this electrical problem is scaring me..

[weatherboxes]

my power went out today for about an hour while i was out. i have my fans plugged into the bottum of a 15 amp socket and the timer was plugged into the top. i noticed that when i put pressure on the lower part of the timer the power would slowly start to give out and when i released that pressure by putting some on the top of the timer and pushing it closer to the wall the power would immediately kick back on. so i found that the timer being top heavy would lean outwards from the socket putting pressure on the center of my socket where the black and red reset buttons are located. i hope this was the issue becuase i can't see a 4in can fan, 400w mh/hps, and small oscillating fan killing power like that. so i moved the timer onto the power strip with my fans. hopefully this fixes everything.. what do you guys think? any other issues i should be warry of? all of my gear is running on one power strip now, but it can support the wattage easily. if you all need pictures let me know.. thanks.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Oh man...


The worst is a fire!! You get your house burnt then they charge you with growing and your insurance won't pay.

First off if you have an electrician friend get them involved..

What I say now is what I do not what I am telling you to do.

I use GFI's. I wire them myself.. I wire my own circuits off the main breaker so i know my wire ratings are above standard.. No chances here.

Then I use heavy duty rated devices.. No plastic temporary.
use extensions for me.

If i was you I would at least replace that 15 amp outlet with a rated GFI outlet.

Also find out what else shares that line and unplug all else.

Once you look at the wires ( with the power off ) Sniff for burnt odor.

The folks who wired up your wall may have used the wrong wire size to save money.. So you are already into the heat safety margin.

I'm a total electrical safety guy.. Oh and a cooling freak as well.. I love it when I start to worry the room is too cold under 1500 watts..

Jack

 

[DonkDBZ]

replace the receptacle with a industrial or commercial grade. hey sell em at home depot and lowes. use catapillers if necessary behind the 6/32screws to mount it securely.
there little yellow things that fold.

 

[weatherboxes]

so it probably wasn't the timer hitting the reset button? or are these just suggestions to further my safety? everything is on and running smoothly now that i have removed the timer from the socket.

 

[JackTheGrower]

so it probably wasn't the timer hitting the reset button? or are these just suggestions to further my safety? everything is on and running smoothly now that i have removed the timer from the socket.

GFI, Rated plug in units and proper cords are a must any way.

If you use those cheep plastic plug strips know this they are not rated for continuous use. A little shopping and you will find the heavy duty rated power strips.

GFI's trip if there is a short.. Shorts start fires..

Smoke detector ( I wish they made odor detector warning units too )

I even have a Carbon Monoxide detector as sometime I burn propane to augment co2 levels.

Best wishes.. Look for my grow-room thread coming soon.

I may make it retro.. going back to the construction but jumping ahead to the new lights and ventilation setup.

Fun fun fun .. Grow room constructions.

 

[weatherboxes]

GFI, Rated plug in units and proper cords are a must any way.

If you use those cheep plastic plug strips know this they are not rated for continuous use. A little shopping and you will find the heavy duty rated power strips.

GFI's trip if there is a short.. Shorts start fires..

Smoke detector ( I wish they made odor detector warning units too )

I even have a Carbon Monoxide detector as sometime I burn propane to augment co2 levels.

Best wishes.. Look for my grow-room thread coming soon.

I may make it retro.. going back to the construction but jumping ahead to the new lights and ventilation setup.

Fun fun fun .. Grow room constructions.

alright ill look for one of these thanks brotha.

 

[pontiac]

Whatever you do, just be sure to get a GFCI (aka GFI). I'm living proof that those babies can save a life.

 

[madpenguin]

Sounds like he already has one...

.....center of my socket where the black and red reset buttons are located....

Of course I assume a "socket" means a receptacle.

If he thinks the timer was top heavy and pulling itself out then who is anyone to argue and say it's not. Sounds like a plausible explanation. Only the OP really knows for sure.

Be leary of those power strips. I'd feel more comfortable using the wall receptacle. Try throwing your timer on the bottom and your fans on the top.

 

[weatherboxes]

Sounds like he already has one...



Of course I assume a "socket" means a receptacle.

If he thinks the timer was top heavy and pulling itself out then who is anyone to argue and say it's not. Sounds like a plausible explanation. Only the OP really knows for sure.

Be leary of those power strips. I'd feel more comfortable using the wall receptacle. Try throwing your timer on the bottom and your fans on the top.

haha yeah i thought of that already but the timer is so tall it blocks the top "receptacle" if i place it in the bottom one. i think ill just go with a gfi outlet to protect myself even more. the power strip im using now is belkin but it does look fairly rickety.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Turn off and make sure no one can turn it on while you mess with it. Always test the line first before assuming it's dead.

Something as simple as plugging in a device or as hard as using a voltage tester.

I'm with randude101.

It sucks to work with live wires,, I have had to do my share... Control voltage in some industry is 120v and it's easy to get zapped when there are defective switches and such,

 

[DonkDBZ]

GFCI is for helping to prevent people from getting shocked

AFCI is to prevent fires.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Yeah, I always work on live circuits but don't recomend it. I even worked on a live 6000v transformer for an ozone generator. I got shocked and burned. I actually fell into it and got both the 6000v and the 120v after that. I have mixed feelings on what was worse but the 6000v is a really fast shock. Hard to explain.

A sausage machine used I think something above 400 volts I just don't remember anyway that was a sharp bite type of shock.. I learned not to stand in water and touch those machines after that.

I understand it only takes 6 milliamps of current to kill you no matter what the voltage if it takes the right path.

It's a roll of the dice every time I guess.

So far so lucky you and I...

 

[weatherboxes]

hmm i honestly think it was my theory that the timer was putting pressure on the reset button. my ballast has a fuse because its digital. i think that makes it somewhat fireproof? i don't know anything about electricity so im not too keen on going into my wall and fucking with this. everything has been running 100% all day and tonight since i plugged the timer into the power strip.

 

[JackTheGrower]

hmm i honestly think it was my theory that the timer was putting pressure on the reset button. my ballast has a fuse because its digital. i think that makes it somewhat fireproof? i don't know anything about electricity so im not too keen on going into my wall and fucking with this. everything has been running 100% all day and tonight since i plugged the timer into the power strip.

Timer into the power strip.. Ballast off the power strip.. Be careful.

At least the advice has been good... We have all been there.

 

[Ganoderma]

I think that I might have an idea on why you had the problem that you say that you had, and no one has suggested it yet.

I have used many plug in wall timers over the last 10 years and I've seen them get cheaper and cheaper in there construction. If you look at the prongs on the back they are a cheaper metal and when plugged into an outlet the slightest pressure will cause it to fall out of the outlet. these timers don't stay in the outlets and power strips, due to gravity unless placed in a way that it can't fallout of the outlet..

 

[Vegan]

if you all need pictures let me know.. thanks.

box

IMO when asking about anything like this on a forum pics are always necessary,,
no one is goin gto call you and idiot. but you might get some good advise how to wire for safety
'
'
I think its like ya said ,,,,,,,the weight of the timer pullin the device away from the receptacle..

power strips are a NO NO..

I bet prolly 90% of folks arund here have one in thier electrical gear ..
I confess I have one in my set up.

 

[madpenguin]

If the problem really is that it's just "falling" out of the receptacle, then often times rotating the receptacle so the ground hole is up will fix the issue...

They also make a spec grade receptacle where the internals that grab the prongs are more sturdy. You actually have to push really hard to get the plug seated all the way.

Again, all that requires that you turn the circuit breaker off and pull the receptacle. Switching to "ground up" only requires you to flip it 180 degrees but if you get one of the receptacles that I'm talking about, of course you'll have to rewire it.

 

[weatherboxes]

You are using a GFI? I guess I read the beginning and not the main body of the thread. That is always the thing that causes the most problems with a circuit not functioning. Tempermental things. I installed them outside (near Seattle-rain) and they would constantly trip when my wife would put up her automated Christmas decorations. She gave up and used a garage outlet with no GFCI against all of my protest. She had a real thing about yard decorations.

so does gfci prevent fires?? or prevent shock... cause im going to pick one up today if it preventing fires is true..

 

[weatherboxes]

pictures: so i was worried about plugging the timer into my power strip.. i came up with a ghetto yet effective solution.

 

[stAx]

GFCI is for helping to prevent people from getting shocked

AFCI is to prevent fires.

Arc fault interupters are normally installed at the panel, its a type of breaker with a button on the switch. typicaly they are used for testing only..and can very easily trip. i worked residential and a bit of commercial for a few yrs. i would not recommend working in the panel unless you knw what your doing..,

my advice would be to not plug the ballast into the power strip. use 2 timers =)