lighting system into an outlet not controlled by a GFI. This scenario, involving a lighting system and only when nuisance tripping is a problem, is the only scenario in which I'd recommend running anything for a tank off a non-GFI protected circuit. Unfortunately, there isn't an effective test for an average joe to test for faulty equipment, the only really effective way is a hipot tester which most of us don't have.

Adding additional GFIs will not solve the problem, and if you are overloaded, it won't solve that either unless you run new circuits all the way back to the panelboard. In the your post, you mention in one place that your breaker is sized at 20 amps, in another, 15 amps. Provided your house circuit is sized at 20 amps, you have a 20 amp GFI, and you are not running everything through that American DJ panel (since it's only rated for 15), I would not say you are overloaded. If you put a heavy load item, such as the halides, on a timer running back to the wall outlet, and put the rest of your stuff on that DJ panel, you should be fine.
 
bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
Thanks SCSInet
I was hoping you would pick this up. I thought the same that I dont need additional outlets running on the same line as it would be the same thing. Right now my work around is to turn on one of the T5HO ballast and then wait 30sec and turn the other one on and it wont trip. The outlet and the breaker box breaker is 20amps but the American DJ is rated at a 15amp breaker. It must be the harmonics as you mention as before I put the GFI it didnt trip the American DJ 15amp breaker or the 20amp breaker in the breaker box
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Well again, GFIs and breakers trip for two different reasons. A piece of faulty equipment leaking current to ground will trip a GFI, but not the DJ box or panelboard breaker. The only instance where a ground fault will trip a breaker is if it's a bolted fault (direct short to ground), so the fact that those are not tripping is not a definitive indication that nothing is wrong.
You pretty much need to visually inspect the fixture for obvious problems, such as salt or liquid deposits on any part of the system, etc. If it visually looks okay, chances are you're fine, since the system isn't normally in contact with the water anyway.
There is some wisdom in the practice of using multiple GFIs though. Although it won't do anything for your specific situation, I prefer to use at least two separate GFI outlets on any tank. I personally try use at least two circuits for any tank for complete redundancy, but if that is not an option, I like to use two GFIs wired to function independently, so that if a nuisance trip occurs (or even a fault) in my absence, the entire tank won't lose power.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
I guess next time I'll have to be a little more detailed instead of posting a link.
(or at least check my posts more often)
Thanks for taking over SCSI.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top