Rust on black box
- Thread starter James M
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Jason mack
Monti madness
im Not an electrician, but to be honest this light looks like it might have been swimming at some point ... buying electrical equipment that’s been around water/salt water I would certainly be extra careful when buying .. I’ve seen photos of lamps that have caught fire ... so it does happen .. that’s all I meant !!
Dana Riddle
2500 Club Member
I'm late to the party. I understand the used lights weren't purchased, but for future reference:
If the light housing is metallic (either new or after cleaning/rejuvenation), wax it with a quality paste wax.
If a used light contains UV LEDs, look for 'fogging' (yellowing) of the acrylic splash guard.
Perhaps more thoughts - after another cup of coffee.
If the light housing is metallic (either new or after cleaning/rejuvenation), wax it with a quality paste wax.
If a used light contains UV LEDs, look for 'fogging' (yellowing) of the acrylic splash guard.
Perhaps more thoughts - after another cup of coffee.
Reefs of Space
Active Member
I'm all about used and refurbished, just gotta be smart and inspect the connections to make sure nothing is going to break loose in there and create an arc.
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Maybe something would break free, but still... where is the fire risk? I’m not trying to belittle concerns that a rusty device on the outside might have issues on the inside. It certainly can and probably does. Rust is a terrible conductor. A corroded circuit board is almost certainly going to result in a burned out component or lights not working.
I’m just not going to let a comment without scientific backing stand like that. It doesn’t support the community at large and for example inspires the types of responses many reefers have to palythoa toxins; overly reactive and unnecessary.
Dana Riddle
2500 Club Member
I'm not an engineer, but if the rectifier is away from the box itself, and the voltage is, say, 12v DC inside the box, is there a danger of fire? I'm asking because I don't know (obviously!)
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
I suppose we are asking the same question of the commenter
I’m not a fire expert, but I know some things about it. I have however built my fair share of electronics and seen some awesome failures. Fire requires, three things: an ignition source, oxygen, and fuel. The first two definitely exist in this scenario. The light is not sealed from the outside air, so there is a source of oxygen. An electrical spark can be an ignition source. That leaves the last part, fuel. What is it that will actually burn inside the light?
Most printed circuit boards are made from FR4. That carries a UL94-V0 rating. That means it self extinguished in less than 10 seconds if exposed to a flame. They are plastic, so they may burn but they are unlikely to ignite. Really not a fuel source.
That leaves the remaining metal and plastic components. Again, not likely to ignite or sustain a flame.
When you do get an electrical fire, the source of ignition was electricity but the fuel is usually something like wood studs in a wall or a lamp shade or something that a hot cord is running over.
So long story short, I do not believe there is a real fire risk here. There’s potential, but no more so than any other electronics. Take this from a guy who accidentally shorted a 1 Farad capacitor sitting at 600VDC into a circuit board. Every electronic component along that circuit was toast, but absolutely nothing caught fire. That’s WAY more power than we are talking about here.
Reefs of Space
Active Member
In my experience the wire casings actually caught fire and produced smoke and soot. Thankfully like you said, there wasn't enough "fuel" in there to continue on. Also, this was not a dc light that this happened with.I suppose we are asking the same question of the commenter
I’m not a fire expert, but I know some things about it. I have however built my fair share of electronics and seen some awesome failures. Fire requires, three things: an ignition source, oxygen, and fuel. The first two definitely exist in this scenario. The light is not sealed from the outside air, so there is a source of oxygen. An electrical spark can be an ignition source. That leaves the last part, fuel. What is it that will actually burn inside the light?
Most printed circuit boards are made from FR4. That carries a UL94-V0 rating. That means it self extinguished in less than 10 seconds if exposed to a flame. They are plastic, so they may burn but they are unlikely to ignite. Really not a fuel source.
That leaves the remaining metal and plastic components. Again, not likely to ignite or sustain a flame.
When you do get an electrical fire, the source of ignition was electricity but the fuel is usually something like wood studs in a wall or a lamp shade or something that a hot cord is running over.
So long story short, I do not believe there is a real fire risk here. There’s potential, but no more so than any other electronics. Take this from a guy who accidentally shorted a 1 Farad capacitor sitting at 600VDC into a circuit board. Every electronic component along that circuit was toast, but absolutely nothing caught fire. That’s WAY more power than we are talking about here.
Reefs of Space
Active Member
Nothing wrong with promoting the use of GFCI or AFCI outlets in my opinion even when everything is brand new. At least to protect the equipment right?
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
100% agree. Tanks should be on a GFCI at a a minimum. Get an AFCI combo if you can for extra peace of mind. GFCI will prevent you from getting shocked but an AFCI will prevent a fire.
While people should I think a big reasons people don't is GFCI has the reputation for popping for no reason and people loose all power to the tank.
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Certainly could be. It should be replaced if they think it is faulty. Otherwise something is causing it to trip and it is telling you there’s a problem.
BZOFIQ
5000 Club Member
I had mine pop last friday when a transformer nearby got hit by lightning and some people lost power up couple of blocks away. Our power flickered back and forth and then we lost it for about 11 minutes.
I didnt even realize because my apex, pump and powerheads were running (separate circuit) but my lights were not; my kids alerted me. Pushed the button and was back in business but if I was away from home none of the current backup solution would have been sufficient. GFCI could be tricky like that.
