flkexwatt question :)

It is OK to plug the FW into a power strip as shown, right? Just checking, to settle an argument. :) The power strip is, of course, plugged into a thermostat.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...res/FWGANG.jpg

If it were me, I'd split them up. That looks like an accident waiting to happen. But, you have to understand, I'm one who over engineers safety into everything I build.

Sure. But if it were me, I'd just get a spike bar and plug everything into that. Not as junky looking and a little safer.

Perfectly fine unless those cords are hooked to hundreds of feet of flexwatt. It might be unsightly but there is nothing wrong with it.

I wouldn't...but maybe that's just me. Why don't you wire the flextwatt strips together, and use a single plug?

Perfectly fine.

We use those long multi-outlet power bars (power strips?) with 6 or 8 outlets. As long as the flexwatt is all the same type and the total wattage isn't excessive for the tstat, I've been told it's fine.

I did note on the instruction booklet with our Helix that it's recommended you use a power bar with no surge protector as the Helix has it's own fusing system and one can mess up the other.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

I did note on the instruction booklet with our Helix that it's recommended you use a power bar with no surge protector as the Helix has it's own fusing system and one can mess up the other.

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really?

interesting...when I had my helix plugged right into the wall and I lost power it blew the fuse in the helix. I of course called Rich at Reptile Basics. One of the questions he asked me was..."Do you have the helix hooked up to a surge protector?" I said no and he advised me to use one.

now I have a power bar with a surge protector.

:confused:

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Originally Posted by MeMe

really?

interesting...when I had my helix plugged right into the wall and I lost power it blew the fuse in the helix. I of course called Rich at Reptile Basics. One of the questions he asked me was..."Do you have the helix hooked up to a surge protector?" I said no and he advised me to use one.

now I have a power bar with a surge protector.

:confused:

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Nothing against Rich, because I send him alot of business, but remember that Rich does not manufacture Helix's. I have every one of my Helix thermostats plugged directly into the wall, and have never had a problem in five years. With that said, I did encounter a lightning strike about a month ago that screwed up a DBS-1000 and a 1500 watt system. They are at Helix, and are just about done and ready to come back home. But, even the lightning strike didn't blow the internal fuses. I wonder what happened to yours Meme?

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Nothing against Rich, because I send him alot of business, but remember that Rich does not manufacture Helix's. I have every one of my Helix thermostats plugged directly into the wall, and have never had a problem in five years. With that said, I did encounter a lightning strike about a month ago that screwed up a DBS-1000 and a 1500 watt system. They are at Helix, and are just about done and ready to come back home. But, even the lightning strike didn't blow the internal fuses. I wonder what happened to yours Meme?

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no doubt...

I just remember that when I realized the helix wasn't working (I was incubating eggs) I called Rich and he told me to check the fuse inside and sure enough it was blown...he did say that it happens sometimes but to replace th fuse and plug it in to the surge protector. After that we had another bad storm and lost power but the Helix fuse didn't blow.

idk.

Call Jeff at Helix and ask him :gj:

I couldn't put my hand on my copy of the DBS-1000 User Manual (gawd but I need to re-vamp my filing system) so I went to the Helix page and pulled the copy of the manual there.

Here's a direct quote from page 2...

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Connect the heaters. If more than three outlets are needed, an adapter block, or standard power strip with a
ground adapter can be plugged into one of the Controller’s outlets. Avoid using plug strip’s with built-in surge
protectors as these may produce a short circuit if a surge occurs and may cause an internal fuse to blow or they can
cause errors to pop up. Each System has built-in surge protection ability and there is a customer replaceable 6 amp
“fast-acting fuse” in the system to protect it against heater/wiring failures or short circuits to the controller’s output.
The fuse will “blow” if more than 500 watts of heaters/lights are plugged in or if there is faulty electrical wiring
on the heaters.

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*their bold and underline not mine*

You can find the entire User Manual for the DBS-1000 by going to this page and clicking the link "User Guide and Specifications" at the the bottom of that page (pdf format).

http://www.helixcontrols.com/DBS1000_Info.htm

Thanks for the info. And thanks for posting the link Jo; I try to keep instruction manuals, but you know.. lol.

Those instructions make no sense to me. A good surge protector will PREVENT a short circuit if a surge occurs, that is the whole point of them. The one I have is rated to 2300 joules and will kill itself for the greater good if the surge is too much for it to handle. It also has a nifty light that indicates whether the plug its plugged into has a good ground going or not. Many houses have 3 prong plugs but no ground hooked up for whatever reason.

I don't know Scotty. I tend to follow advice the manufacturer of a device gives me. I figure there must be a reason they not only said it but bolded and underlined that bit so I never questioned it.

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Originally Posted by ScottyDsntKnow

Those instructions make no sense to me. A good surge protector will PREVENT a short circuit if a surge occurs, that is the whole point of them. The one I have is rated to 2300 joules and will kill itself for the greater good if the surge is too much for it to handle. It also has a nifty light that indicates whether the plug its plugged into has a good ground going or not. Many houses have 3 prong plugs but no ground hooked up for whatever reason.

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The reference in the instruction manual is for plugging a surge protector into the outlet of the Helix and not plugging the Helix into one for its power source. In the configuration as mentioned the the surge protector will not work correctly. Since the Helix is a proportional T-stat its output is not always at 120 VAC (actually in a good rack system it should never get to even 50% in my opinion as my Herpstat pro rarely exceeds 20%). At this lower voltage the surge protector may not work properly. Also if the surge protector functions the it opens the circuit in no time flat. Surge protectors generally do not have Arc Flash protection since 120 VAC in not considered a voltage requiring it to protect people particularly at the currents found in homes. Arc Flash is basically a small explosion that occurs as the electrical contacts are opened. (In larger switch gear, 4160 VAC +) the temps can spike to a level close to the surface of the sun in the path of the actual arc.) During this function current across the arc can jump to significantly greater than the normal current the circuit sees for just a milli second or less. Due to how quickly this current spikes up normal fusible circuits may not have time to react before the current hits a level that other electronic components could be damaged.

Yes a lot of "May" and "Could" in all that, but all it takes is once and you have a paper weight that looks like a Helix T-stat! :)

Oh, that is for plugging a surge protector into a Helix. I see how that would be a problem but I also fail to see anyone's logic in putting a surge protector THERE and not right out of the wall. A surge protector is ALWAYS the first thing off the wall and everything else goes from it. I guess it would be for ppl who don't understand that a power strip and surge protector aren't the same thing.

The surge protector I have is blatantly obviously a surge protector but some of garbage ones you can get at local chain stores look just like a power strip.

So basically you DO want a GOOD surge protector on all your stuff, just make sure you use it as the first thing off the wall and if you must split your thermostat's outlet plug into multiples for whatever reason then use a basic splitter and NOT a surge protector as a splitter. A better option is to just wire up your heating sources in sequence. Wiring flexwatt in sequence for 1 plug is ridiculously basic and I see no reason to not do it like that.

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Originally Posted by ScottyDsntKnow

So basically you DO want a GOOD surge protector on all your stuff, just make sure you use it as the first thing off the wall and if you must split your thermostat's outlet plug into multiples for whatever reason then use a basic splitter and NOT a surge protector as a splitter. A better option is to just wire up your heating sources in sequence. Wiring flexwatt in sequence for 1 plug is ridiculously basic and I see no reason to not do it like that.

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I like to have a plug on each strip of flex watt so I can power off sections not in use by unplugging them. If I have an rack with 18 15 qt tubs in it, each tub will have 1 ft of 4" 4 Watt flex watt on it. Lets say it runs at 25% so each foot is using 1 Watt an hour. I'm only using 8 of the tubs, so I have an extra 10 ft that I do not need or 10 Watts of power I don't need. Over 30 days that equals 7.2 Kilo Watts of power that I can use for nothing or unplug and save the money otherwise spent. If you are paying the average 12 cents per kiloWatt you save almost 1 dollar on your electric bill. Doesn't sound like much, but I like to track my electric use. By all means power up those un-used sections of flex Watt though as it helps to pay my salary since I work at a power plant! :D