maybe to much on 1 outlet?

[villanueva11]

I have used a mercury vapor light for 4 yrs and never had a problem. Until last week that is. I knew it was about time for me to change it out for a new bulb, but had not gotten around it to. The other day after being on for a couple of hours it started to sizzle, pop & smoke. I was afraid it was going to explode so I quickly unplugged it. I'm scared to think what could have happened if I had been at work and not standing right there. Now I'm using a compact florescent light until I can figure out what the problem is. He is in a enclosure thats 4 ×2 ×2 but also has a good size free range area that he likes to spend most mornings and if I'm home most of the day too. So I am concerned that the compact florescent isn't strong enough to reach him and he isn't getting what he needs from it. I would like to go back to the mercury vapor light. Could it be that the light was just old and needed replaced or is there maybe a larger issue? I have always wondered if maybe I have too many things plugged into one outlet, could that be the problem? Should I be using a stronger surge protector? Any thoughs would be helpful, I really dont have a clue when it comes to this type of thing and I want to know my animals are safe while I'm away.

 

[Carlton]

I have used a mercury vapor light for 4 yrs and never had a problem. Until last week that is. I knew it was about time for me to change it out for a new bulb, but had not gotten around it to. The other day after being on for a couple of hours it started to sizzle, pop & smoke. I was afraid it was going to explode so I quickly unplugged it. I'm scared to think what could have happened if I had been at work and not standing right there. Now I'm using a compact florescent light until I can figure out what the problem is. He is in a enclosure thats 4 ×2 ×2 but also has a good size free range area that he likes to spend most mornings and if I'm home most of the day too. So I am concerned that the compact florescent isn't strong enough to reach him and he isn't getting what he needs from it. I would like to go back to the mercury vapor light. Could it be that the light was just old and needed replaced or is there maybe a larger issue? I have always wondered if maybe I have too many things plugged into one outlet, could that be the problem? Should I be using a stronger surge protector? Any thoughs would be helpful, I really dont have a clue when it comes to this type of thing and I want to know my animals are safe while I'm away.

If there weren't any other changes to what you had plugged in to that circuit it may have been the bulb, but you should probably check the circuit's load and compare that to the draw of all the things you have plugged in to it. You definitely don't want to overload it. I think if you had overloaded the circuit the breaker would have blown pretty quickly and shut off the other items on it (but I'm not an electrician, so I'm very conservative about this stuff). Also check whether the plugs, cords of the other things on that circuit, and the outlet for warmth or discoloration.

 

[Benjlan]

I would check the fixture for signs of overheating. Those bulbs run hot and I believe that they have an internal ballast making them even hotter. Look for things like burn marks and carbon trails.

 

[Lathis]

Ditto - check the fixture. I have had bulbs blow on me because of shifty (replace the F with another T) dome fixtures. They buzzed, crackled, and even spark. If you were overloading the outlet, it would blow the breaker. But yes, you should be on a surge protector anyway, so keep that in place.

It's not too hard to figure out the approximate load on a breaker (unless you live in a historic or older house). Most modern home circuits are 15-20 amps (1800-2400 watts) - the breaker probably has a label on it. I like to keep my loads no more than 70% of the breaker max.

Turn the breaker off and figure out everything that is plugged into that breaker. Then, use an online appliance reference chart to get the rough amp load for each item and add it all up. If you are getting close to 11 or 12 amps, move something to another circuit so you don't have to worry about your lights.

http://www.lowes.com/projects/pdfs/portable-generator-wattage-chart.pdf

Ditto on being conservative with electricity, too. I've gotten a nasty shock by an old toaster over. Not fun.

(Edit: I'll call BS on no additional surge wattage needed for hairdryers in the chart I linked to, here. What girl hasn't blown a breaker with a hairdryer? )

 

[villanueva11]

Thanks. All very help info. I did look at the outlet and the fixture. The outlet looks fine. The fuxture, a zoo med deep dome, did have some dark almost powdery residue where the bulb screws in. I plan on looking at the breaker tomorrow, figure out what is going to where & guess go from there. In the meantime I decided it wouldn't hurt to change over to a better surge protector, so I did that after work. This has been going on for a few days now, how long is too long for him to be without proper lighting? He is 2 yrs old this month, he was only 2 months old when I got him, so I know he has always had good lighting. Until this week anyway. Should I be watching for anything that could be a warning he isn't feeling ok?

 

[Lathis]

A couple of days will be okay if he still has a basking spot where he can sit as needed to thermoregulate. You might just need a new dome.

 

[Benjlan]

I would bet it's just the fixture. That's a good place to start. Also I believe exo terra has a special fixture for the mercury vapor bulbs.

Ben

 

[YoungOne0916]

I've had 3 of the Zoo Med fixtures go bad. 2 of them went bad in the switch itself. Recently, my chameleon kit had one and it was bad right out of the box. I'm an electrician so I "fixed" it permanently. I did however have the one where the socket went bad. I think this happens from the twisting when replacing bulbs. Poses a fire hazard and Zoo Med should recall them