Sorting out all the Electric Cables and Plugs
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:52 am
So i came up with a simple, inexpensive way of stopping electric shorts caused by condensation running down the cables and thought i would share it.
I would imagine a few beginners to the hobby found out the hard way as i did why you Should NOT have pugs lying on the floor next to aquarium as condensation caused by temperature change in the room or from micro bubbles popping and "spitting" up on to the lid run down the cables into the plug.
(A few friends were over one evening when this happened, A loud bang and flash gave us all a fright and left us in the dark with me wondering if my fish was still alive, luckily the condensation had only run into the starter for the light and blew the starter. All was okay after unplugging the light and checking for any other dampness, Puffer was also fine and i was surprised he did'nt puff up after the huge flash and bang)
Initially i put my multi plug on two long poles next to the tank and above the water level of the tank, This was not very eye pleasing as wires and plugs were exposed for the world to see. (this works if you put in all neatly into a box)
We have lots of empty tubes lying around (normally for transporting drawings), any other tube could be used but the trick here is to ensure the multi plug is high enough so that all the cables coming from the tank go down ,have a U loop in it, then go up to the multi plug.
I attached the multi plug onto the tubes then fastened the tube to the tank stand to ensure the whole lot dose not fall over
Maybe a visual pic would make more sense.
This is is situated under the tank and away from the eyes of the world.
As i said, the trick is to ensure that all the cables go down, have a U loop in it, then up to the plug. This ensures that should any condensation run down the cables, it will drip off when it hits the U in the cable. I must also note that it dose not help to have any on/off switches or light starters on the way down from the Tank ( between the lid and before the U in the cable.)
All comments, crits, idea's and other solutions welcome. I don't know if this is a good long term solution but it has work for me until now and is better than nothing, i hope to one day build a nice water tight box for plugs. Would be nice to see other idea's if anyone would like to post a pic of there electrical spaghetti.
Peace
I would imagine a few beginners to the hobby found out the hard way as i did why you Should NOT have pugs lying on the floor next to aquarium as condensation caused by temperature change in the room or from micro bubbles popping and "spitting" up on to the lid run down the cables into the plug.
(A few friends were over one evening when this happened, A loud bang and flash gave us all a fright and left us in the dark with me wondering if my fish was still alive, luckily the condensation had only run into the starter for the light and blew the starter. All was okay after unplugging the light and checking for any other dampness, Puffer was also fine and i was surprised he did'nt puff up after the huge flash and bang)
Initially i put my multi plug on two long poles next to the tank and above the water level of the tank, This was not very eye pleasing as wires and plugs were exposed for the world to see. (this works if you put in all neatly into a box)
We have lots of empty tubes lying around (normally for transporting drawings), any other tube could be used but the trick here is to ensure the multi plug is high enough so that all the cables coming from the tank go down ,have a U loop in it, then go up to the multi plug.
I attached the multi plug onto the tubes then fastened the tube to the tank stand to ensure the whole lot dose not fall over
Maybe a visual pic would make more sense.
This is is situated under the tank and away from the eyes of the world.
As i said, the trick is to ensure that all the cables go down, have a U loop in it, then up to the plug. This ensures that should any condensation run down the cables, it will drip off when it hits the U in the cable. I must also note that it dose not help to have any on/off switches or light starters on the way down from the Tank ( between the lid and before the U in the cable.)
All comments, crits, idea's and other solutions welcome. I don't know if this is a good long term solution but it has work for me until now and is better than nothing, i hope to one day build a nice water tight box for plugs. Would be nice to see other idea's if anyone would like to post a pic of there electrical spaghetti.
Peace