UV Sterilizer tripping GFCI

[burningmime]

I got one of these massive, overpriced things to try to deal with bacteria in my tank:

Smart UV 40 Watt (OPEN BOX)

Emperor Aquatics is now Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems. Why does BRS recommend this? When it comes to UV most other companies will recommend a small UV for a large tank which in reality won’t do much more than make your water look a bit clearer. If your ultimate goal is to keep bacteria, protozoa...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I've rewired it to be on its own circuit to isolate the problem and left any pumps off so there's no water in there, just the light itself. What might cause this, and what can I do about it?

I'm not an electrician and I got a C in Electrical Engineering in college, but my thinking is...

• It's not watertight. Checked and rechecked it several times and re-plumbed the seal. I might have done something wrong there, but I checked a lot. Or there could be a hairline fracture in the sleeve, which I didn't check. It's not filling with water, but a tiny bit might be getting in.
• Something wrong with the power brick? Power brick is a good 6 feet off the floor and 4 feet to the left of my sump so I don't think it's getting wet. And I've tried several outlets (and those outlets were fine for other things). But it could just be a faulty unit. There's no ground wire going into the light; only the brick.
• Damage to the lamp itself?
• Something else?

EDIT: It is tripping even if there is no water running through it.

Thanks!

 

[Dolphins18]

I got one of these massive, overpriced things to try to deal with bacteria in my tank:

Smart UV 40 Watt (OPEN BOX)

Emperor Aquatics is now Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems. Why does BRS recommend this? When it comes to UV most other companies will recommend a small UV for a large tank which in reality won’t do much more than make your water look a bit clearer. If your ultimate goal is to keep bacteria, protozoa...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I've rewired it to be on its own circuit to isolate the problem and left any pumps off so there's no water in there, just the light itself. What might cause this, and what can I do about it?

I'm not an electrician and I got a C in Electrical Engineering in college, but my thinking is...

• It's not watertight. Checked and rechecked it several times and re-plumbed the seal. I might have done something wrong there, but I checked a lot. Or there could be a hairline fracture in the sleeve, which I didn't check. It's not filling with water, but a tiny bit might be getting in.
• Something wrong with the power brick? Power brick is a good 6 feet off the floor and 4 feet to the left of my sump so I don't think it's getting wet. And I've tried several outlets (and those outlets were fine for other things). But it could just be a faulty unit. There's no ground wire going into the light; only the brick.
• Damage to the lamp itself?
• Something else?

Right now I have it running with no water, and if it works overnight; I know the issue is water-related. Any other advice someone could give?

Thanks!

If it’s a new unit I recommend reaching out the company for a replacement. It is not usually worth fixing something that isn’t water tight out of the box, any messing around you do in there could void any warranty that is on the unit.

 

[burningmime]

If it’s a new unit I recommend reaching out the company for a replacement. It is not usually worth fixing something that isn’t water tight out of the box, any messing around you do in there could void any warranty that is on the unit.

Thanks! Seems like it's tripping the GFCI even without water, so it's probably a faulty unit.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Thanks! Seems like it's tripping the GFCI even without water, so it's probably a faulty unit.

Then there is a short in it and should be replaced by the manufacturer.

 

[burningmime]

Then there is a short in it and should be replaced by the manufacturer.

Awesome; thanks.
Well, not awesome now I gotta deal with these Pentair folks.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Awesome; thanks.
Well, not awesome now I gotta deal with these Pentair folks.

If you bought through brs, I would go through them first.

 

[ElussssvReefSD]

I got one of these massive, overpriced things to try to deal with bacteria in my tank:

Smart UV 40 Watt (OPEN BOX)

Emperor Aquatics is now Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems. Why does BRS recommend this? When it comes to UV most other companies will recommend a small UV for a large tank which in reality won’t do much more than make your water look a bit clearer. If your ultimate goal is to keep bacteria, protozoa...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I've rewired it to be on its own circuit to isolate the problem and left any pumps off so there's no water in there, just the light itself. What might cause this, and what can I do about it?

I'm not an electrician and I got a C in Electrical Engineering in college, but my thinking is...

• It's not watertight. Checked and rechecked it several times and re-plumbed the seal. I might have done something wrong there, but I checked a lot. Or there could be a hairline fracture in the sleeve, which I didn't check. It's not filling with water, but a tiny bit might be getting in.
• Something wrong with the power brick? Power brick is a good 6 feet off the floor and 4 feet to the left of my sump so I don't think it's getting wet. And I've tried several outlets (and those outlets were fine for other things). But it could just be a faulty unit. There's no ground wire going into the light; only the brick.
• Damage to the lamp itself?
• Something else?

EDIT: It is tripping even if there is no water running through it.

Thanks!

The people who're helping me build out my new system advised me that UV Sterilizers tripping the GFCI on start-up are a common problem, and may not mean your unit is defective.

They explained it was something along the lines of the amount and type of power that they draw when they first turn on commonly fools GFCI outlets into thinking there's a short or surge when in fact it's working as designed. Their suggestion was to try plugging it into a non-GFCI outlet if there's one available.

Not sure if others have a better work-around for this issue, but I'll be watching to see if anyone else chimes in. Hope that helps!

 

[attiland]

Might be issue due to wiring. Look at this forum post wit similar issue.

https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/64146/why-is-this-light-fixture-tripping-the-gfci

 

[piranhaman00]

Everyone is posting great things but the facts are that these units trip GFCI and no one knows why, BRs and everyone else will tell you that you have to put it on a non GFCI outlet.
One user on here went through multiple ballasts and other TS with pentair and ended up giving up. Do some searching.

 

[Dolphins18]

Everyone is posting great things but the facts are that these units trip GFCI and no one knows why, BRs and everyone else will tell you that you have to put it on a non GFCI outlet.

I was unaware of this and if this is the case OP may want to just try that. I do not run mine on a GFCI. If worried a stray voltage test with a volt meter is a good test. However, if the unit is leaking water as OP mentioned, it is likely best to return it.

 

[burningmime]

I was unaware of this and if this is the case OP may want to just try that. I do not run mine on a GFCI. If worried a stray voltage test with a volt meter is a good test. However, if the unit is leaking water as OP mentioned, it is likely best to return it.

No water leaks; it tripped after about an hour after I dried out the housing and left it running with no water. Issue is wiring or something I don't know. I'm going to return it; see if I can get money back and try a different brand.

Everyone is posting great things but the facts are that these units trip GFCI and no one knows why, BRs and everyone else will tell you that you have to put it on a non GFCI outlet.
One user on here went through multiple ballasts and other TS with pentair and ended up giving up. Do some searching.

That kind of worries me. Like I can run a cord from my garage if I have to but I'd really rather not have to do that especially if it's bypassing safety measures. Is it an issue with all brands or just Emperor/Pentair?

 

[burningmime]

OK; I should have searched first...

UV keeps tripping GFCI??

So starting yesterday and now today as well, ive noticed that my 40W Pentair SMART UV seems to be tripping my GFCI outlet. I have the UV itself and the feed pump for it (Maxijet900) both hooked up to the same GFCI outlet (controlled by my apex, the gfci is the DIY in-line type that @Brew12 made...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[piranhaman00]

OK; I should have searched first...

UV keeps tripping GFCI??

So starting yesterday and now today as well, ive noticed that my 40W Pentair SMART UV seems to be tripping my GFCI outlet. I have the UV itself and the feed pump for it (Maxijet900) both hooked up to the same GFCI outlet (controlled by my apex, the gfci is the DIY in-line type that @Brew12 made...

www.reef2reef.com

That’s it.

 

[highest_tides]

This worked for me..Use a grounding probe plugged into a different circuit than your tank to take care of stray Voltage.

 

[piranhaman00]

This worked for me..Use a grounding probe plugged into a different circuit than your tank to take care of stray Voltage.

If that grounding probe is not plugged into a gfci it is extremely dangerous

 

[burningmime]

If that grounding probe is not plugged into a gfci it is extremely dangerous

How does that work? I thought the idea of GFCI was to measure the difference between the hot and neutral. Ground probe doesn't have either. Or am I missing something?

 

[theatrus]

I thought the idea of GFCI was to measure the difference between the hot and neutral.

Correct. If there is an imbalance, its assumed the current is going somewhere it shouldn't (like, down the earth connection, through a different earth connection, to a different circuit, etc). It doesn't care where it goes - if its not balanced on the same plug or downstream circuit, its going to trip.

 

[burningmime]

Correct. If there is an imbalance, its assumed the current is going somewhere it shouldn't (like, down the earth connection, through a different earth connection, to a different circuit, etc). It doesn't care where it goes - if its not balanced on the same plug or downstream circuit, its going to trip.

Thanks. So then why would it matter if the ground probe is plugged into GFCI or not?

 

[theatrus]

Thanks. So then why would it matter if the ground probe is plugged into GFCI or not?

Into the GFCI? Doesn't matter. Could be anywhere, as all earth circuits are bonded together, and at one point in your electrical system attached to an actual earth point (which is also bonded to neutral at that point in most residential systems)

Current has to flow to trip a GFCI. If there are no current paths, it won't trip. Adding a ground probe provides a current path opportunity, which can cause a leaking device to cause a trip sooner, instead of say a human ground path.

GFCIs trip on an imbalance of at least 5mA (some at 20mA), which is significant from a safety perspective.

"Don't install this device on a GFCI" is usually a cop-out to a bad design or cheap sourcing of components, such as ballasts. If the current is sent down the earth pin of the ballast, the actual risk factor is very low (its going where it should if there was a fault), but you're intentionally defeating safety devices to cover up a bad design, which is not good.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Theatrus is right, but for more detailed info checkout post #1 here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/electrical-safety-gfci-afci-ground-probes.215701/

Here is the relevant part about why using a ground probe without a GFCI is dangerous:

c) GROUND PROBE INSTALLED BUT NO GFCI (Our case of discussion in this thread): As soon as the device fails and a short circuit is established then current is established to the ground probe, current may or may not be high enough to trip the breaker. Fish and critters will die and corals will RTN. If the breaker does not trip (Which is most of the cases) the short circuit may not be noticeable and you will be at a loss of why your critters are dying, even if you touch the water you may not notice unless the ground probe is not making a good ground. (See also Scenario 3c below) This is also a dangerous situation for potential fire. The current could be high but not high enough to trip the breaker, wires heat up, insulation melts and they catch fire.