OH HELP!! I blew it all up!

[rainbowgardener]

So I was down with the seedlings, transplanted, watered, etc, and then was basically standing around obsessing. Decided to try to check my aging fluorescent tubes to see if I could see dark shadows on the ends, like Applestar mentioned.

I tilted one of the shop light fixtures to try to see in to it. It was one of the bottom level ones and I think must have had water dripped on top of it from the level above. Anyway I tilted it and there was a pop, sizzle, sparks flying and then EVERYTHING went dark -- all sixteen tubes and two heat pads went off.

I thought maybe I blew a fuse, but I flipped the circuit breakers and everything is still off.

The way it is hooked up, one wall socket has an outlet strip plugged in to it that has the top four light fixtures plugged in. The second wall socket has an outlet strip with the two heat mats and another outlet strip. That one has the bottom four light fixtures. That way I can flip two buttons and all the lights go off, but the heat mats stay on.

But now it is ALL off, even though it isn't even all on the same outlet strip and it isn't even all plugged in to the same wall socket. The wall socket is two together as typical and they are all plugged in to that, so all on the same circuit.

So all you folks that know electricity, now what? Does this mean I have to replace all 16 light tubes and 2 heat mats? What about the fixtures the tubes are in? That would be a huge expense... I bought all that stuff a little at a time over a period of years.

But I have 16 trays of seedlings sitting down there in the cool dark and the weather is not cooperating to bring any of it out.

DAMN, DAMN !!

[Tonio]

Check the outlet with another device not in your set up to make sure your getting juice(electricity)check the circuit breaker if needed.

If it works, unplug your lights and plug directly into the outlet one by one to check each light/mat. If they all work it may be the power strip is fried- hopefully just the surge protector inside.

[applestar]

Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear what happened.

It's been a while, has the situation improved?

If the rest of the house is OK, I would try using a long exterior extension cord to hook up one power strip -- or if you want to be cautious, one appliance at a time -- to a working upstairs outlet.

I'm guessing the outlets weren't GFI outlets? I don't know what happens if they aren't and water gets in. Something got shorted is my vague terminology. You may need to replace the breaker governing this area? I hope damage/repair is not extensive.

Waiting with you for a knowledgeable member to reply....

[LA47]

Hello, I'm Mike, LA47's DH.First check to be sure a GFI isn't in that circuit. They can be connected so they shut down the entire circuit If there's no power at either wall plug and the breaker for that is OK( w/ a voltmeter check the wire attached to that breaker to make sure the breaker is OK) then you'll have to remove the duplex plugs from the junction boxes to see if the power wire feeding those two burned apart when the short occurred in the light. Of course make sure the breaker for that circuit is turned off before removing receptacles. If all that is OK then it has to be in the plugin strips. Do not plug in the light that put on the light show.
HTH,
Mike

[IndyGerdener]

First check to be sure a GFI isn't in that circuit.

That is what it sounds like to me. I would almost bet that the problem is this circuit is tied to a GFI somewhere. check all GFIs in the house. If it is not a GFI then I would bet your problem is in the actual breaker or a more believable option is the power strips. Some have a built in fuse and can easily be blown with water shorting it out.

Check the outlets individually with a small light or something. then check your lights individually. If both work then it is your power strip. It is hard for me to believe that all of your lights kicked the bucket from one event. Good luck and keep us updated

[LA47]

I asked Mike what he thought. He decided to post and then thought afterward he had hit post to add, if you are not knowledgeable about elec. he recommends you test the strips on a working plug-in and if they work, to get an electrician to help you out.

[Ozark Lady]

Hi Rainbowgardener,

My MIL had an outside plug in do that. We searched everywhere for the switch that went to that plug in, couldn't find it. So we had to run an extension cord to run her electric weed eater.
Later in the season, she found the tiny little switch in a weird location and pushed it, which reset everything, and the outside outlet again worked.
I think that is what they mean by a GFI. It is not the fuse box, or electric supply, it is a shut off thing though.

You could run an extension cord to your area, plug your strip in and test it all at the same time. If it works that way, test your plug in, if no power, start looking for a tiny little reset switch, probably not even in that area, but somewhere closer to that area.

Remember: extension cords are dangerous, use a heavy gauge one, and perhaps you should use more than one, if you must use them for a period of time. I would also use timers on the lights and alternate so the extension cord does not heat up. I would also try to not use them at all when you are not home to keep an eye on them. But, they would keep your plants alive, while you are searching for the switch. Or hey, you could have actually blown the socket in the wall, which is dangerous if it is shorted out.

Turn off all power, use a flashlight and go to that plug in. unscrew the switch plate and just look at the wires, are they melted together? Do you see any scorching marks? Do the sniff test, does it smell like something melted or sulphurish? If the outlet passes these, then I would look really hard for that GFI thing.

Don't forget your surge strip also has GFI and sometimes needs resetting.

[IndyGerdener]

I am sure you have a GFI outlet in your bathroom and / or kitchen. it has the 2 buttons in the middle between the actual outlets. one says Test and the other says Reset. If you hit the test and then reset on every GFI outlet in your house I will bet it will cure your problem

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. I'm at work, so all my plants have to sit in the dark until I can get home at the end of the day and start investigating. Didn't have time between when this happened and when I had to leave for work to do anything except write a quick post here asking for help (figured turning to you all was the most productive thing I could do in the time ).

I'm glad to hear that people are not thinking I'm going to have to go buy 8 light fixtures and 16 tubes!!

[Tonio]

Hope everythings OK RB.

Almost every time I turn off the fan for my seedlings, my outlet(GFI) on the other side of the room trips, and I have to reset it. Funny part is , it doesn't trip every time. So there must be a intermitnent short in the line or lousy install. I already replaced 1 GFI- they ain't cheap about $20

[imafan26]

I would also make sure no water got in the outlet or power strip itself. If the GFCI tripped because of water in the outlet, it will keep tripping until the water is out or you may have to replace that particular outlet. Hopefully resetting the GFCI is all you need to do.

[ElizabethB]

RB - anxiously waiting to hear that all is OK. Know you have a lot invested - time, effort and $. Blizzard conditions don't help. Not like you can move your starts outside during the day. No advice other than what has already been given but thinking of you and hoping all is well.

[rainbowgardener]

Thanks everyone for all the help and good wishes. All good. Semi false alarm. Turns out since I had to go to work, I didn't manage to try all the circuit breakers. When I came home and found the right one, voila everything came back on, including the tube that popped to start it all...

So my plants spent one day in the dark, but they can handle that. Now we are back in business.

[LA47]

I'm glad to hear that was all it was.

[applestar]

...it must have been an anxious day. Have one of your soothing teas -- I hope you have a restful evening and a good night.

[gixxerific]

Awesome it worked out.

Quick soloutions are great espeacially when they are free.

[Ozark Lady]

Don't you hate days like that.

I bet you were concerned about it all day.

I am glad that it was so simple to fix. I would also look for GFI's locations in case it ever happens again. I do not have GFI's except in surge protectors, but I do have a fuse box and they can trip.


Glad it all worked out, and all of our good advice proved so useful Hey, we meant well! We cared!

[rainbowgardener]

I know you did... you notice this was the first place I turned when I had a problem!

If I had been more thorough, I wouldn't have had to bother you all, but a lot of the circuit breakers aren't labelled (one more IS labelled now though!) and I thought I had tried all the relevant ones, but I was rushing to get to work.

I often tend to spend more time with my plant babies (and with all of you!) than I really should and then have to hustle to be at work on time.