Electricity, some basics for all!

[Scooterman]

These question & problems are very common but sometimes pushed aside. I see these things coming up often & decided to dedicate some time on this subject matter, to help those of you who are planning to take on some wiring on your own.
Before I start, I'll post some background information. I started out in 1986 studying Industrial Electronics Technology; from there I eventually went into Surveillance systems working for a new company in New Hampshire. After about a year, I decided that was enough, so I moved to Daytona Beach for the summer before moving back home. From there I eventually started out working for a service company, which built, designed & installed control systems mainly for the oilfield. It was about that time technology was shifting in directions from a mechanical type system over to advanced electronic systems. I then took night classes in computer technology; I wanted to get a better understanding of the computer end of electronics. I've gotten into SCADA systems & high end electronic controls, usually programmable with some type of Industrial PLC (programmable logic controller using processors of the Intel type). Since then I've helped design electrically entire platforms/process plants all over the world. Right now we are developing lots of Compression, systems in Egypt, Iraq & Africa; it is all driven by Oil & Gas. This one job has a 14KV (14,000 Volts AC) electric motor producing around 1,600 h.P., it is pushing this huge natural gas compressor.
Ok enough of that; now back to wiring, safety proper connections etc. I want to get this started & hope we can add to it as needed. I have a few good links of the basics, some will have good photos. I'm lucky to work with some great Electrical & Mechanical engineers in the field, so if I can't help I have resources to get the proper information.
In most cases our products are UL (Underwriters Laboratory), which they test & set the standards of safety for consumers like us. I would like to cover Lighting, GFCI, Ground probes & Surge protectors. I went ahead & looked up some good links to several informational web pages.

The First is what is Electricity:

http://www.electricityforum.com/what-is-electricity.htm

My Oldie Favorite, the Ohms Law Pie:

http://www.the12volt.com/ohm/ohmslaw.asp

This one will help you figure out just how much total start-up load your entire aquarium will draw at worst case. What I did from the very beginning was to find the CB (circuit breaker) for the outlets I was planning to use; boy do I wish I had two separate circuits. My house is fairly new but I took a look at all the wiring before even buying the house, most homes now are wired with 12 gauge solid wire, in the past homes used 14 gauge on 20A breakers, which these days with all the electrical stuff we use would trip breakers, burn open & even start fires. I also saw where homes used all aluminum wiring, this caused problems because of dissimilar metals would heat & contract causing loose connections, thus fires(http://www.homewiringandmore.com/aluminum/index.html).

Old homes, used a material type insulation, this wasn't the best but was good enough to separate the wires far enough to prevent them from touching or arcing & still practical for wiring homes & businesses etc. Caution should be use in older homes, making sure your wiring is updated & breakers are in good working condition. Usually a sign of a faulty breaker is tripping often & when you manually switch it, it doesn't feel crisp while it switches. They normally last a long time & a simple inspection is all necessary. In most homes, breakers of 10, 15 & 20 amps are used. If you use the calculator provided, you can judge your total current draw, I'd not max out a breaker. If you can go no more than 75% of the rated breaker, I know in some cases this may be a problem but in most cases it is ok because the Maxx rating of your system is at start-up not running. All UL devices will either have a wattage or current (AMP) ratting, use the calculator & your AC voltage; (US standard is 120 VAC) to figure it out (sorry for repeating so much)!

http://webhome.idirect.com/~jadams/e.../ohms_calc.htm

Ok this web page I posted for safety reasons, it is very practical information. I highly recommend you going through it, if even briefly.

http://www.electrical-online.com/how...HowToIntro.htm

I found this one on GFCI, this guy is good. I hope this one helps, even me sometimes.

http://www.codecheck.com/gfci_principal.htm

And
http://doityourself.com/electric/gfci.htm

One more, this one is so but worth posting anyway.

http://www.growinglifestyle.com/h/improve/gfci/

Ground probes, I have a few good reads going your way.

http://ozreef.org/diy/grounding_probe.html

http://avdil.gtri.gatech.edu/RCM/RCM...ingProbes.html

I liked this one on surge protection; I'm a strong believer in these because I know your utility supply isn't as smooth as we would like it to be, in a course of a day you may get several hundred spikes a day, although minor, I believe they help to extend the life of your equipment.

http://www.arstechnica.com/guide/ups/ups.html

This is a good starter; I hope to post more as questions arise. Please feel free to ask away, I found this information is already written up well rather than try to explain it all & just confuse you & me at the same time!
Hope this helps, your local Scooterman, OUT!!~~~~~~

[Maxx]

hey Scott,
Would you mind posting up a couple of commonly asked questions about electricity, and where we can all go to find answers to these and other questions? Something not too hard for the non technically proficient, yet interesting enough that more experienced people will grab on to??
Oh.........uh, nevermind...great work
Nick

[tankgirl]

Scott - what an excellent & cool thread!!! Thanks!!!
I haven't read all the links yet, will do so, but quick question;
I was thinking about wrapping plugs in saran wrap to protect them from saltcreep, is that a good idea?

[Scooterman]

I have lots more I intend on posting as time allows. I'll do my best to respond, as my time is allowable. I want to go over connections & common wiring for aquarium use, including ideas of preventing Salt creep! I like having input on this subject as any other here, I hope we all can gain ideas, save a little money & above all save your home or life. I want to make it clear that Electricity isn't something for the inexperienced, if when in doubt, Seek Help, I urge this strongly. Sometime we tend to take on too much, thinking it is as simple as a snap, we all make mistakes though, including the ones I've made in the past, so hopefully this will help everyone, including myself. I always look for access of information & references as needed.

PS. I had to leave early so I just proofed the thread again; I had a few gibberish mistakes.

[Scooterman]

TG, I need a little more insite on your idea, as to how and what part your talking about?

[Curtswearing]

Scooter,

Thank you for your awesome info. One of the things that make RS great is the breadth of knowledge from so many sources.

You go girl!!! Oops, I guess that doesn't work here does it?

Thanks for the awesome info Scott!!!

[joe@inreef]

My house is fairly new but I took a look at all the wiring before even buying the house, most homes now are wired with 12 gauge solid wire, in the past homes used 14 gauge which these days with all the electrical stuff we use would trip breakers, burn open & even start fires.

Just a note to the above post...... 14 gauge wire is no more likely to cause a fire then 12,10, 8 or any other gauge wire if it is fused properly. 14 gauge wire is still used in most residential applications around the US. 14 gauge wire should be fused at no more then 15 amps. When it is fused at 15 amps, it is perfectly safe. Also, remember, just because you are using a GFCI protection device, dosnt mean you are safe. A GFCI circuit can catch fire, just like any standard circuit. Using a GFCI on your tank wiring is not required by the NEC, but is a good practice. As an electrical contractor (for the past 20 years), I do not use GFCI protection on my equiptment, but use a GFCI protected Main breaker on my main distribution panel. In addition to the GFCI main, I use ARC fault breakers on my branch circuits. A ground fault has nothing to do with electrical fires, most electrical fires are caused by an arc, due to a penetrated wire or a touching of conductors to a combustible material.

For several years I have studied the effects of salt water on electrical conductors. In no case, would a ground fault have prevented the fire, but it will lessen the chance of a person being killed from electricity.

[Scooterman]

Originally posted by joe@inreef
Just a note to the above post...... 14 gauge wire is no more likely to cause a fire then 12,10, 8 or any other gauge wire if it is fused properly. 14 gauge wire is still used in most residential applications around the US. 14 gauge wire should be fused at no more then 15 amps. When it is fused at 15 amps, it is perfectly safe. In addition to the GFCI main, I use ARC fault breakers on my branch circuits. A ground fault has nothing to do with electrical fires, most electrical fires are caused by an arc, due to a penetrated wire or a touching of conductors to a combustible material.

For several years I have studied the effects of salt water on electrical conductors. In no case, would a ground fault have prevented the fire, but it will lessen the chance of a person being killed from electricity.

Right, but in almost all new homes 12 IS the standard, only a minority of budgeted homes built with 14awg, maybe locally where your contracting 14awg but not nationally. Your Right on, if fused or breakered properly you will have no problem. In the past the standard was 20 amps on 14 awg wire, that was the major problem back then. Also ARC fault breakers is also very good in new construction & GFCI outlets at the wall, most reefers retro fit the GFCI outlets, which do serve the purpose if wired properly.

[Craig Manoukian]

Hey Scooterman and joe@inreef, thanks and great stuff!

Your going to love this question:

I've got room in my breaker box and would like to know if you would recommend me wiring my set up to its own breaker(s), and if so, what would you do?

I have 350 watts of metal halides, two fans, and 80 watts of actinic flourescents. I have two 300 watt heaters. I have two Aqua Clear filters 500 & 150 as well as two Aqua Clear 800 power heads. Two Maxi Jet 900s run my two skimmers. I have an 18 watt grow light with a Mag 7 and Ocean Runner 2700 pumps on my refugium. I believe they are all on one 15 or 20 amp curcuit using Lots of surge protector power strips.

TIA

[joe@inreef]

Usually, what I reccomend is two circuits to the larger tank set up. This way you can put half your pumps on one circuit and half on the other. This way if the circuit trips, you dont loose power to all your circulation equiptment.

[wooddood]

great info all.im now building a house and am also going to run my tank on 2 differant circuits.i agree people should know all they can about electricity and are reefs.thanks again.

[Scooterman]

Craig, with all that power draw, your going to make the electric company rich! If you can add another breaker, I would do as Joe said, split your devices. In a case where you already have a wired circuit, you may have other devices on it which share the load of that breaker. So a dedicated circuit would be very nice to have, two even better. If you think about it, all you have doesn't run wide open, heaters etc may run part time, so your probably not loading your circuit as much as it looks. I noticed one thing about lighting if you use electronic ballast, you will save money on your bill, watt for watt MH is Very efficient as compared to a florescent bulb of Any & all types.

[Scooterman]

http://doityourself.com/electric/gfc...-e2diy0158.htm

I found this for wiring an GFCI outlet, nice illustrations.

[wooddood]

thanks for the link scott it should help alot of people out.

[Craig Manoukian]

Thanks Scooterman and joe@inreef,

I'll look into taking care of thaty as my fish room is directly above the breaker panel and I know I've got additional circuit breaker bays. What amp breakers would you recommend?