high temp already.....Need help

JOER0178 · 05-13-2004, 05:42 AM

my tank temp went up to 85oC yesterday and its only May. I removed the glass canopy and opened the stand doors to try and help I plan on buying a fan to blow over the sump today is there anything else I can t do to get the temp down besides getting a chiller. Im not cheap its just that if i plug in a chiller my circuit is going to blow. I put the a/c on in the room but I keep on blowing the circuit. This never happened last year w/ the a/c so i assume it has to be the added stress of the tank light and pump ect.... Maybe ill have to get an electrician to come in and fix my electricity. I dont understand though Im not even using alot of electricity my electric bill is only around 100 dollars which isnt that bad for NYC. Got to figure something out its only going to get hotter

Matt Rogers · 05-13-2004, 07:54 AM

I am with you, get an electrician.

How many BTU is your AC?

Gresham · 05-13-2004, 08:45 AM

Your simply over loading that circuit. What else is on that circuit, what dies when the power goes out? Can you find another circuit for the AC to run on?

4x96 + 2 pumps isn't all that much, but if you AC is a honker or other stuff is on that circuit, you can definitly over load a circuit. Is it a 15 amp breaker or 20? If its a 15, you can simply pull it and add a 20 amp, that might give you a wee bit more head room. Changing breakers out is simple as removing 1 wire, pulling the breaker, adding another (they usually click right in) and secure the wire onto the new breaker.

JOER0178 · 05-13-2004, 09:16 AM

not really sure how many BTU's the air conditioner is, its a medium size a/c. it is a 15amp breaker so ill go get a 20 and try it. The guy at my LFS said that a chiller is very efficient and wouldn't use nealrly as much electricity as an a/c. Is that true or is he going for the big sale.

JOER0178 · 05-13-2004, 10:10 AM

i saw a web page that had a good idea . It said you can take a couple of empty clean 2liter bottles of soda, put water in them and put them in the freezer. Then put 1 or 2 in the tank and when the ice is completley melted swap them for another 2 and just monitor the temp

Matt Rogers · 05-13-2004, 11:59 AM

Yeah that's a good one Joe.

And Gresham has a good idea about the breakers.. that's a lot cheaper than an electrician.

As for the lfs and the chiller, he's probably right, but it's still better to chill the room first. Otherwise that chiller will be working hard. If you have the A/C, you might as well use it.

JohnO · 05-13-2004, 12:50 PM

Ahem, sorry to spoil your party, but NEVER EVER use a larger circuit breaker than the one that is in situ. Circuit breakers are in place to protect the wiring circuits and to stop them from overloading and possibly causing a fire. Don't mess with the ratings, would be very hard to explain to your insurance company.

John :-)

05-13-2004, 01:06 PM

Joe do you have a hood?
If so why use the glass top that is traping the heat and warming the tank?
If no hood then try egg create plastic over the tank.
You really can't control the water temp with 2 frozen bottles in a sump or tank.
Also try and run an extension cord from another room or from another part of the house which will have a different circuit breaker and put the air conditioner on that. This will keep the other circuit from breaking.

JOER0178 · 05-14-2004, 02:12 AM

TRIED TO PLUG IT IN IN ANOTHER ROOM W/ A 3 PRONG EXTENSION CORD, IT JUST BLEW THAT CIRCUIT. MAYBE ILL JUST HAVE AN ELECTRICIAN COME

JOER0178 · 05-14-2004, 02:16 AM

I GUESS I SHOULD ASK MY LANDLORD TO HIRE AN ELECTRICIAN, NOT AN UNREASONABLE REQUEST I THINK. * MAN I FEEL LIKE IM LIVING IN CALI W/ ALL MY ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS LOL.