nthakur875
New User
- Location
- Van Buren, Ohio
- Occupation
- Horse Ranch
Hello all!
Background:
We have 4 pastures, each with their own Free Standing 16" Nelson Waterer (700 series). This makes 4 free standing waterers. All are hooked up to water and electrical to our main horse barn. For ease of reference the 4 pastures will be referred to as Pastures: A, B, C, and D. (All hardware, new and old, has been ordered directly from Nelson)
Pastures A, B and C are on the North side of our property, and are roughly, 50, 150, and 350 ft (respectively) from the barn where the electrical runs to. Additionally, they are all on the same circuit, a single 15 amp breaker. Pasture D (The south side of the property) is roughly 500ft from the barn, and is also on it's own 15amp breaker.
We are experiencing random breaker tripping from the Pasture A,B,C, breaker.
We have had an electrician out to look at it, several times, and he has done the following:
After speaking with Dave, at Nelson, he said that it is usually a GFCI issue. (This is not the case with ours, since there are no GFCIs). He also assured us that the plumbing to the units (its old, and definitely could use replacing) is "almost assuredly" not causing the tripping. (I'm skeptical of this too)
The electrician isn't worth much... (its hard to find good people now-a-days)...My electrical knowledge is limited, but not nothing. And I'm damn handy, well-read, and well-researched.
I don't know what to do, or what to check. And we are at a loss.
We have been operating these waterers for the past 8 years, without this issue in the past. We have kept up pretty well on replacing worn parts (with the exception of the plumbing for the valves and such...)
And it makes me think to disconnect all power lines, and pull new ones through at a lower gauge wire. (I'm not sure what gauge the waterers are on, but the wire going into the box looks to be 12g) This would NOT be ideal... as it would be highly costly, and I don't know if bigger wire would fit in the conduit..
Could it be a wire gauge issue? (How could this be, if we hadn't experienced this in the past...almost decade?)
Could something have happened underground, that we don't see? (if so, how do we check this...((without tearing up the ground)) )
Please help with any suggestions. Thank you!
Background:
We have 4 pastures, each with their own Free Standing 16" Nelson Waterer (700 series). This makes 4 free standing waterers. All are hooked up to water and electrical to our main horse barn. For ease of reference the 4 pastures will be referred to as Pastures: A, B, C, and D. (All hardware, new and old, has been ordered directly from Nelson)
Pastures A, B and C are on the North side of our property, and are roughly, 50, 150, and 350 ft (respectively) from the barn where the electrical runs to. Additionally, they are all on the same circuit, a single 15 amp breaker. Pasture D (The south side of the property) is roughly 500ft from the barn, and is also on it's own 15amp breaker.
We are experiencing random breaker tripping from the Pasture A,B,C, breaker.
We have had an electrician out to look at it, several times, and he has done the following:
- Changed all 4 heating elements/junction (handy) boxes/thermostats. (with brand new hardware).
- Replaced both breakers, to new 15amp breakers. (Non-GFCI)
- Did a "line trace" on each to confirm that the waterers are the only things on their respective circuits. (I'm skeptical about this...)
- Ensured all wires in the electrical box have good contact, good copper, and are in good condition.
After speaking with Dave, at Nelson, he said that it is usually a GFCI issue. (This is not the case with ours, since there are no GFCIs). He also assured us that the plumbing to the units (its old, and definitely could use replacing) is "almost assuredly" not causing the tripping. (I'm skeptical of this too)
The electrician isn't worth much... (its hard to find good people now-a-days)...My electrical knowledge is limited, but not nothing. And I'm damn handy, well-read, and well-researched.
I don't know what to do, or what to check. And we are at a loss.
We have been operating these waterers for the past 8 years, without this issue in the past. We have kept up pretty well on replacing worn parts (with the exception of the plumbing for the valves and such...)
And it makes me think to disconnect all power lines, and pull new ones through at a lower gauge wire. (I'm not sure what gauge the waterers are on, but the wire going into the box looks to be 12g) This would NOT be ideal... as it would be highly costly, and I don't know if bigger wire would fit in the conduit..
Could it be a wire gauge issue? (How could this be, if we hadn't experienced this in the past...almost decade?)
Could something have happened underground, that we don't see? (if so, how do we check this...((without tearing up the ground)) )
Please help with any suggestions. Thank you!