High Voltage Wire Nuts?

[[email protected]]

Hi there,

I have a saltwater reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

 

[Michael Kennedy]

Well you only need high voltage wire after the balast. Why would you need
wire nuts after the balast? Don't the wires go directly into the socket for
the lamps?

- Mike

 

[I.F.]

Hi there,

I have a saltwater reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

Coming soon at:

http://www.darwinawards.com/

 

[I.F.]

Hi there,

I have a saltwater reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

New entry appearing soon at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/

 

[I.F.]

Hi there,

I have a saltwater reef fish tank and I am going to be upgrading the
lighting to a 175w metal halide setup. My electronic ballast says I
need to use wiring that will support a minimum of 1.2KV so I am going
to special order some 18AWG 2KV wire.

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks, Ryan

Coming soon - new entry at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/

 

[I.F.]

Coming soon - new entry at;

http://www.darwinawards.com/

Aw nuts! - every time I tried posting, it failed with an error message. By
the time I'd checked all the settings it was like the busses - none for ages
then 3 come at once!

 

[[email protected]]

The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.

 

[I.F.]

The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.

Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do you
need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

 

[[email protected]]

Don't they have any kind of splash protected terminal assembly? - Why do you

need to use wire nuts, these give next to no splash protection!

Good point. The splices wont be near the water but to be extra safe I
think I am goint to solder the connections and use some Scotch 23
rubber splicing tape to seal them up.

 

[bob kater]

I've had good success with the liquid 3m electrical tape also

 

[[email protected]]

I would use ovesize wire nuts to get the extra plastic thickness,
solder the wires before putting them into the wire nuts, and seal with
silicon rubber. I would also stay away from the unit when it was
plugged in if there is any moisture where I was standing. Seems like a
somewhat risky thing to do around highly conductive substances.

H. R. Hofmann

 

[Michael Kennedy]

I wouldn't get HV near water myself..

- Mike

 

[[email protected]]

I wouldn't get HV near water myself..

Metal Halide lighting is actually quite common in the Saltwater Reef
hobby. Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with a
different fixture that has power cords supplied as part of the kit.

 

[Michael Kennedy]

Well if you don't buy that other one I recommend soldering the connections
wrapping them with electrical tape and heat shrink it. That should be more
than sufficinet insualtion as long as it isnt in contact with water. Vynal
electrical tape insulates 500v per wrap.

- Mike

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My question is: Can I use regular wire nuts to make my connections or
do I need to use special 'high voltage' wire nuts to do this safely?
Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

My answer would be don't use wire nuts - they are the spawn of the devil
and the cause of many a fire in the US. They were banned in the UK many
years ago. Use screw terminal connectors.

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

I would use ovesize wire nuts to get the extra plastic thickness,
solder the wires before putting them into the wire nuts, and seal with
silicon rubber. I would also stay away from the unit when it was
plugged in if there is any moisture where I was standing. Seems like a
somewhat risky thing to do around highly conductive substances.

Why all the fuss? The sockets probably aren't sealed anyhow. What is
suggested above would be fine. Or even better, solder the wires and
cover with 2 or 3 layers of heatshrink tubing.

This isn't a true high voltage installation.

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[I.F.]

Good point. The splices wont be near the water but to be extra safe I
think I am goint to solder the connections and use some Scotch 23
rubber splicing tape to seal them up.

You can get heatshrink sleeve with pre-applied adhesive lining that is
supposed to set to a splash proof seal provided it's shrunk size is a good
fit to the wire - I usually just buy the regular heatshrink and melt some
hot-melt glue onto the solder joint, it takes a bit of practice to heat the
shrink sleeve from the middle outwards and get it hot enough to squeeze the
hot glue as it shrinks - without splitting! But once you get the hang of it
you can make pretty good waterproof joins.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks again for all the advice! You guys gave me exactly what I
needed to know. Ryan

 

[James Sweet]

The ballast and lamp assembly were purchased separately. The wires are
needed to connect them.

I would recommend heatshrink butt splices, or you could go with soldered
joints and heatshrink tubing, ideally several layers.

Realistically the HV is only needed for the starting pulse, the actual
run voltage of the lamps is closer to 100V depending on wattage.

 

[James Sweet]

Metal Halide lighting is actually quite common in the Saltwater Reef
hobby. Thanks for all the advice. I think I have decided to go with a
different fixture that has power cords supplied as part of the kit.

Reef lighting, streetlighting, outdoor flood and landscape lighting, MH
and other HID lamps are used all over the place near water.