Apex EB832, EB8, what to connect to which

[BryanM]

I've found a few threads, one pointed me to go read this, and quite honestly that post seemed to indicate that almost every piece of normal aquarium equipment should not be connected to the EB832.... Which feels quite strange.

So I'm curious what people connect to which.

Thanks!

 

[dwest]

I had an EB832 when I bought my apex unit back in 2017 ish. Mine started having problems within a year or so. I don’t use my 832 any more and only use EB8 and EB4. I know that there are repair threads out there but I haven’t messed with repairs on my 832.

The EB8 and 4 have been rock solid for years.

 

[Aquavaj]

Never really heard of anything like that for the eb832 but on eb8 outlets 4 and 8 use mechanical relays so low draw equipment may need to be on these to ensure they're turning off and on correctly. Also equipment that will be turning on/off often may cause the relays to wear out faster so they should be on the other outlets. That's all I really heard.
Some of the earlier eb832 used super cheap power supplies to control the outlets so when it went out all of the outlets stopped working. Had to resolder a new power supply in on mine to get it going again.

 

[BZOFIQ]

In addition to above, one must watch Amp rating of each outlet and combined max amp rating for the whole strip.

You cannot plug an 800W heater/chiller into an outlet rated up to 5A...on any strip, be it EB4, EB8 or EB832

or

You cannot plug 6 lights, each rated at 400W, into a single strip even if each outlet allows for 400W

 

[BZOFIQ]

Also equipment that will be turning on/off often may cause the relays to wear out faster so they should be on the other outlets.

This cannot be alleviated with EB832 so its a shame that Neptune discontinued the EB8 which allows heaters to click on and off without much of a limit (except the load rating) of course. At half the cost of EB832 and without the load reading, the EB8 proved to be an extremely reliable performer. Kept out of salt spray, and if load ratings have not been exceeded they have been working flawlessly since initially introduced nearly 2 decades ago.

 

[Aquavaj]

In addition to above, one must watch Amp rating of each outlet and combined max amp rating for the whole strip.

You cannot plug an 800W heater/chiller into an outlet rated up to 5A...on any strip, be it EB4, EB8 or EB832

or

You cannot plug 6 lights, each rated at 400W, into a single strip even if each outlet allows for 400W

I believe on eb832 it's 7 amps for each outlet but can't exceed 15 for the whole bar. It's 5 amps on eb8 for outlets 1-3 and 5-7 while 4 and 8 can do 10 each but again can't be more than 15 for whole bar. Had to look that up.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Don't know about EB832, not reliable enough, see star ratings on BRS, so I am unaware of the individual outlet ratings. Surprisingly enough BRS website does not list it in easily accessible location.

For the reliable types, I'll add pictures below. Refer to label on the left for each outlet.

EB8 - Outlets #1, #2, #3, #5, #6, #7 are triacs (non-mechanical, cannot reliably control small loads under 10W), perfect for heaters that frequently go on/off; outlets #4 & #8 are mechanical contact relays

EB4 - All (#1, #2, #3, #4) outlet are mechanical relays, notice #3 rated at 12A, allowing for larger chiller or heater.

There is also a Jr. with its built in strip, here in black label variant with all mechanical outlets, notice outlet ratings different than on EB4

Hope this helps.