Ballast is causing GFCI to trip

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

I have been running my Halides for a few days now with no issues. Today, I get home and my GFCI had tripped. I have it running through a EB832 and I am only pulling 11 amps on this line. So I switched it to my other EB832 running on a separate line and when it fired it tripped the line.

The second EB832 is only drawing 3 amps as it has accessories on it.

It is not tripping the fuse, the EB832 only the GFCI

It is a Reefbrite 250w ballast.

Mike

Brew12 · Dec 13, 2018

Reefinny said:
I have been running my Halides for a few days now with no issues. Today, I get home and my GFCI had tripped. I have it running through a EB832 and I am only pulling 11 amps on this line. So I switched it to my other EB832 running on a separate line and when it fired it tripped the line.

The second EB832 is only drawing 3 amps as it has accessories on it.

It is not tripping the fuse, the EB832 only the GFCI

It is a Reefbrite 250w ballast.

Mike

How old is the GFCI outlet? If it is more than a few years old it may be going bad. Otherwise, I would suspect that your ballast may be failing and need replacing.

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

Brew12 said:
How old is the GFCI outlet? If it is more than a few years old it may be going bad. Otherwise, I would suspect that your ballast may be failing and need replacing.

The ballast is brand new the gfcis are not that old but it happened on two different lines

MTBake · Dec 13, 2018

Sounds like a ballast issue to me. Or possibly the wiring. Make sure nothing is loose with the connections and wires going into the connectors. Doubt it's this but it's easy enough to check out. Look for dampness around any of the wiring while you're checking connections as well. I'd try another ballast if all checks out ok.

Crabs McJones · Dec 13, 2018

It does sound like possibly a ballast issue, my 250 watt is only pulling 2.2 amps on my EB832 if that helps :)

oreo54 · Dec 13, 2018

GFCI will trip w/ a .5mA difference between line and neutral or line and ground..
you say the ballast is brand new.. and you have it grounded correctly?

could just be a bad ballast..
Oh here is an example of what little it takes (from somewhere else)

Yesterday I came home to find my GFCI tripped which runs all my tank equipment. Through process of elimination I found that my metal halides (2 x 250 watt) are the culprit.....................................................
The GFCI is very new, only a few months old....
The ballast is also very new................................
Thanks for all the replies! I did what I said earlier, I removed the ballast, wiped it down really well, and let it sit out of my fish room for 24 hours. I also, rewired all my connections with new wire nuts and electrical tape. The next day I plugged the metal halide back in and it works again. My guess is that a fish got excited during the day and splashed a little water out of the tank onto the ballast. I have since moved the ballast to a more elevated position. I'm glad it wasn't anything serious, thanks again! Here's my tank running smooth once again:

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

There is no wiring on this. This is the reef brite 250w plug and play and yes it was pulling 2.2 on the eb832.

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

So how do I test the ballast? It's not like the fuse pops or the eb832 pops or wattage spikes,.

Brew12 · Dec 13, 2018

Reefinny said:
So how do I test the ballast? It's not like the fuse pops or the eb832 pops or wattage spikes,.

Ballasts generate a large voltage spike to start your light and get current flowing. It's possible that when this voltage spike occurs it leaks enough current through a flaw in the electrical insulation to trip a GFCI. It would be very challenging to test with typical home equipment.

When ballasts start they are creating an arc. This arc generates harmonics. Newer GFCI's filter these harmonics out fairly well. Older GFCI's will often trip due to the harmonics.

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

I picked up a new GFCI outlet tonight

Reefinny · Dec 13, 2018

Well as of now I will blame the gfci. I replaced it with a ACFI/GFCI outlet and they both fired right up.

I will however stagger the on and off for when they kick on.