GFCI, Surge Protectors, Battery Backups, etc

[forddna]

What do you all have on your tanks?

[Thrashie]

UPS/gfci/surge and a generator for when things get really bad.

[forddna]

What do you have hooked up to the GFCI?

[SSpiro]

Everything should be on a GFCI circuit.. whether at the outlet or at the breaker.

Both of my setups are plugged into surge outlets, connected to battery backups, that are plugged into GFCI circuits.

[barfish]

everything on gfci.

[forddna]

Okay, thanks! I had read to only put nonessentials on the GFCI. I was thinking of putting, say, the lights, skimmer, phosban reactor on the GFCI and my powerheads and return pump on a really good surge protector (as in, I'll go and buy the highest rated one HD has).

We have something taken out by lightning at least once a week here. I swear, our house is the lightning capital of the world. I never saw anything like this in Riverview or Tampa. It's un-freaking-real. And expensive.

[Thrashie]

I have the 5 outlet gfci shock buster which i picked up at lowes for like 16 bux...it's GFCi ..and it works! had it pop off one day when i was cleaning tank and splashed water all over the place.

they also have it here:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...2&pcatid=14702

[BlueCoast]

you should check out whole house protection, most power companies will install a spike suppressor at the entry point to your house, surge strips at Home Depot are not going to stop much of a spike unfortunately(Don't ask how I know)

Some die-hards like to use 2 separate GFCI's, half the pumps on each, in case one trips.

I have GFCI, UPS(for 2 koralias), and a DC/AC inverter to use my car as a generator.... one day I'll buy a honda generator(or steal Emmitts )

[barfish]

then you need to hook your surge prot. up to your gfi. a gfi wont protect your equipment from a power surge coming thru your house. you can have a power surge center installed at your breaker box that will protect your whole house. runs 300-500 bucks i think.

[Toolguy942]

I've always lived on the edge (of destruction) I guess. I've never used any type of protection.

[Kubi]

Originally posted by BlueCoast
you should check out whole house protection, most power companies will install a spike suppressor at the entry point to your house, surge strips at Home Depot are not going to stop much of a spike unfortunately(Don't ask how I know)

I agree, I have two whole house surge suppressors. One on the meter that the power company installed and one on the electrical panel that I installed. I also have everything on a GFCI along with the pumps on a UPS.

[forddna]

Originally posted by barfish
then you need to hook your surge prot. up to your gfi. a gfi wont protect your equipment from a power surge coming thru your house. you can have a power surge center installed at your breaker box that will protect your whole house. runs 300-500 bucks i think.

Ah ha..you made me look it up. I thought the GFCI shut off power if there was a surge. I understand it now. Thanks!

[mlivvy]

I was working in my sump oneday and the fuge light fell into the sump with my hand in it. I dont have a cfgi but the apartment came with them built into the electrical. Reminds me of that movie "the hudsucker proxy" when the tailor decided to double stitch the guys pants and then it saved his life.

A cfgi should be the 1st thing on your list imo.

[forddna]

hey, you guys that are talking about whole house surge protection - is there anything that can cover multiple buildings? We have two houses, two shops, and a gate, and all of that has surveillance cameras. The cameras are what we're having the biggest issues with, with the lightning. Any ideas for a setup like ours??? We've been though so many cameras and monitors, it's not even funny. Damn computer modems, too. Wasn't any big deal when the economy was good.

[SSpiro]

Originally posted by forddna
hey, you guys that are talking about whole house surge protection - is there anything that can cover multiple buildings? We have two houses, two shops, and a gate, and all of that has surveillance cameras. The cameras are what we're having the biggest issues with, with the lightning. Any ideas for a setup like ours??? We've been though so many cameras and monitors, it's not even funny. Damn computer modems, too. Wasn't any big deal when the economy was good.

You're speaking right up my alley.

First - sounds like you had confused GFCI with Surge. Two totally different things. Also you mentioned only hooking up essential items to GFCI, but this should say battery backup instead.

Just to clarify.

GFCI = A device that instantly breaks the circuit when a short develops.
Surge Protector = An electrical device that protects a device from spikes and surges in the power line.
Battery Backup = A device that provides an alternate source of power if the main source is interrupted. A UPS is uninterrupted, meaning that your items plugged in are running off of battery 100% of the time, and while the device is plugged into an active power source, it's constantly being charged.

As far as multiple buildings, i'm assuming your second building has a subpanel or its own panel? Each panel will require its own surge protector.

As far as the cameras, you need to protect the video circuit and the power circuit. What specific products to use depends on what camera types are being used (IP, Analog CCTV, etc). Get me some specifics and I'll hook you up.

For whole house, check out this. You'll need one per panel, subpanel or not. Especially if the wiring goes underground. Runs between 125-150..
http://www.ditekcorp.com/product-details.asp?ProdKey=5

[forddna]

Hell, if you know what the hell you're doing with the surveillance crap, we'll pay you to come fix this junk. The idiots at the alarm company literally have no clue - we're their only client with a setup like this. We're their guinea pigs.

BTW, I was thinking the GFCI shut power off/tripped when there was a surge. What I read before did say to only put nonessentials into the GFCI. I guess in case of a trip..your stuff's not shut off for hours if you're not home or whatever. But that doesn't really make sense if the GFCI is only going to trip when there's a short. That doesn't happen very often, I hope.

[SSpiro]

Originally posted by forddna
Hell, if you know what the hell you're doing with the surveillance crap, we'll pay you to come fix this junk. The idiots at the alarm company literally have no clue - we're their only client with a setup like this. We're their guinea pigs.

BTW, I was thinking the GFCI shut power off/tripped when there was a surge. What I read before did say to only put nonessentials into the GFCI. I guess in case of a trip..your stuff's not shut off for hours if you're not home or whatever. But that doesn't really make sense if the GFCI is only going to trip when there's a short. That doesn't happen very often, I hope.

Let me know what kind of cameras you have.. i'm assuming they're analog. We can go from there...

GFCI trips when there is a short, not a surge. It's not a surge protector at all. Think water. When water hits an electrical device (let's say a ballast falls into the water from the canopy, or water splashes out of the tank and into a power strip), the device will trip to save the rest of the house/circuit/panel/devices. Just like your bathroom where your hair dryer plugs into. If it were to fall into the sink full of water, only the circuit where the hair dryer is at is at risk, and the GFCI trips to save the equipment on the circuit and remaining circuits in the panel. I hope I'm making sense.. trying to simplify.

When a GFCI trips, it stays off until you physically reset it. It will not reset itself.

I guess I see what you're saying about non-essentials. You'd have to have a second circuit there, then.. since everything down stream from the GFCI on the first circuit is protected by that outlet. If you have a second circuit near your tank, however, it should be GFCI protected as well. Keep non-essential seperated from the essential, but nothing says that the second circuit won't trip too.

[plc001]

Originally posted by BlueCoast
...Some die-hards like to use 2 separate GFCI's, half the pumps on each, in case one trips....

I'm a die-hard;-)

[SSpiro]

http://home.howstuffworks.com/question117.htm

[forddna]

Yeah, that's one of the sites I read. I sat and read like 5 different ones about GFCI earlier.

PS - cleared my inbox.

[Kubi]

Maybe we should follow Fire Marshal Bill's instructions



http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ji...76?icid=acvsv2

[shibumi]

Wow nice information. I just have a surge protector but that is all. I guess I have a lot of work to do .....

[shibumi]

Originally posted by The Hawk'ster
Maybe we should follow Fire Marshal Bill's instructions



http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ji...76?icid=acvsv2

hahahah sooo funny

[Emster]

Originally posted by The Hawk'ster
Maybe we should follow Fire Marshal Bill's instructions



http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ji...76?icid=acvsv2

Now that is too funny!! I laughed so hard! Thanks for that one!

[forddna]