BRS heaters pulling more electricity than stated

[bpro32]

I bought a 600w and a 200w heater so that I can run them on one apex outlet but I just tested them with my kill-a-watt and they are actually pulling ~900w (7.5A) and would trip the eb832 (max of 7A). The 2 glass heaters I have are the opposite and actually use less than what they're rated for.

Has anyone else checked their BRS heaters on a kill-a-watt? Is it normal to use more electricity than stated?

 

[Terry Mattson]

Have u actually measured the current on the line? I am assuming you have 120 volt coming in. When ueatets come on there is a surge current then as the heater warms up the impedance will rise lowing current. So without looking at the heaters specs and using your numbers the steady draw would be about 6.7 amps. A 7 amp circuit breaker is not enough. You would need at least a 10 amp circuit to he safe. If you run the 600w heater by itself it will about 5 amps steady. That would be at max on a 7 amp circuit. Best to use a ratio of 2/3 total current max of rated circuit. How big is your tank that you need 800 watts of heater?

 

[infinite0180]

I have a 100watt model and a kill a watt. Ill have to check tomo...

 

[Terry Mattson]

I have a 100watt model and a kill a watt. Ill have to check tomo...

Ok. How big is your total water volume?

 

[bpro32]

Have u actually measured the current on the line? I am assuming you have 120 volt coming in. When ueatets come on there is a surge current then as the heater warms up the impedance will rise lowing current. So without looking at the heaters specs and using your numbers the steady draw would be about 6.7 amps. A 7 amp circuit breaker is not enough. You would need at least a 10 amp circuit to he safe. If you run the 600w heater by itself it will about 5 amps steady. That would be at max on a 7 amp circuit. Best to use a ratio of 2/3 total current max of rated circuit. How big is your tank that you need 800 watts of heater?

I'm not fluent in electricity jargon but I'll do my best.

It's a large system - 230g display, 65g sump, 30g frag tank - roughly 250-270g total water volume I'm guessing.

I measured 120v on the killawatt by plugging it into the outlet, but I don't know if there is a more accurate way to measure.

Is the 2/3 ratio meant to account for the surge in power? How long does the surge usually last when something turns on?

 

[Terry Mattson]

I do not have a apex. So a question, is each outlet protected by it's own circuit breaker? If I understand your breaker is 7 amps?

 

[bpro32]

I do not have a apex. So a question, is each outlet protected by it's own circuit breaker? If I understand your breaker is 7 amps?

There is a single 15A breaker for the whole power bar and “Each 120VAC outlet has a rated load capacity of 7 Amps” - taken directly from the EB832 user guide.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Ok, forgive me on questions. I really am trying to help.

1) is it the 15 amp breaker that is tripping.
2) if the heaters are the only thing plugged into the power bar?
3) if more equipment is pluged into said power bar then what is the total amps? That is all equipment pluged in?

Example:
Heater 600 W = 5
Heater 200 w = 1.7
Return pump = x
Skimmer = x
Apex =x ( surely it draws some current)
Doser = ×

What we are trying to figure out is the total amount of current being supplied by power bar.

Gennerly it is better practice to load circuits that pull only 67 to 80 percent of rated load. This provides a much safer and reliable set up.

 

[bpro32]

Ok, forgive me on questions. I really am trying to help.

1) is it the 15 amp breaker that is tripping.
2) if the heaters are the only thing plugged into the power bar?
3) if more equipment is pluged into said power bar then what is the total amps? That is all equipment pluged in?

Example:
Heater 600 W = 5
Heater 200 w = 1.7
Return pump = x
Skimmer = x
Apex =x ( surely it draws some current)
Doser = ×

What we are trying to figure out is the total amount of current being supplied by power bar.

Gennerly it is better practice to load circuits that pull only 67 to 80 percent of rated load. This provides a much safer and reliable set up.

I really appreciate the help, thank you!

1) Nothing is actually tripping because I haven't plugged them into the same outlet. The stated max load is 7A and since these heaters are drawing more than that I haven't tried.
2) There are lots of other things plugged in, but it's ~150 watts total (currently I'm running this on my water change and rock cycling system getting ready for the new tank).
3) Total amps including the heaters (which are plugged into separate outlets right now) should be about 8 amps.

I don't think the answers to 2 and 3 are relevant since nothing is actually tripping but I answered anyway.

I think I understand what you're saying from the electricity side. Mainly, be careful not to get too close to the max of the breaker. I think however, that is less relevant on a single outlet given the 15A capacity of the power bar. So I should be able to run a 600w and a 200w heater on one outlet except for the fact that they are drawing more than 800w.

 

[bpro32]

I have a 100watt model and a kill a watt. Ill have to check tomo...

Were you able to check? I'm interested to see if others are having the same issue as I am.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Get a current probe. All you have to do is clip over the wire and it will tell you how much current is running in the wire then you can calculate true wattage. This gives you facts ..... they range in price from 20 to 150 dollars.

 

[Big C]

My 600 watt BRS heater pulls 655 watts at 5.5 Amps with an incoming voltage of 110 per my Apex Energy Bar 832. This is ran off the BRS controller.

 

[bpro32]

My 600 watt BRS heater pulls 655 watts at 5.5 Amps with an incoming voltage of 110 per my Apex Energy Bar 832. This is ran off the BRS controller.

Thanks! Similar to what I’m experiencing then. Pretty disappointing, I admit.

 

[Terry Mattson]

My 600 watt BRS heater pulls 655 watts at 5.5 Amps with an incoming voltage of 110 per my Apex Energy Bar 832. This is ran off the BRS controller.

Well, 5.5 amps at 110v is 605 watts. But if the heater is within +/- 10% that is about right. Best thing is not to exceed 80% of rated circuit.

 

[Brian_68]

Get a current probe. All you have to do is clip over the wire and it will tell you how much current is running in the wire then you can calculate true wattage. This gives you facts ..... they range in price from 20 to 150 dollars.

To get current with a clamp on meter you need to clamp only on one wire, not both line and neutral, so you would need to separate them to get them individually.

 

[ca1ore]

Running 900 watts of one apex outlet seems imprudent regardless. If you must, the EB4 has higher amperage outlets. I’d just run them off separate outlets, then you gain a bit of redundancy.

 

[bpro32]

Running 900 watts of one apex outlet seems imprudent regardless. If you must, the EB4 has higher amperage outlets. I’d just run them off separate outlets, then you gain a bit of redundancy.

The plan was to run 800w on one outlet. Is it unsafe to run 6.7A on an outlet rated for 7A? I'm honestly asking because to me, without any previous knowledge, as long as the amperage is lower than what the outlet is rated for it should be safe.

The redundancy will come from using a BRS heater controller, then plug it into the Apex. I have an EB8 that I can use, but I really do want power monitoring for the heaters.

 

[Terry Mattson]

The plan was to run 800w on one outlet. Is it unsafe to run 6.7A on an outlet rated for 7A? I'm honestly asking because to me, without any previous knowledge, as long as the amperage is lower than what the outlet is rated for it should be safe.

The redundancy will come from using a BRS heater controller, then plug it into the Apex. I have an EB8 that I can use, but I really do want power monitoring for the heaters.

Yes, technically ok. From a risk mitigation standpoint, I would never do it long term. Your running close to overload on the design.

 

[JoshH]

Personally I'd just skip plugging it into the Apex atall. Save the worrying and free up a space on your power bar. You can get individual outlets from Auto Aqua that will shut off the heaters if a certain temp is reached. These perform independent of the Apex which is nice as well and from there literature there max wattage is 1100W and 10 Amps....

AUTOAQUA

www.autoaqua.com.tw

 

[Acid King]

You can test amperage with a standard multimeter. Most are rated at 10A so it would be fine. Although it’s more invasive.