Breaker Tripping.... :(

[ErikH]

My breaker for my living room keeps tripping. Of course this is the one with the tank on it. How hard is it to seperate the plugs for the tank to their own breaker? Would it be easy to add another breaker and put another face plate in the living room to seperate it out even more?

[jc]

Could you use some extension cords to move some of your living room electronics onto another circuit? At least until you can get this sorted out. I had an electrician add another outlet near my tank. I believe it cost me $100. As long as you have an extra slot in the breaker box I don't think it would be a problem.

[kkiel02]

Does your breaker have any extra slots? You could set up another circuit for your tank. Like JC said its not too expensive and well worth the peace of mind.

[jrsatx20]

I added 2 outlets on their each breaker but I was able to run the wires outsiders. It can b done if u have open spots in the box

[ErikH]

Yeah I have three extra slots, anyone know a good electrician?

[alton]

Eric can you list by watts what is on this breaker

[ErikH]

4x250w lights
1x265 Mag24
1/4 HP chiller
70w Mag7
40w Sedra 5000
5w MJ1200
2x28w MP40w
3w Toms Aqualifter
2x3w Dosing Pumps
324w T5 rig
140w TV
80w bulb
150w light
750w Home theatre
200w misc

[jrsatx20]

ok ya over load is it tripping when the chiller kicks on. i can go by and see if i can do it. the only problem is that it would have to be a high outlet because of the fire blocks in the walls.

[alton]

3365watts, wow 28 amps you really need three circuits

[kkiel02]

I would run at least another circuit, maybe two while they are at it- to be safe.

[ErikH]

yeah, it's a alot of stuff! Ruben, you think there is a fire wall there? I don't want to run it high up because we are only renting.

[kkiel02]

You could run it to the ceiling and plug your lights into that. It would take 1000w off that circuit right there?

[ErikH]

You could run it to the ceiling and plug your lights into that. It would take 1000w off that circuit right there?

Isn't that against code though?

[ErikH]

It just tripped again...

[jrsatx20]

Might be the chiller. We could run it in conduit to the box is the box in the garage..

[kkiel02]

Isn't that against code though?

Maybe? So you can only have outlets on a wall not a ceiling? I could have sworn I have seen them up there before.

[jrsatx20]

Schools have them all the time on the ceiling

[ErikH]

Might be the chiller. We could run it in conduit to the box is the box in the garage..

Run it to where though? In the attic?


Maybe? So you can only have outlets on a wall not a ceiling? I could have sworn I have seen them up there before.

I would like to run the faceplate lower on the wall so it's like the other outlets so they dont complain whenever we move out. It's an inside wall.

[ErikH]

It is the chiller, but only when all of the lights are on....

[allan]

Sorry, posted before reading the second page.

What do you have on the other side of that wall? Is it the garage? More importantly do you have another circuit grid in the room on the other side? You could, if you were willing, install another plug/plate combo on your aquarium side and wire it directly from a plug/plate on the other side of the wall. Just move the wires over (one at a time or shut off the circuit). Then replace the other room's plug/plate with a blank plate so you know it's a dead outlet.

The cheapest and easiest way would be to buy a dozen or two dozen feet of panduit and just run an extension cord from the nearest outlet that is on another grid. The panduit will hide the cord.

[ErikH]

The room that connects is the baby's room. It's on the same breaker. The garage is about 100' straight shot from the aquarium's wall.

[BIGBIRD123]

Erik, someone who can maneuver in the attic could easily add the extra circuits. With the load you have, you need two dedicated circuits. I wish that I could do this for you but you know my condition. It is a fairly simple fix. I had to do the same for mine when the 280g and tank room was set up.

[ErikH]

Yeah that's what I want to do. I just don't know the costs involved, or if it can be done low enough on the wall. I guess I'll have to get up in the attic and take a look and see if I can get to it.

[captexas]

Is it on an interior wall or an exterior wall? Interior walls are much easier to drop as there is usually more room to manuever in the attic. Interior walls are also less likely to have insulation in them which would make it harder to drop a new line down. It's not complicated to do, but is much easier for someone who has experience with it, especially when it comes to terminating at the electrical panel.

As a side note to another point in this thread, the electrical outlet mounted on or flush mounted to the ceiling isn't against code, at least not in commercial construction that I usually deal with. An outlet ABOVE the ceiling tends to be against code, but enforcement varies.

[ErikH]

I just ran the chiller on an extension cord to the kiddos room. Easy and free solution. If it trips again, I'll just have to put more of a load on the extension. :) Thanks all.