Ac infinity cloudline T6 controller stops working when 1000w HPS turns on.

Learning1234 said:

Where’s your temp/RH probe located?

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ilovereggae said:

plug the hps into a kill a watt meter to see what it's actually pulling from the wall.

plug one of them into a different circuit and see if the problem remains

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ZellzGarden said:

I'll have to get in touch with a buddy that has one.
So being in my garage I only have access to a junction box with 4 plugs that splits off into a couple plugs on the ceiling for shop lights, I have the HPS plugged into a surge protector plugged into one of those plugs sitting on top of the tent.
However I can try running the fan it's own extension chord from the junction box instead of the timer/surge protector it's plugged into now.

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ilovereggae said:

same junction box will still be same circuit. I want to see if maybe there's not enough current or some kind of overload happening. can you get a longer cord and run from a seperate circuit inside the house just to test?

also fan shouldn't be on a timer imho. you have the controller to set on/off temp/rh triggers which you want available all the time. unless you are running a sealed room and cycling it on/off at set intervals?

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Tracker said:

I have not used that type of controller before. These are a couple of questions that cross my mind for trouble shooting.

Power still gets to the fan being controlled? You've confirmed that the fan will run?

It looks like the controller powers on, but there is no readout of the measured value?

Is there any wireless communication in the system? Or everything is hardwired?

It's possible this is an EMI problem. The ballast might emit too much noisy trash which overwhelms the very low power signal that the controller is looking for. If it's all hardwired with no wireless comms, and if EMI is whats happening, you might be able to install a ferrite choke on the sensor wire and/or on the wire between the controller and the fan to block the EMI trash.

If there is wireless comm involved, then the only way to avoid the noise is to move the source of noise farther away from the Tx/Rx parts of the system.

You can do a test to check if there is a lot of noise by using speakers connected to the sound source with a long wire, at least a few feet. Position them in the area where you are having a problem. Listen to something with ballast off, then listen with ballast on. See if you hear a difference. That difference is the EMI from the ballast coupling to the speaker wire. You might be able to hear it in an AM radio too.

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ZellzGarden said:

So this was my original thought I just didn't have the expertise to put it into words so thank you for that.

It's all hardwired and power does get to the fan the only issue is the temp/rh probe not working in turn throwing off the automation function, but the ballast is like a foot outside the tent and does emit some noise granted it has fans in it I definitely notice what is a slight electrical hum. It's an older ballast I got for free, you think switching it could help too or try to insulate the wires before I waste money?

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Learning1234 said:

I’ve run these in a room with 1000W DEs and had no problems, so I doubt it has to due with interference from the ballast.

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Tracker said:

If the problem is an EM noise issue, it's possible a modern ballast engineered to minimize the EM trash noise it creates would solve the problem.

Try running a long extension cord from another circuit over to power the fan and controller, with everything set up in the same location. See if you get the same situation. If you do still get the same problem, then I would guess that you are having EMI coupling from the ballast/lamp onto the wires of the fan/controller. If everything works fine with the test setup, then the trash is coming over the wires of the local power cords, which is possible too.

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Learning1234 said:

Maybe it’s a cheaper ballast than the ones I use or something. I didn’t think interference was even really an issue with most of today’s ballasts. Weird. Sounds like you may need a better ballast.

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Tracker said:

If the problem is an EM noise issue, it's possible a modern ballast engineered to minimize the EM trash noise it creates would solve the problem.

Try running a long extension cord from another circuit over to power the fan and controller, with everything set up in the same location. See if you get the same situation. If you do still get the same problem, then I would guess that you are having EMI coupling from the ballast/lamp onto the wires of the fan/controller. If everything works fine with the test setup, then the trash is coming over the wires of the local power cords, which is possible too.

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Tracker said:

If the problem is an EM noise issue, it's possible a modern ballast engineered to minimize the EM trash noise it creates would solve the problem.

Try running a long extension cord from another circuit over to power the fan and controller, with everything set up in the same location. See if you get the same situation. If you do still get the same problem, then I would guess that you are having EMI coupling from the ballast/lamp onto the wires of the fan/controller. If everything works fine with the test setup, then the trash is coming over the wires of the local power cords, which is possible too.

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Learning1234 said:

Ohhhhh, there you go. Ha. Snag yourself a better ballast and I’m guessing the problem goes away. The other person answering seems to understand electrical stuff better than myself though, so I’m sure they’ll chime in with better info.

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ComfortCreator said:

This is your issue.

I am not an electrical engineer, and there are some here so they may supersede my comments.

Those controllers run quiet by reading the electrical current, a PWM controller i think?

They read the interference and adjust to minimize noise.

When your ballast turns on, the change in electrical current is causing the controller to not be able to run. Again, I dont know why in your case, but it's clear as day the pwm control is the fault with the ballast.

As I checked I see they now offer a remote control controller at ac??? Flipping dream if I can adjust speed remotely!

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ZellzGarden said:

Hello all so I have a conundrum here.

My T6 works perfectly fine until the HPS clicks on, The temp controls stop working and it no longer displays the temp and humidity.
I thought this was an issue with the controller so got in touch with support and replaced it but the issue is still occurring.

I moved the controller as far away from the ballast (electronic) as I could to no evail as well.

The HPS is on its own plug albeit still connected to junction box but I don't believe it's a wattage issue as a 1500w heater was running before on the same power strip as the fan with no issue.

I took a couple photos to show what's happening (i couldn't find a video format that would work) hopefully someone here knows what's going on as ACI support is as stumped as me.

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