Apex 832 not reporting Watts or Amps

[spicymikey]

I'm new to this controller system but jumped in deep all at once on my new 375. Among other things I have 3 EB832's. All three work to power devices plugged into it and can be controlled. The only problem with one of the EB's is that it does not report Power or Current correctly. I have two Abyzz A200s pugged into Outlet 1 and 5. I know they are drawing about 55w each based on the Abyzz control screen itself. But the EB shows anything from 0 to about 7w over the course of the day.

I opened a ticket with Neptune but so far they have given me elementary and unhelpful suggestions. Waiting on them to get back to me again with their third idea and thought I'd throw it out here to see if anyone had a suggestion. Thanks in advance!

 

[PeterC99]

So when you tap the Energy Bar Icon on the Apex Dashboard, you should get this:

 

[_AV]

There is a way to calibrate current sensing in EB832 with eb8zero command

1. Identify the AquaBus number of the EB832, EB8, or EB4 that you want to calibrate. If your Energy Bar is numbered EB832_3 then the Aquabus number is 3.
2. Unplug everything from the Energy Bar or at least make 100% certain it's all turned off (Even the 24V outlets on the EB832). This is critical. Whatever amperage the Energy Bar is pulling when the calibration is running as this becomes the new zero point. You want to make sure it's pulling 0.
3. Telnet into the controller and login with your user id and password for the Apex (Not Fusion).
4. Issue the following command: eb8zero n where "n" is the Aquabus address number of the Energy Bar that you want to calibrate. If you‟re calibrating an EB832 or EB4, the command is still "eb8zero". So using the above example of an Energy Bar that is known as "EB832_3‟ the command would be "eb8zero 3‟. This command is case sensitive and should be entered in lower case as is shown. It executes immediately and there's no confirmation or message when finished, just a new telnet prompt. Issue this command a couple of times.
5.Close the telnet window. That‟s it. Your Energy Bar should now read the proper amperage load when devices are active.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Several people who have experienced this issue have been able to recalibrate the EB832's power meter using Telnet. I can't say for sure it will resolve your issue, but you might want to give this a try. Here are the steps:

1. Identify the AquaBus number of the EB832 that you want to calibrate. If your Energy Bar is numbered EB832_3 then the Aquabus number is 3. You can also confirm the AquaBus address by looking at your list of Modules.

2. Unplug everything from the Energy Bar or at least make 100% certain it's all turned off (Even the 24V outlets on the EB832). This is critical. Whatever amperage the Energy Bar is pulling when the calibration is running as this becomes the new zero point. You want to make sure it's pulling 0.

3. Telnet into the Apex and login with your user id and password for the Apex (Not Fusion). If you don't know your local Apex password, the default is:

Username: admin
Password: 1234

4. Issue the following command:

eb8zero n

where "n" is the Aquabus address number of the Energy Bar that you want to calibrate. So using the above example of an Energy Bar that is known as "EB832_3‟ the command would be "eb8zero 3‟.

This command is case-sensitive and should be entered in lower case as is shown. It executes immediately and there's no confirmation or message when finished, just a new telnet prompt. Issue this command a couple of times.

5.Close the telnet window. That's it. Your Energy Bar should now read the proper amperage load when devices are active.

 

[spicymikey]

Thanks guys. I will try this. The other EBs look good and show details for each outlet like @PeterC99s screenshot. This EB in question shows these wrong numbers but otherwise works perfectly.

 

[spicymikey]

Several people who have experienced this issue have been able to recalibrate the EB832's power meter using Telnet. I can't say for sure it will resolve your issue, but you might want to give this a try. Here are the steps:

1. Identify the AquaBus number of the EB832 that you want to calibrate. If your Energy Bar is numbered EB832_3 then the Aquabus number is 3. You can also confirm the AquaBus address by looking at your list of Modules.

2. Unplug everything from the Energy Bar or at least make 100% certain it's all turned off (Even the 24V outlets on the EB832). This is critical. Whatever amperage the Energy Bar is pulling when the calibration is running as this becomes the new zero point. You want to make sure it's pulling 0.

3. Telnet into the Apex and login with your user id and password for the Apex (Not Fusion). If you don't know your local Apex password, the default is:

Username: admin
Password: 1234

4. Issue the following command:

eb8zero n

where "n" is the Aquabus address number of the Energy Bar that you want to calibrate. So using the above example of an Energy Bar that is known as "EB832_3‟ the command would be "eb8zero 3‟.

This command is case-sensitive and should be entered in lower case as is shown. It executes immediately and there's no confirmation or message when finished, just a new telnet prompt. Issue this command a couple of times.

5.Close the telnet window. That's it. Your Energy Bar should now read the proper amperage load when devices are active.

This recalibration worked! Thanks for the suggestion. These instructions are a keeper. The only thing I would add is to wait 5 minutes or so before assuming it didn't work. Like the Flow Meters reported in the Apex, these numbers are evidently an average over a period of time. Maybe 5 minutes in this case.

 

[SuncrestReef]

This recalibration worked! Thanks for the suggestion. These instructions are a keeper. The only thing I would add is to wait 5 minutes or so before assuming it didn't work. Like the Flow Meters reported in the Apex, these numbers are evidently an average over a period of time. Maybe 5 minutes in this case.

Glad it worked!

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the Data Log timer under the Misc Setup screen dictates how often the numbers are reported, which would explain the delay.

 

[spicymikey]

Glad it worked!

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the Data Log timer under the Misc Setup screen dictates how often the numbers are reported, which would explain the delay.

Could be right. It might not be that sophisticated and be an average over time. Could just be that it does not poll these devices constantly.

One other thing worth noting. I recalibrated all three EBs. They were all out of wack a bit. The one in question was just so bad it was obvious. Might not be a bad idea to run this command on any new EBs we purchase. Certainly can't hurt

 

[vtecintegra]

I need to do this myself. Brand new EB832 shows zero watts for my skimmer and scrubber pump. I think it's under reporting my return pump also.

 

[rhostam]

Thank you, this worked just fine.

 

[radfly]

I need to do this myself. Brand new EB832 shows zero watts for my skimmer and scrubber pump. I think it's under reporting my return pump also.

My output 1 reads zero, guess I will try this. Hate having to self repair such an expensive unit on day one.

 

[rhostam]

My output 1 reads zero, guess I will try this. Hate having to self repair such an expensive unit on day one.

It is unfortunate to have to reset a unit like this. This should have been done as part of QC. I have two EB832s and didn't experience an issue with the first. I suppose I should be happy it is relatively simple to address - they really should make a UI task for this. Something that powers off all connected devices and performs the reset.

 

[Mark-Stover]

Glad it worked!

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the Data Log timer under the Misc Setup screen dictates how often the numbers are reported, which would explain the delay.

This just fixed the issue I was having! Thanks a bunch for posting this!!! Thought my Apex was broke...nope, it's now reporting watts and amps....whew!!

 

[Ben Mccue]

Hello, i've tried this Telnet calibration and everything still shows zero's in amps/ voltage/wattage. There is a little red circle with a "!" in it top right of the power usage window in the mobile app. I can't figure out how to navigate to the details of it but it seems it's telling me something is wrong. This is a new setup, just opened the box after it sat in the closet since March due to life getting in the way of setting up the new tank. Any other ideas or should I call support? Thanks

 

[spicymikey]

Hello, i've tried this Telnet calibration and everything still shows zero's in amps/ voltage/wattage. There is a little red circle with a "!" in it top right of the power usage window in the mobile app. I can't figure out how to navigate to the details of it but it seems it's telling me something is wrong. This is a new setup, just opened the box after it sat in the closet since March due to life getting in the way of setting up the new tank. Any other ideas or should I call support? Thanks

Yes I don't think that icon is clickable. I get it when I've had some High wattage levels. But as I recall it had some brief text to indicate that. Are you saying you have this red exclamation point and nothing else? If this is new equipment and a new setup I would certainly open a ticket unless somebody else has some suggestions. The support usually is about 24-hour turnaround but they are very good about assisting once they reach out to you. Good luck and let us know what it ends up being

 

[Ben Mccue]

Yes I don't think that icon is clickable. I get it when I've had some High wattage levels. But as I recall it had some brief text to indicate that. Are you saying you have this red exclamation point and nothing else? If this is new equipment and a new setup I would certainly open a ticket unless somebody else has some suggestions. The support usually is about 24-hour turnaround but they are very good about assisting once they reach out to you. Good luck and let us know what it ends up being

Correct, no accompanied text, i tried using pc to see if hovering over the mark would prompt a dialog box and it didn't. I can't find anything in fusion that leads me to a detail of the fault, nothing listed in alarms. I did a factory reset, no change, firmware was updated as well. Outlets do work and respond. I have just two dc return pumps plugged in right now pulling 31 watts each. I'll open a ticket thanks.

 

[spicymikey]

Correct, no accompanied text, i tried using pc to see if hovering over the mark would prompt a dialog box and it didn't. I can't find anything in fusion that leads me to a detail of the fault, nothing listed in alarms. I did a factory reset, no change, firmware was updated as well. Outlets do work and respond. I have just two dc return pumps plugged in right now pulling 31 watts each. I'll open a ticket thanks.

Yeah that's what I would do. Even if it's something stupid you're overlooking they'll quickly help you get the answer. 31 Watts at 120 volts should not be causing overload problems even at the outlet level. So that can't be it. I think the entire power bar can handle up to 8 amps so just make sure you don't have other things in other outlets that are getting your amp usage up to that point remember P = I x E

 

[Ben Mccue]

Well I just changed the wording on a Google search for just the exclamation mark and found it means there is low voltage going into the device, 110 to 111 volts. It's due to the power company reducing output and nothing you can do about it and apparantly not an issue. Probably would have found that info somewhere in the 167 page manual, i should browse through that. Its good to know its not an issue, just need to get the power log working now.

 

[spicymikey]

Well I just changed the wording on a Google search for just the exclamation mark and found it means there is low voltage going into the device, 110 to 111 volts. It's due to the power company reducing output and nothing you can do about it and apparantly not an issue. Probably would have found that info somewhere in the 167 page manual, i should browse through that. Its good to know its not an issue, just need to get the power log working now.

Never thought of LOW voltage as an issue. Our local power company does a good job of always keeping it between 115-120. If you have scheduled blackouts in your area (California, etc) then definitely spend the money on a good backup battery and inverter that will give you lifesupport power for however long these can last. If it can be days, then get a generator. Thats my advice. Good luck

 

[Ben Mccue]

I contacted support and they suggested a solution that hasn't worked. Also I noticed there is an fmm (flow monitoring) module with a green check mark in my modules list that I don't own and didn't come in the $900 apex pro kit I bought from BRS unless I'm missing something. Right now I'm having some buyers remorse because it looks like I'm going to have to send this energy bar in and I'm wondering if I got a refurbished base unit in a new box considering a module I don't own is showing present and functional in my list of modules. Bought in March, just ripped off the plastic shrink wrap a few days ago and the only things that have been plugged in is the energy bar and base unit. 2 return pumps, heater controller briefly, and 2 powerheads plugged into the energy bar. No probes yet, no leak detector or liquid level. All those are still sitting in the box as I've been testing the plumbing with no salt in the ro/di water.

The suggested fix was plugging in an external 12v power supply to the base unit with the aquabus cable unplugged from the energy bar. I ordered one from Amazon and added some undershirts to meet the minimum for same day delivery by the way. Then I'm supposed to initiate a software update on the energy bar, then plug in the aquabus cable to the energy bar "in the middle" of the update by watching the progress bar. They didn't specify if the energy bar should be plugged in to the wall or not, or if the switches should be on or off, or if any equipment should be unplugged. One problem is there is no progress bar on my laptop or mobile app, just a cloud icon with a pulsing clock in the middle. I've asked for clarification on the suggested fix and reported the module showing in the list, hopefully I'll get a reply tomorrow. Not feeling too warm and fuzzy about Neptune right now and I'm having flash backs of the reviews I've read in the past of people spending hundreds to send faulty equipment in for repair or being denied warranty for brand new equipment. Hopefully they change my mind. $2700 spent on the apex pro and 2 sky lights to go in a 180 build I've put an obscene amount of work into. Sorry to unload, I'm about 7 beers into trying the suggested fix and adding some check valves I didn't really need to buy... maybe a little buzzed on pvc glue too, or the primer, probably both.