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[Be102]

You are overthinking this. You don't need to worry about functionality in either case. The only concern is if you want to maintain your house up to electrical code. The odds of you trying to plug in an appliance that draws more than 15 amps into that receptacle are very slim. That would be the only safety concern.

Normally, kitchens and laundry rooms use 20A breakers. Bedrooms and other living areas typically use 15A breakers. If the outlet is fed from a 20A breaker then it would be fine per the code to install either a 15A or 20A receptacle.
Why the difference? The code limits permanently installed devices to 80% of the outlets rated load. Some refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, and clothes dryers pull more current than the 12A limit for fixed devices on a 15A circuit. Using a 20A rated circuit allows up to 16A of fixed load. And yes.. I know... it is just an oddity in the code where you can have portable space heater that draws 14A on a 15A circuit but if the heater were fixed (which should be safer) it is not allowed.
So why not just use 20A breakers everywhere? A 20A breaker requires at least 12AWG wire. A 15A breaker allows you to use 14AWG wire which is smaller, and therefore cheaper. And that is really the only reason since it is perfectly acceptable to use a 15A receptacle on a 20A breaker as long as there is more than 1 receptacle fed from the breaker. It's strictly a way for electricians to save money when wiring houses.

Im sorry I am still talking about this.. so despite my breaker for a bedroom listing '15', I can still install the 20 amp outlet ? Thats basically where I am confused I just am thinking to myself, 20 is higher than the listed 15.. thinking it will cause some sort of problem.

 

[Brew12]

Im sorry I am still talking about this.. so despite my breaker for a bedroom listing '15', I can still install the 20 amp outlet ? Thats basically where I am confused I just am thinking to myself, 20 is higher than the listed 15.. thinking it will cause some sort of problem.

Yes, you can install the outlet and it will work just fine. It just will not be compliant with code.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

You can get a 15A GFCI or a 15A standard receptacle.

Since it's going in a tank area, it couldn't hurt to use GFCI and even a weather-resisitant one
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-...ant-GFCI-Outlet-White-R92-GFWT1-0KW/205996792
....but that might just be a selling point who knows...

Hint: install with the ground plug up - just like I show in that previous pic I posted - it looks upside down, but that's actually the safer way to install a receptacle........and if you pay attention to commercial construction, that's the way they are all being installed now. It's so that if there is a loose plug and something conductive drops on to it (like a wire, or water) it makes contact with the ground first, then the hot/neutral, tripping the circuit. With the ground down, if something falls it will hit hot/neutral first and that is worse.

 

[Be102]

You can get a 15A GFCI or a 15A standard receptacle.

Since it's going in a tank area, it couldn't hurt to use GFCI and even a weather-resisitant one
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-...ant-GFCI-Outlet-White-R92-GFWT1-0KW/205996792
....but that might just be a selling point who knows...

Hint: install with the ground plug up - just like I show in that previous pic I posted - it looks upside down, but that's actually the safer way to install a receptacle........and if you pay attention to commercial construction, that's the way they are all being installed now. It's so that if there is a loose plug and something conductive drops on to it (like a wire, or water) it makes contact with the ground first, then the hot/neutral, tripping the circuit. With the ground down, if something falls it will hit hot/neutral first and that is worse.

That makes a bunch of sense regarding the putting it upside down part.. will it all work out wires and whatnot? do they just probably cross over as opposed to going in straight? (like when you flip something that is right side up.. the left is now the right?) Do you think I would ever go over the 15 amp breaker point and do crash it or whatever happens if you go over it? Just can't decide for an extra few $$ if this is a smarter buy. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-...ant-GFCI-Outlet-White-R92-GFWT2-0KW/205997283

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

You can put a 20A receptacle on a 15A circuit and you'll never be able to put more than 15A though it or it will trip the breaker

Just put a 15A receptacle in if it's on a 15A circuit, or a 20A receptacle in if it's on a 20A circuit. Simple.

Wires - you'll figure that out when you pull the old one out. Nothing ever goes in straight, ever. Construction and wiring just don't go like that. You'll see what I mean....

 

[Ranjib]

Thank you for answering all our questions. I have couple of questions regarding my diy controller project, which allows me to control A.C. 110v electrical outlets using relays. My questions are:
1. I am using plywood as housing/fixture, to mount the electrical sockets. There are 4 to 6 sockets (pair of three or two). And the power connection has a surge protection circuit.
2. 100v electrical sockets come in pairs (The ones we use for normal house electrical outlets) and their hot ends are connected as same metal plate. To control them independently, I disconnect them by breaking the metal plate using pliers. Is this safe? Or there are individual sockets (unlike the pairs) which I should be using?

 

[Brew12]

Thank you for answering all our questions. I have couple of questions regarding my diy controller project, which allows me to control A.C. 110v electrical outlets using relays. My questions are:
1. I am using plywood as housing/fixture, to mount the electrical sockets. There are 4 to 6 sockets (pair of three or two). And the power connection has a surge protection circuit.
2. 100v electrical sockets come in pairs (The ones we use for normal house electrical outlets) and their hot ends are connected as same metal plate. To control them independently, I disconnect them by breaking the metal plate using pliers. Is this safe? Or there are individual sockets (unlike the pairs) which I should be using?

Not only is this safe, but this is exactly how most duplex receptacles are designed. Most of them have a bronze tab that connects the two that can be broken off to allow for separate control. Love the concept behind what you are doing!

 

[Ranjib]

Not only is this safe, but this is exactly how most duplex receptacles are designed. Most of them have a bronze tab that connects the two that can be broken off to allow for separate control. Love the concept behind what you are doing!

Ah, that's comforting . I have a DIY thread going for the controller here

 

[Captain Jack]

Pipe EMT for Electrical Metalic Tubing, is best, MC "Metal Clad cable" is secongand last is ROMEX. I would run separate neutrals and ground, therefore you need a total of 6 wires if you run EMT, if you rum MC or ROMEX run 2x12/2. Some counties allow you to do electrical work, most require a lisenced electrician to either file or do the work, as always I would advice to use caution because electricity can be deadly.

In MN you can do the electrical work in your own house. You can pay the permit fee and file the paperwork through the state and then have the local inspector check it out. It would probably cost like $60 for the permit. I wired my entire house and had it inspected. If you are at all concerned about being up to code, call the inspector and ask him what you need to do. any outlet will need to be GFCI or GFCI fed, they also need to be tamper resistant.

 

[tjnorthdakota]

I was wondering if somebody could help me with some 250w hqi ballasts. They are coralife 250w magnetic m80 ballasts, I bought new bulbs (double ended 250w phoenix 14k) and tried all three ballasts but cannot get them to light even one of the bulbs, if I hook my e-ballast up they fire right up. Bought these used and this is the first time trying to use them for a aquamedic 72" fixture, they are supposed to be newer ballasts. They have a dual coil transformer, 35uf 400vac capacitor and a on/off switch in the ballast box. Do these also need a igniter to run them, how do I tell if the bulbs have a built in ignitor?

 

[pdisner]

Hi,
I AMA trying to build a "breakout box"for my Neptune Apex. I purchased a prject box, 8 pin DIN cable and female mono audio jacks and male mono male cables. I'm supposed to solder all my wires from The 8 pin din cable to the audio jack. Then one of the wires is supposed to be the ground. Problem is I don't know which color wire is the ground?

 

[cap232]

I don't think you are ever worse off by adding a grounding probe. The range of faults that could be made worse by a grounding probe is very small.

I would be more worried about your home electrical system. I would check a few things. First, I would make sure you don't have a large voltage drop from however you are powering your pumps. If you have corrosion in a receptacle it can cause a high resistance which will drop voltage. This will cause your pumps to pull more current and can cause premature failure. If you run your equipment off of a power strip the easiest way to check for this is taking a voltage reading at an unused outlet on it with everything running.
A less likely problem could be with your homes neutral connection. Having your lights flicker when you start a vacuum cleaner or an electric clothes dryer is a pretty common sign of this condition.

yes the ground wire to your breaker box is a issue I had a electrician check out some stuff for me. first think he ask was do you light dim once in awhile or. when something else is running like ac or washer ect. I said yes.

the ground wire from my box was corroded almost off it was attachés to the water meter in my basement. he also ran 2 new grounding rods outside to the meter. never a issue again. I has it ruined some power heads and a pump by random power fluctuations.

 

[RamsReef]

Hi,
I AMA trying to build a "breakout box"for my Neptune Apex. I purchased a prject box, 8 pin DIN cable and female mono audio jacks and male mono male cables. I'm supposed to solder all my wires from The 8 pin din cable to the audio jack. Then one of the wires is supposed to be the ground. Problem is I don't know which color wire is the ground?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1958009

Pin 8 and or shield I belive.

 

[3lusive]

NEED HELP !!


( this house is a rental, so I have NO CLUE what is going on with the electrical behind the walls)


So I had an odd thing happen over the past few days. I am running the Apex Classic, and after moving everything over to my new tank, my heater (finnex titanium) started to shock me. Now the heater was about 3 years old so I thought maybe it was just old and needed to be replaced so I purchased a new one only to have the same thing happen immediately with new heater. I plugged the new heater in to a standard power strip, and was not getting shocked, so could this be an issue with the particular outlet on the EB8, or something else?

EB8 Layout

Light / Return pump / MP40 / BRS doser

Heater / Skimmer / - / BRS doser

Also this is happening :

heater unplugged : no shock

heater plugged in / outlet on : shocked

heater plugged in / outlet off : shocked

heater plugged into power strip / strip plugged into apex : no shock


Im so confused

 

[3lusive]

After further investigation it appears that even though there is a ground wire to the outlet, the ground is open somewhere down line. There are multiple outlets in the house showing the same thing, while other show to be correct.

Now for the easter egg hunt of bad connections :mad:

 

[RamsReef]

After further investigation it appears that even though there is a ground wire to the outlet, the ground is open somewhere down line. There are multiple outlets in the house showing the same thing, while other show to be correct.

Now for the easter egg hunt of bad connections :mad:

Good job, thankfully it is easy to find a bad ground if you have a multimeter.

Put one probe in the bigger slot / taller, one in the round, and set your meter to ohms / resistance.

All oulets should be less than one ohm. 0.2 typical.

 

[3lusive]

PROBLEM SOLVED !!!


Now I can stock the tank

 

[RamsReef]

PROBLEM SOLVED !!!


Now I can stock the tank

Right on !

 

[3lusive]

Right on !

Thanks for the help.

 

[powers2001]

I am DIYing a BBU like the idea from this 7 min (you should watch it--short) Youtube video: . I want some kind of inexpensive meter/device to tell me if the car battery is charged or not. Would I want to read volts, amps, watts? Please help, I'm an electrical dummy.