dumb ?

[certherfbeef]

How do I keep an outside outlet from shorting out and blowing the breaker?
Ya I know...keep it dry. I have one of them flip up covers on it. Always closed when nothing is plugged in. I took the old cover off, replaced it with new and put silicone around it before I put the new back on. A heavy dew or rain will pop the little breaker that is on the outlet itself. This is where I plug in my truck. Unless the old girl is pulgged in, she needs her morning nose candy to fire. I hate doing that my truck. ETHER is BAD!!!

If I can keep the plug from shorting out, maybe I wouldn't fry the new set of glow plugs I just put in (like I did last year).

Any help???

 

[msscamp]

This is strictly a shot in the dark, but do you think those little plastic thingys (yeah, I know....real technical term) that plug into an unused outlet would help? The only other thing I can think of would be to try to cut a piece of hard plastic that would fit between the outlet and the cover to keep the dew and rain out. Probably not much help, sorry.

 

[memanpa]

make sure amperage is correct to the breaker ans what is being used!!
turn off breaker and make sure all wire connections are tight, breaker to outlet. does this happen all the time or only when it rains? is this the only outlet the breaker serves? is there other connections that tie into the breaker?

 

[certherfbeef]

Only when it rains. Only outlet to this breaker. All I'm doing is running the block heater on my truck. Brand new extention cord too.

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

Circuit breaker could be weak. Might try a new one. ;-)

 

[certherfbeef]

Circuit breaker could be weak. Might try a new one. ;-)

Geez, that was kinda an obvious one hu? Why didn't I think of that???? :roll:
Pass me another cold one.

 

[dj]

Was there moisture in the recepticle box? Did you put the gasket(thin black foam) behind the face plate? I had an outside box that filled about half way with water one time. Give you a little jingle when you flipped the switch right before the breaker broke. Fixed it with a new gasket and silicone.

 

[memanpa]

check all connections breaker, outlet even the ones to your block heater, make sure they are tight double check your grounds!
not an electrician by any means!! have you tried using another outlet???

 

[certherfbeef]

Yep put the gasket back in (new one) and silconed all around and screw the cover back on.

Only outlet that is resonably close with out parking at the barn. And when it is really cold...I'm too lazy to walk down to the barn to start the truck. So, nope...havn't tried another outlet.

 

[memanpa]

past my limits of expertice!!! but most questions are

 

[jbar]

if the box is surface mounted you can losen it from the wall a little. split the side of a 5gal bucket and side it down over it. bottom up. ready made outlet shed. i use this for my eletric fence chargers

 

[Beefy]

good idea. that could be a good one for the tips and tricks board. what about using an empty roundup barrel?

 

[oreohaven]

How far is the outlet from the breaker...what guage and type wire? You might have a lil bit of voltage drop and the moisture/cold morning is making it worse, so it's flippin the breaker, trying to draw more power than the wire can provide. Also, you might consider getting a GFI plug since it is outdoors..just so you don't end up getting a "jingle". I had to up the guage of wire going to our outlets near the stock ponds, just couldn't carry the voltage, had the same type of problem. Here is a link to a handy voltage drop calculator to help determine what you need. http://www.elec-toolbox.com/calculators/voltdrop.htm

 

[Susie David]

Sounds like it is a GFI and moisture is tripping the fault.
I'd put a meter on the circuit and see how many amps it is drawing...could be overloaded...

 

[Mahoney Pursley Ranch]

OK Cert so what fixed it :?:

 

[TK Ranch]

Don't know if you fixed it or not but block heaters draw some serios power if you have anything under a 15 amp breaker you are wasting your time. I have a 20 amp breaker on the plug for the tractor. also put it on a timer so you aren't sucking juice for nothing and if you realy want to go fancy put a circulating heater into your cooloing system they are far better than the block heater and only need to be on for an hour or two before you start up

 

[certherfbeef]

It hasn't quit raining long enough for the thing to dry out. I'm not a fan of electrical shock...espically when my boots are wet.

I'll let it dry out then look it over.

I drive an old worn out 7.3 diesel. It is colder hearted than your average R-calf member. It gets plugged in before I turn in for the night and it is ready to fire by 5:30 the next morning. Otherwise...it will never get warm enough to do any good.

Thanks for all the advise. I got lite up plugging it into that outlet tonight, so I'm parking at the barn till it dries out.

 

[flaboy+]

Cert, I never had much luck with outside GFI outlets. I changed mine to a breaker with GFI. I still have one outside that is in a weather tight box and it works just fine. They make a little plug tester you can plug in to ensure it is wired correctly. It has lights on the front to tell you correct or incorrect wiring. They are cheap at home depot. IF the GFI sees anything strange it will pop. The GFI needs the safety ground (earth ground) connected also not just the neutral. Make sure earth and neutral are connect properly.

 

[jt]

cert... i may have missed it in all the replies... but have you replaced the gfi recepticle itself? i know you replaced the gasket, but what about the recepticle itself. sometimes they go bad.

good luck

jt

 

[TB lady]

If you do have a GFCI protected plug, and it only trips when it rains, then there are a couple of possible problems:

1: The extension cord you are using has a ground fault which means that there may be a portion of the cord that has been frayed or the cord ends themselves have problem.

2: The block heater itself or the block heater cord has a ground fault. There may be moisture getting into the connection of the block heater or the cord has been frayed allowing moisture in and causing the ground fault to trip.

GFCI plugs will trip on very small amounts of electrical current to ground (less than 5mA). The best way to test the GFCI plug is to use the cord you have been using for the block heater and try a drill or some other electrical device that has a three prong cord end.

If the GFCI doesn't trip, then you know there is problem with block heater.

If the GFCI does trip, then try a different cord. If it still trips, then you know that the GFCI plug should be replaced.

My husband is an Electrician, and those were his suggestions.
I hope it helps you out.