Fire!

Ok, apparently it was user error!
Channels 2 and 3 are rated at a lower amperage than channels 1 and 4. My heater was too powerful for the channel I had it plugged in to (ch 3). Too many amps caused the switch to not only stick on, but then heat up as well. This wasn't something I thought about when purchasing the heater... I just knew I needed something to turn it on and off.

So today I picked up a new heater with its own controller. Meanwhile I'm waiting to hear back about getting a replacement PC4.
 
Everything in the tank seems fine.
Except last night I found no trace of my big orange star! I don't understand how he could hide at his size or have just disappeared. I'm hoping he shows up eventually. I'm shocked he lived for over a year now, but he's awesome. I don't know my tank without him.

The guys at DA are sending me a new PC4 for half price! I thought that was great of them. Thumbs up.

I'm also lucky this happened when it did. We're heading to Austin this weekend for the north american hand-made bicycle show.
Could have been a very bad situation.
 
GFCI's dont trip if there is too much current draw. Only if there is current leaking out of the circuit somewhere.

What is the wattage of the heater?
What is the wattage rating of the PC4 outlet?

I would assume that the heater is of a larger wattage than what the PC4 can handle. Or there was some salt creep between the hot and neutral on that outlet. Which caused it to draw more than it could handle.
 
bjohanson1234 said:
GFCI's dont trip if there is too much current draw. Only if there is current leaking out of the circuit somewhere.

What is the wattage of the heater?
What is the wattage rating of the PC4 outlet?

I would assume that the heater is of a larger wattage than what the PC4 can handle. Or there was some salt creep between the hot and neutral on that outlet. Which caused it to draw more than it could handle.
Click to expand...

Ya, that's what i was saying above. It ended up that the heater was running at a much higher amperage than what the middle two channels of the PC4 are rated for. I didn't know there was a limit.

I still think there should be a safety shut-off mechanism though for a malfunction like that.
 
d2mini said:
Ya, that's what i was saying above. It ended up that the heater was running at a much higher amperage than what the middle two channels of the PC4 are rated for. I didn't know there was a limit.

I still think there should be a safety shut-off mechanism though for a malfunction like that.
Click to expand...

:mrgreen: thats what I get for not reading the entire thread
 
So i got my new PC4, hook it up and it won't work because the firmware is newer than the rest of the system. Well the software you need to run to update the firmware is pc only. We are a mac-only household. :grumble:
 
Yes, they do. I guess I'll have to look into that... more money... and time to figure it out. Plus don't i need to also install windows OS... more money... for one lousy program? And install it on my wife's work laptop since I only have a desktop.
 
hell, it would be cheaper to go buy a used laptop PC than buy the emulator and a copy of windows. I am sure you could pick one up for less than 100. If you were closer, I would swing buy with mine to help you out.
 
I just read this whole thread Dennis, I'm glad to hear everything worked out though. I definitely think you got lucky though, I haven't heard anything but bad stories about their customer service.
 
I bet it was the actual outlet itself. If it is not a GFCI then anything that goes in there will start to melt and then BAM a fire. Also to much power draw on one circuit but the circuit breaker should have prevented that so i would check the circuit breaker too lol.
 

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