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GFCI trips


woodinvillejohn

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are you ever wrong orville? do you always have to dispute others post. I suppose you could watch a weather report,and in case your planning on being out you could perhaps set you show not to run, but hey I'm no expert like you

What?  There is no wrong or right in my post stating or asking what happens about inclement weather when a show is already in operation. Nor have I disputed any others post here in this thread.

 

All I have done is ask a question and stated MY personal experiences. ,

 

Since most of us here either use the LOR software or external timers to set our shows to run unattended, mainly because we can't be there at start-up or end time.  

 

Apparently you must only start and stop your shows manually every time?  As that's what it sounds like you're saying too me.  

 

Again, I think most of us here do set a time using the LOR software or an external timer to start/end our shows because, again, we may not be able to be home when the show should start {or end}.

 

Again, this is, and was not, a question of being right or wrong, it's just a question of, if one has their shows to auto-start because of their schedule they may not be there to "unplug" or "halt" their show if inclement weather may be coming in.  

 

Weather reports don't always pinpoint *exact* times or even locations of inclement weather either!  

 

I've heard "weather reports" where the weatherperson said there would be downpours in my area, but those rains never materialized.    So I don't go by weather reports completely, as they have proven unreliable quite a few times too many {for me},

 

I just set my shows to run unattended, again, nothing to do with being right or wrong, I will set my show to start/stop at specific times using the LOR Show Builder and Schedule Editor, if weather gets in the way, it just has to get in the way, especially if I'm not available to do anything about halting the show.

 

And if I do happen to be home, yes, then I can stop the show from running, but like stated, many times using the time set in the LOR software {or DC-MP3 Director when I used one}, I wasn't home many times, so the show ran in a downpour.   Once running, I don't stop it unless the GFCI trips and shuts it down, which hasn't happened now for several years.   And my show has ran in heavy downpours quite a few times now, it just went on operating perfectly fine with no issues.  I'd get home late and everything would be operating normally, so I'd leave it be.

 

Just my own experiences with bad weather and show still in operation during such times.

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Orb - You must have stored up a lot of words while you've been in mod queue these past few months ... :) 

 

I'm sorry I missed your "I'm back" thread getting shut down, but it's good to see that you haven't lost your touch.  :)

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So what happens if you have your show set to run automatically, you're not home and it starts down pouring?   Kind of hard to shut down a show that's set to run if you're not home when showtime is supposed to go on and that happens.    It's happened to me a few times in the past where I had to go out for something and we got a gully washer of a storm, by the time I got back, show had already started and was still running fine even in that storm.

 

Now if I'd have been home, I'd have stopped the show before it got started, sometimes you just have to go with it and hope for the best.  Fortunately my GFCI never tripped in any of those harsh rainstorms and the show just went on and ran.  Rain eventually stopped, show went on, but I sure wouldn't go out and mess with handling lights, props, controllers, or anything else under those type wet conditions.  Now that *would* be asking for trouble, GFCI or not!

 

I am not sure I see what the big deal is (especially since it appears that your display managed to weather the storms just fine). If the show starts when you aren't home, and heaven forbid that a GFCI trips, then so be it...you get to it when you get home. If part or all of the display isn't working, life goes on. If a viewer complains, then offer them a refund for their admission price (if they are that desperate to watch your show in a "gully washer", then I guess they will just have to be content with what they get).  If the show is worth watching, then they will be back another day.  Yes, I am all for taking reasonable steps to reduce the likelihood of a GFCI trip, but I am not going to alter my coming and going because of that. Just sayin'...

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Plenty of good advice here on chasing down trips, so I'll focus on the prevention side of things with my 2 cents.  I cover all of my plug joint connections at or near ground level with an 18"-24" chunk of 1" split pipe foam insulation.  Lowe's sells a 6' piece for a whopping $1.26 and I just chop them to length as needed.  It keeps the connection off the ground, shields from snow, ice and water, and allows air flow through each end to prevent condensation or trapped moisture.  I'm only 2 seasons in so my sample size isn't as great as others, but I've had zero trips thus far running in all weather conditions.  I've even been able to use it on suspended joints as it is light enough to not sag the wires.

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_24434-1410-P12XB/6_0__?productId=3133247

 

077578040356lg.jpg

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I'm not criticizing the foam idea Doc, because I've never tried it.  Nor have I tried grease, bear fat, silly putty, maple syrup or any of the other concoctions that people trumpet.  Might work just fine for smaller displays in wet places.       
 
I was just trying to figure out: 1) how many Lowe's stores I'd need to visit and/or how many trips I'd need to make; and 2) how many hundred times I'd have to answer someone asking what all those bumps are all over the yards: and 3) How I was going to explain to Sharon that I'm taking over the guest room and filling it with foam.
 
For me, it's easier to just pull the plug and run a "sorry folks" announcement when GFI's start tripping and enjoy the night off.  :)

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My second year I had one GFCI trip and I still do not know why. My first year I was having all kinds of problems with GFCI trips. I tried plastic bags, plastic containers and found that making sure that the female end was pointed down on every connection and on the end were the female end was not plugged into to anything was off the ground and pointed down. I also made a point to have the where the extension cord plugs in to the prop that it was zip tied to the prop and the female end was point down. The mini trees I cut pieces of 2" pvc plumbing to 2" lengths and have 4 per mini tree. I use two plastic stakes per tree to keep it from falling over. I found out that my biggest problem was candy canes and I had a lot of them. I ended up zip tying the electric cord up the side of the candy canes about a 3/4". The only draw back is that it makes a great trip wire at night! Face planting in front of someone watching the light show I'm sure would have won me an entry into the Americas funniest home video if they had been videoing the light show. Needless to say the candy canes were gone the following year.

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And I also use the foam someone mentioned above, just not the way they're using it, I use it when I must run a cat5 cable and/or speaker wires out through a window{and yes, I use an FM Transmitter too}.   Keeps them from getting cut or damaged and I can still close the window, just have to add those window thumb screw security locks above the window so it can't be opened since I don't force the window onto the cables, it just rests on them.   But the window locks aren't all that expensive and I usually only need to go out one window, so they work fine for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought something like this:

3600.jpg
Leakage Clamp Meter

 

It then hit me that the time when I would be using this meter is when it is raining, but that was o.k., because I was able to clamp it around the controller's power cord (which is 2-conductor on mine), and then turn the channels on one at a time, writing down the leakage current. I then used that data to group the elements to 3 GFCI outlets such that the total leakage was less than 5mA on each.

 

Except for the candlesticks, which have a large number of crimped connectors that lay on the ground. I simply unplug them and run without candlesticks in the rain. I'm looking for suggestions on how to treat my 100 or so crimped connections to reduce the leakage. I don't have a good picture, but you can see them in the background here:

IMG_1988.JPG

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Steven, I thought that would be a cool tool to have in the tool box looking at your post. Then I saw the price? Or I should say, that unit is from the UK and no pricing. Fluke has one, but, WOW, the price is, well, prohibitive unless you can pick one up at cost.......

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