Spring Meeting Electrical Presentation

[BeltwayBandit]

Hello all,

 

I just wanted to post a brief outline of the topics I plan to cover during my presentation this Saturday. If I leave something out, please respond here and I will try to include it. If you have design/code related questions I will have a copy of the 2005 NEC Handbook (NFPA 70 National Electric Code) with me on Saturday for specific code related questions.

 

Here is what I was planning:

 

General Overview:

What is electricity? Define common terms Volt, Watt, Amp, AWG

Safety Devices? GFCI, Grounding Probe, Polarized Plugs

Circuit Breakers? Sizing, loading

Calculating your reef's electrical load? from Mfr's spec sheets, direct measurement

General safety considerations when wiring a reef tank? Graphical illustrations of the dangers of salt creep...

Practical considerations when wiring reef system?

 

Any other topics?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Craig

[OUsnakebyte]

Any other topics?

Thanks,

 

Craig

 

What about gauges of wire...? I actually had a fire b/c I was using a cord that was actually too small for the MH lights I was using. I now buy the largest cords (smallest gauge...???) I can as extensions. Is there some way to know what gauge is appropriate for different wiring applications and why is that important...?

 

Cheers

Mike

[BeltwayBandit]

What about gauges of wire...? I actually had a fire b/c I was using a cord that was actually too small for the MH lights I was using. I now buy the largest cords (smallest gauge...???) I can as extensions. Is there some way to know what gauge is appropriate for different wiring applications and why is that important...?

 

Cheers

Mike

 

Excellent question. I will cover that topic under the definitoins section (AWG=american wire guage) as well as in the circuit breaker section with regards to what is the required guage size for the various circuit breakers likely to be encountered (15, 20 and maybe 30 Amp circuits)

[HowardofNOVA]

DANG, Can I get a copy down the road of your spec sheets?

 

15amp 14gauge is for general lighting (switches, bulbs, lamps, etc)

20amp 12gauge is for more power draining items and area's (kitchen, powertools and MH lighting!)

 

Those are the 2 that you need to be concerned with most!

[dbartco]

ups's and power backup?

 

ooh, and your hourly rate!

[Caribbean Jake]

Craig

These are some subjects that came to mind while reading your post.

 

1) Fish and the sensory organ called lateral line complex

2) Stray Voltage in the Tank

3) step down transformers and how they are wired

4) heat load, heat disipation

5) Lightning Supresors

6) Voltage Induction

 

Jacob

[dbartco]

how about those great 120v floatswitches. I love the sparks when they turn on!

[emissary]

Any chance we can get an e-version of the presentation content up somewhere for reefer referral later on too?

[rocko918]

If someone does a digtal video of the meeting and presentations i can convert them to stream and put the on the web.

[BeltwayBandit]

I am putting the presentation togeather with PowerPoint. My goal is to have the slide show annotated with code cites (where applicable) so that it can be a useful tool for planning and reference purposes. I will provide a copy to the club at the meeting on Saturday.

 

Thanks for the ideas of other topics. All good, I just don't know how many of them I will be able to cover in the 45 minutes that I have. I want to keep it relevant to reefkeeping. That said I will for sure include a discussion on backups, and sizing of backup power supplies.