Ok well......this is odd to say the least, atleast I think so One of my flower rooms runs 3-600w HPS Hydrofarm brand lights I come downstairs today to hear fans running, which they are not supposed to be ON at that time of morning....WTF??? So I check on them, nothing seems out of order, looks normal...... UNTIL.....I unplug the ONE power strip that houses 2 lights and 1 6inch 445cfm fan.......YES the power strip is rated for the amperage, its actually for 45amp or 3000w...(industrial strip for jobsites) The wall plug that it was plugged into is MELTED and DEFORMED!!!! WHY????? I've been running this samesetup for over a year and half now, with NO issues......now all of a sudden the BRAND NEW wall outlet is BBQ'd, which in turn BBQ'd my timer as well QUESTION IS : Now what? What do I do??? Oddly enought the plug/outlet STILL works fine, just looks nasty Most of you know, im a handy person, I can do ANYTHING home related.....BUT BUT BUT.....I DO NOT mess with electrical, never have,never will........I DO understand it and its process of function tho....But I DO realize this IS out of my league, I think so atleast HELP!!!! Thanks fellas!
Sounds like it's time for you to learn wiring. :5shocking: My guess is the timer went to fuck and took the outlet with it, sounds like it's the weakest link in the chain.
I agree the timer went bad. Glad it didn't get any worse!!!!! Putting a new outlet is easy. Make sure you take all saftey precautions when you replace the outlet. Nothing bites harder of faster then electricity. Good luck.
sounds like a definite fail of one of the components. I would replace the timer and the strip and monitor if they are getting hot. I run 3 lights cc but I have them on differant circuits with no power strip. :beerchug-2: Teamster6
The strip is fine, no issues at all.......I was wrong and the timer seems fine too, its a brand new HYDROFARM analog timer..............its the wall plug that got melted but is still functional......YES it was HOT.....dont know why tho out of nowhere it seems to have happened.........I do have an separate outlet/circut in the room, Im going to have to run it to there from now on Herb???? SPARKYS??? TEXXXX???? Help, any ideas?
Chris I have had wall sockets smoke without anything plugged into them before panicing ready to hit them with a fire estinguisher. Sometimes they just go bad. Yours might be the same case. Thats why it makes me nervous to leave grows for extended lengths of time. :beerchug-2: Teamster6
Sounds like your outlet wasn't rated as high as your power strip. Most outlets are only rated for 15 - 20 amps. I'd replace it with a higher rated plug, and split up your power distribution better before you find another weak link. -tC
Being a electrician for 15 years hopefully I can help with your situation or at least shed some light on it. The problem is that your house is wired with either 14g or 12g wire which is capable of holding up to 15-20 amps, your surge protector is rated at a much higher amps. So what does this mean...??? Simply, you're overloading that circuit. The wire and or outlet will burn (like a fuse) before your surge protector will even trip. Over exerting your circuit will cause your wiring to become stressed from the excess heat created. Which in turn makes the insulation on the wire brittle and crack which can cause electrical shorts and in most cases electrical fires. Oh and Hi... this is my first post... hope it helps
:thumbs-up: Nice first post and right on the $$$ too. This is why the electrical code states that ANY circuit is not to exceed 80% of it's load rating. Just because a wire or device states it can handle 15A or 20A etc etc does not mean it's safe to do so continuously. It simply means that is the threshold at which it can fail. Most likely the wire size in your house is only #14 (it usually is in residences since it's cheaper than #12...safety at the lowest bid don't a ya know) and you are pushing the limits of it's load capacity. As TC stated.....you need to split up your power before you find the next weak link in the chain. This is also a good reminder to everyone that just because you have a breaker does NOT mean that breaker is foolproof. Breakers are far less 'reliable' than many people think. Most will trip under a short circuit situation but not all will trip when the problem is excessive load on the circuit. Only a fuse will handle that job effectively. Never trust a breaker...ever. That was one of the things drilled into me during my training so take it at face value.
I'm a certified Aviation Electrician, but I am not a RESIDENTIAL electrician. But, I am well aware of your problem and it's just as LoadedDiablo and Herb (edit) stated. Your wiring was overloaded and burnt the wall outlet. It's pretty easy and VERY safe to run a dedicated circuit with a larger breaker and heavier gauge wire. I'm thinking this is your only reasonable solution to the problem. The only high risk part of the entire process would be installing the new breaker on the hot panel. I know it wasn't much help, but it was a try.
