Problems With Lighting

[BLACK DOG]

I have been having problems with the lighting unit on my tank.
It has been intermittently going off, checked the starter by substitution not that, checked time switch not that.
(I'm a retired electrician)so I decided to remove the cover over the compartment containing the choke (transformer)this was very hot (too hot to touch) with more investigation discovered that here was a overheat detector attached to the choke this was working and cutting off the power, when it cooled it cut back in.
Theoretically the choke should be able to work in the enclosed space without a overheat detector, plus the voltage rating on the choke is 230v, UK voltage is 240v could this be the problem?
The tank is a 65L Interpet Aquatropic, from Maidenhead aquatics, phoned them and told them what the problem was they said bring the tank hood back and they would replace it.

 

[OldMan47]

You are the real electrician in this, while I am a rank amateur. I never believe the ratings on any electrical equipment. Instead I look at things like that high temperature ballast, you called it a choke, in your hood. If the equipment is overheating, I really don't care about its ratings, I look to either cool it or use something that is more heat tolerant. I hope this makes some sense and triggers you to re-evaluate what you are seeing. I am sure that you have the right skills and knowledge to diagnose your situation and correct it if you are willing to shed your dependence on ratings.
Yes, I am one of those people who seriously doubt much of what I read in standard rating schemes because I am only too aware that a component rated for a 30C rise is really not going to work well if it actually sees a 30C rise in the real world. Instead I look to either avoid having a 30C rise or to find a component rated for a 50C rise.

 

[Aqua Tom]

If I was you I would replace the magnetic ballast with a nice new electronic jobbie. They run much cooler & are quite happy in an enclosed space.

 

[BLACK DOG]

No problem at the moment as the LFS swapped the hood unit without question!!
I'll just wait 3 months to see how the replacment plays out, any problems it's a visit to trading standards.

 

[Tropicoll]

The electrical contractors at work came to investigate a problem on our server UPS which would regularly, but not constantly show an overvoltage.

They monitored the incoming voltage for a week and it spiked at 256 volts. They explained at the time (only a couple of months ago) that the UK voltage is supposed to be maintained at 230 volts. What this actually means (in their words) that a voltage of 220 - 246 volts is perfectly acceptable. The UPS (an APC unit) triggers at 250 volts. They fitted a smoothing circuit to the incoming supply and monitored for a couple of weeks afterwards. The smoothing circuit worked a treat, it had a regular 231 volts and no further problems with the UPS.

I don't think that the electrical supply was the problem, more likely that the lighting unit had a fault in it.

It's great that the LFS replaced it (may be a known problem?) and I hope that this hood works out for you.