UV keeps tripping GFCI??

[GlassMunky]

So starting yesterday and now today as well, ive noticed that my 40W Pentair SMART UV seems to be tripping my GFCI outlet.
I have the UV itself and the feed pump for it (Maxijet900) both hooked up to the same GFCI outlet (controlled by my apex, the gfci is the DIY in-line type that @Brew12 made and had the tutorial on) and everything will run fine for hours, and then suddenly it will trip.
I took apart the UV and checked all the seals, and no water way leaking into the electronic area, everything was fully dry.
But then about 10 hours later afer i reset the gfci it did it again.
Both the feed pump, UV, and the GFCI outlet are less than 2 months old as this is a brand new build.
Is there a way that i can do some further testing to figure out if its the UV itself or if its the feed pump, or a bad gfci?

 

[Zach W]

I don’t remember exactly where but I read a very similar post where the UV and GFCI did not like each other. He replaces the gfci and still nothing. When he plugged it into a conventional outlet everything was good. Do you have any non gfci outlets you could use?

 

[GlassMunky]

I don’t remember exactly where but I read a very similar post where the UV and GFCI did not like each other. He replaces the gfci and still nothing. When he plugged it into a conventional outlet everything was good. Do you have any non gfci outlets you could use?

I do, but literally the whole point of gfci is to protect things that can start fires like when electricity and water mix.
I specifically made gfci for anything in my tank that would be wet for safety reasons.
Also in the UV manual it specifically says to NEVER run it NOT on a gfci

 

[Zach W]

Build Thread - AZMSGT build thread

Did my first water change on the 625. I put markers on the tank for reference. 40 gallons is roughly my 25% water change mark.

www.reef2reef.com

starting on post number 63, @AZMSGT might be able to help you out more!!

 

[GlassMunky]

#reefsquad help!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Can you run the UV and the pump separately? Try one and then the other. That way you'll know which one is tripping the GFCI. If neither do, then together they are overloading the GFCI. If both do, then I'd go to HD or Lowes and buy a new GFCI on an extension cord and use it.

Good luck.

 

[GlassMunky]

Can you run the UV and the pump separately? Try one and then the other. That way you'll know which one is tripping the GFCI. If neither do, then together they are overloading the GFCI. If both do, then I'd go to HD or Lowes and buy a new GFCI on an extension cord and use it.

Good luck.

great suggestion!
just switched them out and will see what happens today.
thanks

 

[kireek]

Sorry for your troubles.Bumping this up for you!

 

[GlassMunky]

So it is the UV itself. it just tripped with nothing else on the outlet.
So what am i supposed to do now? contact the manufacturer?

 

[zalick]

I do, but literally the whole point of gfci is to protect things that can start fires like when electricity and water mix.
I specifically made gfci for anything in my tank that would be wet for safety reasons.
Also in the UV manual it specifically says to NEVER run it NOT on a gfci

I think you have a misunderstanding of GFCI. GFI/GFCI exist to protect YOU from electric shock not to protect against fires.

I'm not familiar with a DIY GFCI but if a GFCI is tripping, it's detecting a ground fault meaning you have current with a path to ground. This is not good. If YOU became the path to ground, then you could be zapped.

There is a separate component called an arc fault interrupter. Which is totally different and protects against arcing and fires.

If your GFCI is tripping, it's either gone bad or you have a ground fault. GFCIs do go bad. Many electricians absolutely hate them because of how often they go bad and recommend replacing them often.

 

[zalick]

So it is the UV itself. it just tripped with nothing else on the outlet.
So what am i supposed to do now? contact the manufacturer?

I would. There could be a problem with the insulation in the power cable or some other crossed wiring.

Did you try taking the UV completely offline from the tank and connecting to a GFCI outlet elsewhere like the bathroom?

 

[AZMSGT]

I went down this path. Pentair even sent me a new ballast to try to figure this out.
I tried two different GFCI outlets on this circuit. No matter what I did the newer GFCI outlets wouldn’t stay set with the Pentair UV.

I finally just gave up and run the UV on a 15A standard circuit. The rest of my system is on 2 different 20A GFCI circuits. Not the answer I wanted to give but I just couldn’t get things to work right otherwise.

FWIW, I talked to BRS and they said this is a common problem with UV and Metal Halide ballasts.

 

[zalick]

So it is the UV itself. it just tripped with nothing else on the outlet.
So what am i supposed to do now? contact the manufacturer?

While your UV may very well be the culprit, if the UV is connected to the tank, it may simply be providing the path to ground on the GFCI for other stray voltage.

 

[GlassMunky]

I would. There could be a problem with the insulation in the power cable or some other crossed wiring.

Did you try taking the UV completely offline from the tank and connecting to a GFCI outlet elsewhere like the bathroom?

yes, it still trips using other GFCI outlets
I put a call into pentair and left a message,we'll see what they say, but sadly im thinking im going to have to go the same route as @AZMSGT and just have it on a standard apex outlet

 

[GlassMunky]

While your UV may very well be the culprit, if the UV is connected to the tank, it may simply be providing the path to ground on the GFCI for other stray voltage.

i have 4 separate gfci outlets, and each one only has a single item plugged into it. wouldn't the gfci the item was plugged into be the one that tripped if everything is on its own? (Im by no means an electrical expert so i dont know)

 

[zalick]

yes, it still trips using other GFCI outlets
I put a call into pentair and left a message,we'll see what they say, but sadly im thinking im going to have to go the same route as @AZMSGT and just have it on a standard apex outlet

Do you know all the outlets that are on this circuit?

You only need a single GFCI outlet on a circuit, preferably the first in the run. And nothing needs to be plugged in to it.

You could try plugging the UV in to a non-gfci kitchen outlet and see if it trips the gfci on that circuit. All kitchen circuits have a gfci by code. It's possible the UV is overloading it like AZ said above but maybe it won't if it's not directly connected. (I'm grasping at straws here)

 

[zalick]

i have 4 separate gfci outlets, and each one only has a single item plugged into it. wouldn't the gfci the item was plugged into be the one that tripped if everything is on its own? (Im by no means an electrical expert so i dont know)

No. It doesn't work like that really. You don't need 4 GFCI. Only one for an entire circuit.

Ground fault circuit interrupter protects the entire circuit, not just an outlet.

 

[GlassMunky]

Do you know all the outlets that are on this circuit?

You only need a single GFCI outlet on a circuit, preferably the first in the run. And nothing needs to be plugged in to it.

You could try plugging the UV in to a non-gfci kitchen outlet and see if it trips the gfci on that circuit. All kitchen circuits have a gfci by code. It's possible the UV is overloading it like AZ said above but maybe it won't if it's not directly connected. (I'm grasping at straws here)

Yes, these are in line gfci outlets so that I can control them via my apex, and not have the whole system reliant on a single gfci outlet.
heres a pic to explain. I got the idea and instructions from @Brew12

 

[Jeeperz]

I've had issues in the past with non fish tank ballasts tripping GFCI. One such instance was I moved the ballast as far from the actual GFCI outlet as I could and it stopped tripping, I think the emi given off by certain ballasts can mess with the circuit in the GFCI outlet for some reason. Maybe try a GFCI breaker, the outlets seem to trip more often, for me at least. The breakers do get weak too.

 

[GlassMunky]

No. It doesn't work like that really. You don't need 4 GFCI. Only one for an entire circuit.

Ground fault circuit interrupter protects the entire circuit, not just an outlet.

I won’t run a whole system on a single gfci circuit it’s too risky