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#1
07-07-2015, 09:22 PM
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Apex/ electrical/GFI messed up.Help.
So yesterday, my MH light would be on then go off 10 mins later. Everytime I turned it on, it would go off again. So it was either bulb or Ballast in my mind. Switched bulb and it still goes off.
Replace ballast and it seems to be fine I get home today and the south (Mhsouth-1) is off. Look at fusion and shows it off. Odd, why would it be off? Try turning it on via fusion and Ipad and nothing. Try fusion and PC, still nothing. Go down to sump room and notice other things off. Check GFI and it has been "triggered" Reset GFI and all go back on but MHsouth-1 I look at the power consumption etc on the bar graph and see the "NPlugs" and SPlugs" powerbar graphs showing weird stuff. The splugs says it shot up to 75 amps if I am reading it correctly...then it shows it going down to nothing....I assume this is why the GFI broke, but how can it go from 0 to 75 amps numerous times? The GFI does not reset itself... The Nplugs, show the dosers going on and off, but it usually goes from 0 to .8 amps. Now it shows constant power consumption of .8? and the more , when the dosers go on/off Am I reading it wrong? The odd thing is that the Splugs bar runs off a 15 amp breaker and the Nplugs and Eplugs run off another 15amp breaker. These two breakers are the only breakers in the panel box. The power to this panel box is supplied by the main box. There is a 40 amp breaker supplying the satellite box with the 2 15 amp breakers. If there is a spike to 75 amps, as the graph shows...Should it not show that spike in all graphs, since power to those bars come from two breakers supplied by one breaker? What does this tell me? Is there a way to understand where the spike derives from? Is it an apex issue? Power? Both? The next is is that I try and put MHsouth-1 outlet to "auto" and the lights do not turn on. If I put it to "on" they go on. Even if I try from off to auto, or on to auto they will not work in auto. Is it because of this line in my MHsouth-1 prog If Power SPlugs Off 600 Then OFF? It has been a bit , since I programmed these lights, so I am not quite sure why i used that program line... Ok, to add to the oddness. I just noticed that the Splugs show 29.3 amps in the pic, so I looked at the real time pic and it said 18.?...So i look and apex says everything is on that is supposed to be etc. I then try to put MHsouth onto auto, it goes off, I move slider to off, look at Splugs graph and it says 0. Go downstairs and sure enough GFI is triggered off again. Coincidence or ? Sorry, cannot upload screen shot for some reason. Last edited by reefwithareefer; 07-07-2015 at 09:25 PM. 
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#2
07-08-2015, 01:11 AM
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Do you have a GFCI plug or a GFCI breaker? My old halides wouldn't run on a GFCI plug, they kept tripping it - and not always right away. We installed a GFCI breaker instead and that solved the problem permanently.
I'm not familiar with the programming for Apex, so I'm not sure how that might play into it.
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#3
07-08-2015, 01:28 AM
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Just plugs, but I have had halides running on them for a year now. It does not make sense that the graph shows the spike in electricity that go from 75 amps to zero. yet not break the gfi right away. Then again it could just be the gfi. But I did not buy cheap ones. If it were the the MHs, then why does the EB* with two on them, not break? They are on separate gfi plug than the other MH.
One thing I am not, is an Electrician.
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#5
07-08-2015, 05:22 AM
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If I read this right only one MH is tripping the breaker? Can you move the MH that is tripping the breaker to another plug on the eb8? It might be a bad/leaky triac on the outlet. I don't know why it isn't working on auto. GFCI monitor the current to the load and the return current on neutral if they are not the same the breaker will trip, IE a ground fault. The triac could be "leaking" current and causing the false reading for the current usage.
I recently picked up a used Apex and am testing it. Not connected to anything. Still figuring it out. They seem to have some quirks. I had to down grade the FW to version 4.1 using the boot loader method to clear the previous owners email info. Then reload the latest version. BTW I am an electronics tech.
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#7
07-08-2015, 02:39 PM
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Quote:
cannot hurt to try and at least eliminate that possibility.
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#8
07-08-2015, 03:49 PM
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I would look for something coming on at 3. It could be another device causing the breaker to trip. The MH malfunction could be a coincidence, or could have caused another device to malfunction. Are they electronic ballasts? What is the wattage of the ballasts?
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#9
07-08-2015, 02:33 PM
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Quote:
The one MH would go on then off. It quit doing that when I changed ballasts. This ballast worked fine and is one my 4 months old... Next day (monday) I got home and breaker was off. Looked like around 3:00. ... Then yesterday the same thing at 3 is kind of weird with this ebb. In the past, anything that went wrong and broke the breaker was around 3 is as well. Coincidence? ? I will try a different plug, to at least see if it is the MH causing the issue. It all started with it so.....
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#10
07-08-2015, 01:30 PM
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Apex/ electrical/GFI messed up.Help.
You should get an amp meter and see the actual draw verses what your reading say. Most amp spikes come from initial startup. Then lower to normal operation. And I agree with Myka that the GFCI receptacle might have gotten soft and is triggering with very little draw. We had to replace all the ones we have at work due premature failure. We installed breakers. Haven't had any issues since.
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I believe Reefkeeping is not a hobby but a way of life It's unfortunate mine is at a stand still! Building a 135 reef 9 years in the making(seem like I'll never get this 1 together! Too Busy with the Nano and Pico tanks Last edited by reef-keeper; 07-08-2015 at 01:33 PM.
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