12gallon DX ballast UP IN FLAMES!!!!!

[Jermz79]

I was sitting around last night watching some pre-season football ... When my Ballast popped and fizzed and then caught fire!!!!!!!!! Luckily I was home and caught it in time, before it caught anything else on fire!

 

I unplugged it and let it sit for a while and then plugged it bakc in, I noticed that everything still works exept for the moonlights? I opened the ballast up and noticed that the little resistor that runs between two wires was FRIED!!!!

 

Thing is ... I didn't know you had to go to jbjlighting.com to fill out a warrnaty registration .... do you think they will still cover it or not? If not what options do I have? Buy a new one!!!!!!!

 

 

This sucks ... the Nano is not even 2 months old and already something wrong, THANK GOD it didn't crack!!!!

[sNEIRBO]

Thank God your house didn't burn down!

[Enrique]

Give JBJ a call, they probably will replace that....I have 2 ballasts that burned up within the past 2 weeks.....Theres something wrong with their ballasts and I dont know what it is.

[Jermz79]

Originally posted by sNEIRBO

Thank God your house didn't burn down!

 

 

Yeah tell me about it ... Can we all say LAWSUIT!!!!!!

 

 

Here's the deal ...

 

I have some zoo's, a Ric Shroom, and some GSP ... do you think they will survive without light for a few days until my replacement comes in? I hope so because I have no other options.

 

The lights are still working, but I DO NOT trust that ballast while I'm at work!

[sNEIRBO]

If that ballast caught fire, I WOULD NOT plug it back in the wall, and DEFINITELY DO NOT turn it back on!!

 

I don't know what to suggest about the lighting until you get a replacement. Do you have any compact florescent lights you could point at the tank? It wouldn't be the best in the world, but let's face it - in a REAL Reef in the wild, there are cloudy days, storm days, etc., where the wild corals don't get FULL sunlight everyday. Just tell your corals it's going to be partly cloudy for the next few days . . .

[Jermz79]

HaHa ... yeah I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do.

 

Like you said I'm not plugging that thing back into the wall ... in fact it's disconnected at the plugs and staying that way until I get a replacement!

[Web Guy]

JBJ does it again!...

[ccjung]

The culprit is most likely the Transformer that they have installed in the ballast box to provide power to the fans and the moonlights.

 

THey are pretty old and raggedy and on my modded systems, it is removed and I opt for a separate AC adapter to provide power to the fans and moonlights (usually dont install because they are also crappy).

 

This isnt the first time ive heard of a ballast fire. Thankfully you were there and things didnt get worse.

 

I'd call JBJ and see if they can remedy the situation. As far as the ACTUAL ballast, the Fulham PONYs are pretty reliable and have circuitry protection, which explains why your lights still fire up.

 

Id bet that your fans arent spinning anymore either.

 

Hope this helps

 

Chris

[Jermz79]

actually the fans are still spinning, but the moonlights don't seem to be working.

 

What I noticed when I opened up the ballast was ...

 

There is four wires that are soldered to prongs, on the bottom two wires their is a resistor that runs between the ttwo wires and that is what fried!!! I will contact JBJ tomorrow and see what they say!

 

Thanks,

Jermz

[Sparkling_Surfer]

 

I wonder how much my university would charge me if my fish tank burned down the dorm...

 

not cool.

[Jason64]

OK, now I'm completely paranoid!

I have 2 dogs in my house, I can not afford to lose them, the house, OR BOTH! Please tell me these are completely isolated incidents!?

 

I have a 12dx no moonlights, I'm scared to leave the thing on while I'm at work!

 

J64

[embryoguy]

im going to wrap my ballast with aluminum foil.

[Jason64]

and that will do what?

[embryoguy]

well maybe bec it will reduce the risk of sparks/flames igniting my carpet, etc around it.

 

is that to hard to comprehend?

[embryoguy]

let me know if i have to explain to you the principles of aluminum foil

[Jason64]

Originally posted by embryoguy

well maybe bec it will reduce the risk of sparks/flames igniting my carpet, etc around it.    

 

is that to hard to comprehend?

 

What's hard to comprehend is the concept that Aluminum foil will stop ANY fire.

 

I only asked you a question chief, don't need the rude follow-ups.

 

Your Aluminum foil ain't gonna do SH*T if there's a fire. Sorry to break it ya' homie.

 

Oh yeah, ballasts need ventilation, so your little Au concept will certainly start a fire. There's vents on it FOR A REASON! But you use your foil, good luck.

 

Jeez, and I only asked a simple question. ???

[Jermz79]

your correct Jason, Aluminum foil will probably only add fuel to the fire ... PUN intended! Like Jason said embryoguy ... the ballast have vents for a reason!

 

I wouldn't take the risk of wrapping it in foil!!! Just my 2 cents!

 

Jason, I have called JBJ and they said it is a very isolated incident and doesn't happen out of the blue ... they argued with me and said it was user error!!!! WTF ever, OH WELL at least they are replacing the ballast!

[Jermz79]

and another thing ...

 

there are a few people I have noticed on this board that are extremely rude. People come to these types of forums for advice and direction and the last thing we need are RUDE ASS people in here trying to throw in 2cents when we need a dollar ... didn't your mothers ever tell you that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all!!!!

 

Good day,

Jermz

[Jason64]

Hey Jermz, thanks for the RESPECTFUL reply! Sometimes I think some guys post that crap just to get a rise out of ya'.

 

This is a serious discussion and it was thrown into the gutter.

 

Jermz glad to see your getting the thing taken care of. What's your light schedule like? I've got my ballast hanging on the wall next to the cube, hopefully that's a little better than sitting on the carpet.

 

JBJ has got to be in some serious trouble if they're arguing about something that's BLATANTLY their fault. cracking cubes is one thing, burning your house down is another! they better be careful with the way they treat customers with your experience!

[embryoguy]

did i say i was going to wrap it tighty. no, instead of placing it on carpet on a hardwood floors it will help.

 

also i dont respond to HOMIE and your uneducated lingo.

[Jermz79]

honestly ... I would think if it's hanging your probably better off than I was! I had mine sitting on the carpet which may have been the issue in the first place. To much heat, not enough ventilation ... who knows?

 

When it popped I saw a mild spark followed by a huge pluff of smoke, nothing major, but like I said I was home and able to unplug it ... I don't know what might have happened if it was left plugged in!

 

AND THEN ... against the advice of my better half and a few members from different boards, while I was home yesterday I plugged it back in and made sure I was there waiting for it to explode!!!! Well it ran for about 51/2 hours with no problems. I think the problem arises like CC said from the transistor they use for the moonlights, because that's the only thing not working!

 

We shall see what happens with the new one! I've got some ideas on mounting this one off the carpet!

 

embryoguy - CHILL HOMIE!! Damn man honestly, wrapping that ballast in anyway with anytype of material is asking for more problems ... I wouldn't do it but that's your choice!

[emoutz]

When I first bought by 12dx the ballast burned out immediately when I plugged it in. Returned it to the LFS for a replacement, no problems. It has worked fine ever since.

[Jason64]

Originally posted by embryoguy

im going to wrap my ballast with aluminum foil.

 

Don't try and go back and reinvent your previous post!

 

Lastily, EDUCATED individuals DO NOT make ignorant posts in the first place! ALSO, EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS DON'T WRAP BALLASTS IN ALUMINUM!

 

at least we know where you stand, homie.

 

I'm done responding to this guy. Thanks for the response Jermz. Good to see you little experiment didn't burn the house down! It's was an interesting test, though.

 

J64

[Jermz79]

A test is all it was ... I'm sending that ballast back to JBJ and getting a new one, I will have two at that point so I won't have to worry about it if it does burn.

 

My friend is an electrician and is coming up this weekend, were going to change the plug out to a GFI recepticle and he told me that this will take care of any future problems ... something you may want to check into as well.

 

emoutz - you say your's burned out too huh? I would like to get a count on how many people this has happened to! Pretty interesting to say the least!!!

[xsamx]

The resistor caught on fire? Did it melt the wires that were connected to it? Did the transformer blow the LEDs? Are they all brown?If any of the above happened, there was way to much current going through that tiny little wire! It’s odd that your fans are still working too! I have a 12dx, wo moonlights. I wouldn’t trust the rest of the unit, especially if it caught on fire. How big was the fire? First cracks, now fires... Man, why did I buy a nano-cube?