AH Supply Workhorse Ballast Shorted.

[Overfloater]

I have an AH Supply 2x55W PC kit that is installed in a custom hood. The other day when the timer turned it on, I heard the lovely sound of electrical arcing followed by a prodigious amount of smoke and a pleasant odor that permeated my nostrils. The fixture has been in use for about 4 years or so but I've had it 6-7, I would say.

I disassembled the fixture and found no obvious damage to the wiring or ballast. I tried to plug it into a GFCI outlet and it immediately trips. There is no doubt in my mind that there would have been a fire if I wasn't home.

Tomorrow I will be installing GFCI outlets on all my tanks. . Word to the wise, use a GFCI as it can really save you from some serious issues.

[Mr. Fish]

Did water seep into the wires? Or is there an exposed wire somewhere?

[Overfloater]

No problems like that. It just shorted internally apparently.

[Mr. Fish]

Thats odd... Ballasts dont just short like that. It either just blew out, since it did indeed make its life span or the wires got wet from evaporation.

Whatever the case is, yes GFCI outlets should always be used for that purpose

[PlantedRich]

But then you may also be worried about fire when it likely would not have happened. If the fixture is built correctly, any arcing should have been inside. Your circuit breaker should trip long before it gets hot enough to start a fire. Usually some of the small internal wires will fry in two before your house wiring gives. GFCI are great for what they do but that does not mean they are the only safe way to operate. There are dozens of other electrical items in the normal house without GFCI.

[Overfloater]

Hmm interesting. I know it was arcing and smoking for about 20 seconds before I was able to unplug it so I'm not do sure the breaker would have tripped before a fire started.

[monkeyruler90]

eeek. I love these kits, the reflectors are amazing!
let me know if you're in need of a replacement, i have an extra ballast

[Overfloater]

I bought several if these kits years back. I have parts and many bulbs left. This is the first time I've had any issues. They've always been great!

[ShortFin]

I had a 96w AH Supply Kit and hood. The ballast blew last year after 7 years of used. No water damage or anything like that. Came home to a smell of burn. The end caps were gooing brown liquid and the ballast has black marks of burnt.

Luckily no fire. The circuit breaker didn't even tripped. I had another brand cheap power compact enclosed in a plastic hood before that melted the plastic.

[flight50]

Before I entered I thought this was a thread in which AH had non reliable kits. After all the good stuff I heard about their kits in the past but nothing current in these threads. Coming thru here has reassured me that their kits are good quality. 6-7 year run on a ballast sounds pretty good to me. I am eyeing their kits for my next build.

Ditto on the GFCI. I am glad I installed one a couple of years ago. About 3-4 months ago my glass tank lost a seam at the bottom and my tank dump for like 3 hrs before I could get to it. Even with drip loops on my cords the water still got to my power strip and tripped the GFCI. Even better would be a GFCI breaker. They are about 3-4 times the price of just the outlet but it will protect the entire circuit more effectively. Make sure you have an open terminal for the thicker gauge wire though.

[monkeyruler90]

Yep, they last for a while. 7 years out of a ballast that runs almost 8 hours a day, that's more than 20,000 hours!

[PlantedRich]

I did not mean to run down the value of having GFCI but more to calm any nerves that the thought of fire causes.

One of the priorities in designing and building electrical stuff is to contain any arcing inside so that surrounding stuff like curtains are less likely to get enough heat to cause a fire. If there is a failure and arcing starts, it should be contained inside the fixture. Out of harms way, it will smell, turn the fixture black and do all kinds of ugly stuff but before the house wiring reachs high enough temps to cause fires, the internal small wires should melt down and flip the breaker. When the breaker does not trip, it doesn't mean there was going to be a fire. It just means the small items failed before the safety devise had to come into play. It means the design worked! If it had not, the breaker still should have worked but it is a second safety feature.

A third is the GFCI.

[jdmstop]

moisture probably got in there.. I had the same thing happen to me

[Overfloater]

Originally Posted by jdmstop

moisture probably got in there.. I had the same thing happen to me

Probably. They did run for several years only a few inches above open water.