GFCI Problems

Why replace? The ballast(s) you have is/are one of the best there is. As long you have them hooked up correctly you are fine. But I am not sure the ballast you have are T5 HO able, your end caps also play a role in bulb life and connection type.

As a side note; I made my six bulb fixture using a 3 ballast configuration, (industrial quality ballast) also with seperate cords (6 x 39 watts) that are feed by a individually switched power outlet strip that is hospital grade/gov'nt issue- (25 bucks from ebay) I use 18 gage wire with no problems what so ever.

Ampacity of the wire vrs maxium load (what the bulb(s) require at start up) is all that is necessary- most solid core wire is rated at 175% load, so....... I daisy chained the grounds to a central point, this cuts down on noise from the ballast to certain electronics.

 

Sorry I didnt catch this before- the RKE has limitations with amp draw, this depends upon which "port" you are using please consult your users manual for the exact details.

Watts = volts x amps- consider this.

BTW, the power company bills you for the amount of wattage you use- so lower amperage draw is always best.

 

Ok here is the wiring diagram for your ballast- http://www.fulham.com/PDFs/SpecSheet...SP-REV%20M.pdf

Right on the top spec sheet. It states for wattage bulb. F54-T5 HO. output wattage 108 watts. I think that is correct is it not?? Right on the ballast is states type of bulbs it can drive T5-HO is also on it. Also I am 100% on the wiring. I am no electrician but pretty handy.

 

I have it on the RKE and with the change of the outlet it is running fine. Turned on all lights and turned all off with no issues. Yeah I live in south Florida and the power company loves me!!!

 

That's surprising information to me.

 

I am going to try to find the post and link it. Had me banging my head against the wall for many hrs. yesterday.

 

Great sounds good atleast you got to the root of the problem. Wonder why the manufacturer has not come out with a fix for that yet. Seems like and easy fix with a resistor or something like that. But thats crazy that it would bleed enough energy through your ground all the way back to your panel. If you dont mind me asking did the multimeter pick up a voltage and how much was it?

 

With a multimeter (digital) ground lead grounded. Red lead to side of the ballast case it was about 35-40. I thought the ballast was bad but what are the chances that all four ballast are bad and giving the same amount. By the way as I metioned before two were from old existing 55gallon lights 4bulb and two were brand new for new 4 bulb giving me a total of 8 x 54watts for the 120gallon 48x24x24. I cannot find the post of the leakage post (probrably because i was frustrated when i found it). But there are multiple posts with these issues. Some people have them some people don't. I guess it depends on the ballasts. I thank you guys for your help.