Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

Well you only need high voltage wire after the balast. Why would you need
wire nuts after the balast? Don't the wires go directly into the socket for
the lamps?

- Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan


Coming soon at:

http://www.darwinawards.com/

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan


New entry appearing soon at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan


Coming soon - new entry at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/

"I.F." wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there,

I have a sal****er reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan


Coming soon - new entry at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/


Aw nuts! - every time I tried posting, it failed with an error message. By
the time I'd checked all the settings it was like the busses - none for ages
then 3 come at once!

The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.

wrote in message
oups.com...
The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.


Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do you
need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do you
need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

Good point. The splices wont be near the water but to be extra safe I
think I am goint to solder the connections and use some Scotch 23
rubber splicing tape to seal them up.

I've had good success with the liquid 3m electrical tape also
wrote in message
oups.com...
Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do
you
need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

Good point. The splices wont be near the water but to be extra safe I
think I am goint to solder the connections and use some Scotch 23
rubber splicing tape to seal them up.

I would use ovesize wire nuts to get the extra plastic thickness,
solder the wires before putting them into the wire nuts, and seal with
silicon rubber. I would also stay away from the unit when it was
plugged in if there is any moisture where I was standing. Seems like a
somewhat risky thing to do around highly conductive substances.

H. R. Hofmann

I wouldn't get HV near water myself..

- Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
I would use ovesize wire nuts to get the extra plastic thickness,
solder the wires before putting them into the wire nuts, and seal with
silicon rubber. I would also stay away from the unit when it was
plugged in if there is any moisture where I was standing. Seems like a
somewhat risky thing to do around highly conductive substances.

H. R. Hofmann

I wouldn't get HV near water myself..

Metal Halide lighting is actually quite common in the Sal****er Reef
hobby. Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with a
different fixture that has power cords supplied as part of the kit.

Well if you don't buy that other one I recommend soldering the connections
wrapping them with electrical tape and heat shrink it. That should be more
than sufficinet insualtion as long as it isnt in contact with water. Vynal
electrical tape insulates 500v per wrap.

- Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
I wouldn't get HV near water myself..

Metal Halide lighting is actually quite common in the Sal****er Reef
hobby. Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with a
different fixture that has power cords supplied as part of the kit.

In article .com,
wrote:
My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

My answer would be don't use wire nuts - they are the spawn of the devil
and the cause of many a fire in the US. They were banned in the UK many
years ago. Use screw terminal connectors.

--
*If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

writes:

I would use ovesize wire nuts to get the extra plastic thickness,
solder the wires before putting them into the wire nuts, and seal with
silicon rubber. I would also stay away from the unit when it was
plugged in if there is any moisture where I was standing. Seems like a
somewhat risky thing to do around highly conductive substances.

Why all the fuss? The sockets probably aren't sealed anyhow. What is
suggested above would be fine. Or even better, solder the wires and
cover with 2 or 3 layers of heatshrink tubing.

This isn't a true high voltage installation.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do
you
need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

Good point. The splices wont be near the water but to be extra safe I
think I am goint to solder the connections and use some Scotch 23
rubber splicing tape to seal them up.


You can get heatshrink sleeve with pre-applied adhesive lining that is
supposed to set to a splash proof seal provided it's shrunk size is a good
fit to the wire - I usually just buy the regular heatshrink and melt some
hot-melt glue onto the solder joint, it takes a bit of practice to heat the
shrink sleeve from the middle outwards and get it hot enough to squeeze the
hot glue as it shrinks - without splitting! But once you get the hang of it
you can make pretty good waterproof joins.

Thanks again for all the advice! You guys gave me exactly what I
needed to know. Ryan

wrote:
The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.



I would recommend heatshrink butt splices, or you could go with soldered
joints and heatshrink tubing, ideally several layers.

Realistically the HV is only needed for the starting pulse, the actual
run voltage of the lamps is closer to 100V depending on wattage.

wrote:
I wouldn't get HV near water myself..


Metal Halide lighting is actually quite common in the Sal****er Reef
hobby. Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with a
different fixture that has power cords supplied as part of the kit.



Reef lighting, streetlighting, outdoor flood and landscape lighting, MH
and other HID lamps are used all over the place near water.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.


My answer would be don't use wire nuts - they are the spawn of the devil
and the cause of many a fire in the US. They were banned in the UK many
years ago. Use screw terminal connectors.



Properly used, wire nuts work really well, I'm sure everything
electrical has caused a fire at one time or another but I've never heard
of one caused by wire nuts themselves. Screw terminal blocks have their
own share of problems, as far as I know it's not legal to use them for
household wiring in the US.

Thanks James! Are you still into arcade stuff?

In article WWV5g.131$Th.35@trnddc03,
James Sweet wrote:
My answer would be don't use wire nuts - they are the spawn of the devil
and the cause of many a fire in the US. They were banned in the UK many
years ago. Use screw terminal connectors.



Properly used, wire nuts work really well, I'm sure everything
electrical has caused a fire at one time or another but I've never heard
of one caused by wire nuts themselves.

The snag with them is they don't form an air tight seal where the wires
touch, so over the years a high impedance connection results. This doesn't
happen with a properly made screw connection.


Screw terminal blocks have their own share of problems, as far as I
know it's not legal to use them for household wiring in the US.

How are wires connected to switches and socket outlets? Surely by screw
connection?

--
*Marriage changes passion - suddenly you're in bed with a relative*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Screw terminal blocks have their own share of problems, as far as I
know it's not legal to use them for household wiring in the US.

How are wires connected to switches and socket outlets? Surely by screw
connection?

Screw terminals illegal?? What? Outlets, switches, and breaker boxes use
screw terminals, along with some light fixtures. As far as I know screw
terminals should be just fine, but I don't know where you'd get a terminal
block small enough for wiring a cealing fan or light. I've used them many
times for larger junction boxes with #6 wire or larger.


- Mike

wrote:
Thanks James! Are you still into arcade stuff?



Yeah to an extent, I filled out my collection a few years ago and
haven't added any more but I still end up fixing them for other people.

Screw terminal blocks have their own share of problems, as far as I
know it's not legal to use them for household wiring in the US.


How are wires connected to switches and socket outlets? Surely by screw
connection?




They have a large screw to wrap the wire around and then cinch it down,
or the kind I like have a screw that pushes a clamp down. 99% of houses
are wired using the silly backwire friction fit terminals, now those
*do* cause fires, they'd be illegal for sure if the trade unions didn't
have such a big influence on the code, they certainly are quick to
install. I have some UK electrical hardware and it does have advantages,
but nothing quite like it is available here. I really do like the little
terminal blocks on sockets and plugs.

Michael Kennedy wrote:
Screw terminal blocks have their own share of problems, as far as I
know it's not legal to use them for household wiring in the US.

How are wires connected to switches and socket outlets? Surely by screw
connection?


Screw terminals illegal?? What? Outlets, switches, and breaker boxes use
screw terminals, along with some light fixtures. As far as I know screw
terminals should be just fine, but I don't know where you'd get a terminal
block small enough for wiring a cealing fan or light. I've used them many
times for larger junction boxes with #6 wire or larger.


- Mike




This is a different type of screw terminal block I'm referring to, like
this http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...16468&ts=19945

I've seen them used, but not for built in house wiring.

In article B9g6g.2659$g01.2129@trnddc01,
James Sweet wrote:
This is a different type of screw terminal block I'm referring to, like
this http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...16468&ts=19945

I've seen them used, but not for built in house wiring.

They come in 5, 15 and 30 amp versions. They are only suitable for house
wiring in the UK if enclosed in a fire resistant enclosure. For jointing
or spurring cables etc, most would use a junction box designed for the job
and it must be left reasonably accessible for later inspection and not
buried in plaster etc.

I've included a reference to the sort which might be used for lighting
circuits.
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...37939&id=12802

--
*I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.