need a fuse!!!

[Someone]

well the fuse on my one and only metal halide went out today. its a 8amp 250volt fuse. any idea where i can get a fuse like this in town? or online? does anybody have any ideas what i can do for my corals in the meantime? (sps, and some zoos) oh and a derasa and maxima teardrop clam? thanks!

[JimD]

What kind of ballast is it? Can you get a pic of the fuse?

[Someone]

its a coralvue 400watt metal halide electronic ballast. i think i might be able to get a pic of the fuse in a little while.

[caferacermike]

Try Radio Shack.

[JimD]

If the shack doesnt have on, call Frederick at coralreefbazaar, hell hook yo up.

[Ping]

does it look like tube? If so many hardware stores carry fuses. It sometimes take some looking in the big chain stores. The racks usually arent very big.

[Someone]

yup, it looks exactly like a tube, with glass in the middle and metal ends. well i tried radio shack and they didn't have it, and i also tried home depot and they had the right fuse but it is a time delay fuse (not quite sure what that means? ) and it didn't fit in the slot on the ballast :-(.

[JimD]

Time delay = slow blow, not what you want. Whatever you do, dont over fuse it, put one in thats a lesser amperage, not higher. Plus, you need to figure out why the fuse blew in the first place.

[LoneStar]

hell hook yo up.


HELL? Didn't know he was the devil :w00t

[JimD]

Oh jeeze, lol,,,, ( ' ) there, happy now? lmao

[txyaloo]

Radio shack does have this fuse. I've had to replace it twice on my 400watt coralvue e-ballast. I'm using radio shack PN 270-1068 (four pack). 6.3 amp, 250V slow blow fuse. They work fine and have been for quite a while.

[Someone]

thanks txyaloo and everybody else! tomorrow morning i'll go to radio shack and try that fuse thanks again!

[witecap4u]

I lost my conversion chart, but I think 5-10 amps was equal to a paper clip, someone correct me if Im wrong... :skeezy

[Ping]

Sure.....,a paper clip will work. My dad once used a penny in the fuse box. The problem is many metals wont burn through or "blow" during a problem with the circuit. This may cause the devise to burn up, or worse, cause a fire.

[Someone]

well either a paper clip or a nail is my back up plan if i can't find a fuse soon!

[caferacermike]

Radio shack does have this fuse. I've had to replace it twice on my 400watt coralvue e-ballast. I'm using radio shack PN 270-1068 (four pack). 6.3 amp, 250V slow blow fuse. They work fine and have been for quite a while.

This was the thread I was thinking of when I said Radioshack.

[Bill S]

Wow. I've had no luck with Radio Shack, Lowes, HD and these fuses. If you still need one, I have a spare. It's in a 400w ballast I'm sending back to Coralvue. 663.8079.

[txyaloo]

Bill - this is the one I'm using:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102764&cp

I figured it'd blow sooner since it's lower amperage. I decided to go that way instead of going higher.

Radio Shack online shows what stores carry the 8 amp fuses, but again, I haven't had any problems with using the lower amp ones.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103761&cp

[caferacermike]

Ok I think I am going to ask the million dollar question here. These are all Coralvue ballasts right? Then why do they all keep blowing fuses? My Icecaps have never created a problem for me and have never even gotten warm.

I'd like a little feedback as I am going to buy 3 new 400w ballasts next month.

[txyaloo]

My CV ballast has blown 2 fuses in 3 years. Both times, the power had gone out during a storm and when it came back on the fuse was blown. I'm guessing a electrical spike blew them when the power came back. I don't think 2 fuses is too bad in that time frame especially considering the alternative. Also, mine is the older style CV eballast. Not sure how much of a difference that makes.

[JimD]

It makes a lot of difference, the older ones with the fans have exposed cicuit boards so any moisture that gets to them will cause the fuse to blow and potentialy worse, the new ones are epoxy filled and wont allow the moisture to contact the boards. I have both, Im using an older one now and have the newer one as a back up.

[Bill S]

Um. Hate to tell you Jim, but the newer, new ones now have fans again... I just got one as a warranty replacement last week. I'm sending another fanless one back for repair this week. Mine are 400w, and that might be part of the issue?

[JimD]

What color is it? The new ones are, or at least were blue with no fans, If CV has changed them again, Im not aware of it.

[caferacermike]

Ok thanks guys. After reading all the troubles you all are having, I'm definitely not buying Coralvue for any reason. Sunlight supply, Blue Waves or Galaxy here I come.

[urban79]

Well You can always try the lick the finger and hold it. I always heard the human body is a good conducter. :skeezy

[Bill S]

Mine are red. Both the newest, and the ones prior to it. The newest ones have the fan. The old ones - I still have one working - is silver.

Mike, when I had 2 of the silver ones go - less than 2 years old - they offered me a deal on their new ones, as Katrina took out their supply of parts for the old ones. Otherwise, I would have chosen differently. But, their price point is hard to beat (of course, except when you add shipping to send them back for repairs...).

[Someone]

ok well unfortunately i couldn't get the ballast to work, and after talking to some people and testing it, it turns out the ballast is bad. :cry so sunday i drove up to aquatek in austin and picked up a new 250watt de geissman nova II 8) set it up sunday night and all the corals and clams were fine! :D