Brew12
Electrical Gru
I doubt that is the problem if you are only seeing one GFCI device trip. Possible, but if it were the case you would only get trips when the system is running.
Tripping a GFCI
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Heliarc19
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Is your gfci in the outlet or in your electrical panel? I ask because some code requires gfci/afci, afci's can trip for a lot of unnecessary reasons(fluorescent bulbs being very common)
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revhtree
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GFCI is in the outlet.
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revhtree
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The weird thing is that it has been tripping for a few weeks just maybe once a week or so. I thought it might have been due to storm we have had. I fired up the heaters and can't trip it again....yet. Ugh and I leave out of town in a few days.
Is it possible the GFCI is too weak?
Is it possible the GFCI is too weak?
120reefkeeper
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If it were me I'd change that GFCI outlet.
Heliarc19
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Well as someone said before they can brake or wear out, try plugging everything in to the portable gfci that is usually plugged in as leaking voltage will combine and it may be more than one device.
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revhtree
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Can y'all recommend a really good outlet?
Heliarc19
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because of what they are I wouldn't think brand would change function much (they are all made as cheap as possible lol) I would just have your electrician use their preference or get what your hardware store carries if your doing it yourself.
Here is a little tip for anyone reading this as well. Using 3 prong titanium heaters serve as perfect grounding probes when connected to a gfci. If you have a 3 prong titanium heater already (must be 3 prongs) then you don't need a separate grounding probe because the outside of the heater is the ground and will trip if there is any current. One word of caution though, if you are looking for what is tripping an outlet and you notice when you plug in your heater it trips it may not be the actual heater causing it to trip. The heater just provides the path to ground so it appears that's what is causing the trip. The best way to test is unplug everything and start with the heater runnging to see what happens first and THEN plug everything in one thing in at a time and see what trips it.
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revhtree
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My problem is that it trips randomly. Like right now everything is running fine and the outlet is not tripping. A few nights ago it tripped at 3:15am. Last night it tripped at 12:05am.
AllSignsPointToFish
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First, I would recommend a GFCI with an audible alarm when it trips so that you or someone tanksitting can tell it's tripped easily, especially when lights are not on:
https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-GFTA...1497406811&sr=8-2&keywords=audible+alarm+gfci
or something like that.
Also, you mentioned a storm recently. Is your aquarium equipment surge protected? If not, I also highly recommend that to prevent damage to expensive equipment.
As for the random trips, I would start with the largest loads like the heater, isolate them on a separate GFCI, and start eliminating possibilities.
Hope this helps!
https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-GFTA...1497406811&sr=8-2&keywords=audible+alarm+gfci
or something like that.
Also, you mentioned a storm recently. Is your aquarium equipment surge protected? If not, I also highly recommend that to prevent damage to expensive equipment.
As for the random trips, I would start with the largest loads like the heater, isolate them on a separate GFCI, and start eliminating possibilities.
Hope this helps!
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revhtree
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If the heater was the problem would it not trip the GFCI as soon as I turn it on? I isolated them and ran them for a while and they ran fine. They're running now on the system.
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AllSignsPointToFish
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Depends on what you mean by "turn on" the heater. If "turn on" means you plug it in but the temperature in the tank is fine, you won't know until the internal thermostat or the Apex (if you're running one) turns on the heater. Also, it's possible that the issue is a temperature dependent one, meaning that the heater (or other equipment) has to be running a while before thermal expansion causes a crack or some other anomaly to fault. If this were the case, you would see the issue during cooler periods, like nighttime (which I think you indicated in a previous post).
If I recall correctly, you have a 400 gallon system. I assume you have multiple heaters (which may or may not be correct), so depending on how you stage them, you may not see the issue immediately. Also, a 400 gallon system has a lot of thermal capacitance, so it may take a while before the issue presents itself after a fault condition.
Just some food for thought. The intermittent tripping is a clue that it may be a piece of equipment that only runs periodically.
It's just tripping the outlet gfi right, not a gfci breaker? Just making sure it's not an overloaded circuit. You may just want to buy a new gfi outlet and start there to see if it's the outlet so you could narrow the search some. What devices are plugged into that outlet, and which ones have 3 prongs?
Perhaps there's too much amperage draw through the outlet? If you have other outlets chained off of that one (not uncommon), it would be everything plugged into that outlet and anything downline from it. Same could be true for faults as well.
chris31759
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If you are using last generation Ecotech Radion LED's, the power supply could be causing the problem. I had the same intermittent problem. I replaced the gfci outlets and tested for shorts in the wire. I finally determined it was the Radion's. Ecotech was great and replaced each one for a dollar each. Good luck Rev
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Do u have an apex?
If so is everything plugged in and set to log? If so you can see each time when the gfci was tripped what was running and narrow it down that way.
Say it tripped three times and just for this sake your heater was the only thing on each time then it should be the heater.
If so is everything plugged in and set to log? If so you can see each time when the gfci was tripped what was running and narrow it down that way.
Say it tripped three times and just for this sake your heater was the only thing on each time then it should be the heater.
slayerhellfire
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your tank should be one a separate dedicated line right to a 20 AMP breaker imo. Easy to do if you have a slot
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He has it broken up so he doesn't loose all his equiptment I did the same thing better this way if you have the slots in the breaker box
slayerhellfire
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isn't that why the GFCI is used so it breaks before something happens? Or I am missing something. The way I see it if the line has other stuff on it, it makes it more vanurable to fail. I don't know I always have a separate breaker for my tanks..
