Any electricians out there?

[Jeff000]

Originally Posted by marcingo

I will take it to one of those stores you suggest. Thank you.

I wouldn't bother, they will not help you, they are sales, not service.
An electrical service call will be $100 and then parts.
Take it to a LFS, that will be your best bet to getting someone to help for free.

[parkinsn]

Originally Posted by Jeff000

I wouldn't bother, they will not help you, they are sales, not service.

Having worked for both, EECOL, and Westburne, I can tell you they wont help you at all. None of the staff that work at these places are electricians. They will have a great knowledge of what you have but they will not and should not tell you how to wire it due to liability issues.

EDIT. They might not even know WTF you have. The aquarium ballasts and lamps are out of their field of expertise. The standard MH ballasts and lamps they sell are not the same as the ones we use. They may or may not even have a catalogue for something close.

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Having worked for both, EECOL, and Westburne, I can tell you they wont help you at all. None of the staff that work at these places are electricians. They will have a great knowledge of what you have but they will not and should not tell you how to wire it due to liability issues.

EDIT. They might not even know WTF you have. The aquarium ballasts and lamps are out of their field of expertise. The standard MH ballasts and lamps they sell are not the same as the ones we use. They may or may not even have a catalogue for something close.

I have taken light fixtures to Westburne here in Red Deer & the fellow helped me figure out what was wrong in a matter of a few minutes. I guess customer service is better here then most places for some things anyway but NOT SW shops that is for sure

EDIT: I bought a replacement ballast for my MH/T5 combo fixture there recently, they really are not that much different.

[parkinsn]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

I have taken light fixtures to Westburne here in Red Deer & the fellow helped me figure out what was wrong in a matter of a few minutes. I guess customer service is better here then most places for some things anyway but NOT SW shops that is for sure

Im sure they would help you. I've helped lots of people with weird stuff. 8/10 time's I know more about the product im selling than the electricians do. Do I know how to wire it? Ya probably but..... Should I tell people how to wire their stuff, no I don't have my ticket. If it burns their house down all they have to do is say "the guy at Westburne told me to do it like that" and then it becomes my/companies problem/liability issue.

I'm just saying that I agree that it would be a waste of time for the OP to go and get turned away with no help. Better to talk to an electrician.

[Jeff000]

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Im sure they would help you. I've helped lots of people with weird stuff. 8/10 time's I know more about the product im selling than the electricians do. Do I know how to wire it? Ya probably but..... Should I tell people how to wire their stuff, no I don't have my ticket. If it burns their house down all they have to do is say "the guy at Westburne told me to do it like that" and then it becomes my/companies problem/liability issue.

I'm just saying that I agree that it would be a waste of time for the OP to go and get turned away with no help. Better to talk to an electrician.

Do you still work for a wholesaler?

The guys at the wholesalers are great, and they know a lot about what they sell, well some do, but they are not a repair shop, sometimes they can help out if they aren't busy, but I have been in line with guys in front asking how to wire their house or hot tub etc, and the rep will say you need this wire this disconnect and this breaker. But that is it.

I'm a Journeyman Electrician, 95% commercial. But for me to go and look at this light I would charge 100 bucks, and then whatever parts.
Looking at an aquarium fixture I would put good bulbs in (do not try and meter across the output of the ballast as it very high voltage and will destroy your meter) after I checked to see that there was power to the ballast and out of the ballast, still not working, replace ballast. And I would replace with whatever brand ballast the closest wholesaler had in stock. I can't see how much different the marine ballasts are to any other, but keep that in mind.
So you would have a 130-140 dollar bill.

[Magma]

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Im sure they would help you. I've helped lots of people with weird stuff. 8/10 time's I know more about the product im selling than the electricians do. Do I know how to wire it? Ya probably but..... Should I tell people how to wire their stuff, no I don't have my ticket. If it burns their house down all they have to do is say "the guy at Westburne told me to do it like that" and then it becomes my/companies problem/liability issue.

I'm just saying that I agree that it would be a waste of time for the OP to go and get turned away with no help. Better to talk to an electrician.

I see this all the time at the wholesaler they try and help and just make it worse. More than once at Eccol in Calgary I have stepped in and told the guy behind the counter to go take a hike after they try and explain how to wire something or how to check things. If you don't know what your doing don't play with it end of story. The ballasts are no different in an aquarium fixture then they are in other HOT5 fixtures which we install or even MH lights. They sell them sure they might not look exactly the same but they are. I just installed 100 lights on a job which are all 6 bulb HOT5 fixtures and the ballasts are the same as in my home setup other than these are set for 347v input instead of 120v.

I also hate to disagree with you but I dont think the wholesalers and staff know more about the product they sell compared to the sparkies who install it. I have had more than one experience in which I ordered a panel which was 600/347v and I got the guts for a 120/208v panel or I order Square D breakers and get Cuttlerhammer its frustrating and happens all the time.


My advice on the light, test with new bulbs if that doesnt work then the ballast is probably shot so either buy a new one or get a new fixture, if its just for a FW tank no plants you dont need massive amounts of light anyways you can pick up single bulb fixture for cheap.