Otterbine fountian issues need help Cancel The title field is required!

1. Price Mark A

   
   7/7/2017 10:07 AM

   We have two small(5 hp or less) Otterbine fountains. Both are around 2 yrs old and still have a warranty left on them. One works great. the other one trips the GFI instantly when the power is turned on. My boss called a certified licensed electrician out. He checked all the voltages and GFI out and said our problem was in the power cord going out to the fountain. We rented a trencher and ran a new line (40 or so feet) buried it in PVC conduit. Hooked everything back up and had the same problem. To double check our work we disconnected the fountain and the GFI didn't trip. We thought there was a issue with the fountain and still being under warranty called the Toro distributor that sells/services Otterbine. After having it several weeks said there was nothing wrong with it and brought it back. We hooked it up again and still pops the GFI instantly when the power is turned on. So I thought maybe there was a issue in the flexible cable that plugs in the fountain and runs through the lake to the junction box on the shore. There is a 3M water tite splice connecting the cable to the short pigtail to the fountain. I cut the spice out and wired the fountain directly to the junction box on the shore and it still trips the GFI. I think there is still a problem with the fountain itself but now can't seem to reach our local distributor. I am really wondering now if it just set there for 3 weeks and was never looked at. These issues have gone on for 4 months and we still do not have it in the water. This is really frustrating. We had a failure with a irrigation pump we pulled and fixed ourselves and did not have near this many problems and it was more complicated than a little fountain too. Is there any Superintendents or Equipment Managers out there that have had fountain issues like this? Thanks in advance for any help.
   Mark Price
   Equipment Manager
   Country Club of Leawood
   Leawood, Kansas 66209
   913 963 6764 Mark A Price

   
   
   
   
2. Charles Stump

   

   0 posts
   
   7/7/2017 2:07 PM

   Mark,
   Have you tried a new breaker. I have seen many breakers seem to kick in right, but would kick off with a load . Replaced and everything ran good.
   
   Dan Stump
   Chickasaw CC
   Memphis, TN

   
   
   
   
3. Price Mark A

   
   7/12/2017 9:07 AM

   I have been told by others that a GFCI is good for 80% of its rated value. Our magnetic starter is set at 16 amps and this particular GFCI Hubbell #GFSM120A is rated at 15 amps. So at 80% roughly is around 12 amps plus if it has tripped several times I am told that it could weaken it. I have ordered a new GFCI and it should arrive on Friday. I will keep you all posted if this fixes it.
   
   Mark Price
   Country Club of Leawood

   
   
   
   
4. Price Mark A

   
   7/20/2017 10:07 AM

   UPDATE 7/20/2017
   
   Thanks to all that replied and called me. As of 10am CST the fountain has run a full 24 hours without a problem. Yea!! This is what we had done.. Replaced the wiring from the electrical control box out to the junction box on the shore. The electrician we originally hired said it was bad. Next we pulled the fountain and sent it in so Otterbine would check it and test it. Next we replaced the GFCI in which is separate from the breaker and is wired to the magnetic starrer. Last was the Toro/ Otterbine guy came over and brought his 100 foot electrical cord and suggested that I wire it direct to the breaker that feeds the control panel. Flip the breaker on and it worked. I thought that my cord was bad so I took the cord out to the junction box on the shore and wired everything up like normal and the GFCI tripped instantly and so fast the amp meter could not get a good reading. So knew what we had replaced and questioned what the electrician had done. Sure enough a Hot wire and Neutral were switched where it comes in from the main breaker. I am assuming the Electrician was either sloppy or he sabotaged the wiring so we would call him back out to do the whole job. So the lesson learned here is watch who you call out and ask other Golf Clubs for recommendations on who they use.
   I really wonder what the failed component was...The outside wiring? The GFCI? or a loose connection in the control panel that the electrician seen but could charge a lot to fix so condemned the outside wiring. I hope this might help someone else that has a fountain issues. Thanks again for everyone that offered up help.
   
   Mark Price
   Equipment Manager
   Country Club of Leawood

   
   
   
   
5. Mark Van Lienden

   

   14 posts
   
   6/16/2018 1:06 PM

   Since retiring i am doing some apartment maintenance and we are always having issues with gfci units even new out of the box. Act like they work yet act different under loads. Fickle little things. Some that we had problems with were the least expensive. The difference in price was defiantly not worth the aggravation.