Burning power strip

[xxkenny90xx]

What a day, one tank is burning, the other is leaking, oh and I just found one of my nicer sps pieces on the floor by my tank and totally brown and dry (dont ask)...

Anyways lets look at the burning tank for now. I thought i heard a pump sounding a little loud but didnt think much of it, fast forward a few hours and something is burning in my kitchen (where my giant hermit crab tank is). I found the source to be a power strip, specifically where an oooollldddd pump is plugged in. What do you guys think the problem is? The pump? The power strip? Just the one plug on the power strip? I replaced the pump but the power strip is still in use minus the one plug.

Obviously the safe option is too replace both the pump and power strip but im as cheap as they come!

 

[tehmadreefer]

Is that salt? If so, always good to wipe power strips and cords down every month or so!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Wow your good! I assumed that was just melted plasic but I just went and licked the power strip and sure enough its covered in salt. I think I need to reevaluate my drip loops

 

[tehmadreefer]

Wow your good! I assumed that was just melted plasic but I just went and licked the power strip and sure enough its covered in salt. I think I need to reevaluate my drip loops

Ouch. It also just accumulates through evaporation on surfaces.

 

[2_much_junk_in_the_sump]

Wow your good! I assumed that was just melted plasic but I just went and licked the power strip and sure enough its covered in salt. I think I need to reevaluate my drip loops

Wow, that's dedication to lick it. I would suggest you get a good name brand power strip at least. An Apex would be a good investment so you can receive power related alerts although it is pricey.

 

[Shawn_epicurious]

Back to your question... yeah, I personally wouldn’t trust either. The power strip should have tripped. Having said that, yeah, I just looked at all of my power connections for salt build up: )

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Wow, that's dedication to lick it. I would suggest you get a good name brand power strip at least. An Apex would be a good investment so you can receive power related alerts although it is pricey.

Lol its been a long day. Ive weighed the pros and cons of an apex before but since I dont have internet at home I decided the apex wasnt worth it.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Back to your question... yeah, I personally wouldn’t trust either. The power strip should have tripped. Having said that, yeah, I just looked at all of my power connections for salt build up: )

Thats a good point. I have a nice gfi power strip on my reef, i suppose its time to invest in another for the crab tank

 

[KrisReef]

Don't bother with a new power strip, just increase the coverage amount of your Homeowners insurance. If it goes bad you get all new!

 

[samnaz]

You can get a nice GFCI power strip for relatively cheap, and it is absolutely worth the investment. I'm cheap too, I get it, but this is an area I won't skimp on cause ya know, I don't want my house to burn down and stuff. At the very least, replace that salty power strip now. And I'm pretty sure you can find one of those AC70 pumps on ebay for like 20 bucks if you look.