Troubleshooting
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Kasco
Floating Fountains, Pond Aerators, Water Circulators, De-Icers, Landscape Lighting, and Beneficial Bacteria for improved water quality and aesthetics.
Please select from one of the 4 Common Concern Flow Charts below or scroll down to see other issues that can assist with troubleshooting your Kasco equipment.
Common Concern Flow Charts ( Files are provided in Portable Document Format PDF  ) |
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"The inside of my C-75, C-85 or C-95 control box is black."
Just two words, Lightening Strike. A Lightening Strike has occurred near your floating fountain, control box, or somewhere in between. The Lightening Arrestor or Surge Protector on the bottom right side of the C-75/C-85/C-95 Control Panel has burned out and needs to be replaced. Also, the GFI breaker should be replaced and the smoke residue can be cleaned up. Once those are replaced, you can see if anything else is not functioning properly. NOTE: Surge Protectors are designed to dissipate most of the energy from a non-direct hit. Nothing is available to protect from a direct lightening hit.
"My Floating Fountain, Pond Aerator, or Water Circulator trips the ground fault interrupter."
This is the most common symptom of several possible problems. To correctly diagnose the problem, you will need to collect more information. A GFI breaker that trips can indicate an electrical service problem, water contamination in the unit and/or cord, bad breaker, incorrect control panel wiring, motor problems, etc. Try to find out the answers to these questions before you contact Kasco to narrow down the problem. How long does it take to trip the breaker? Does it always take the same amount of time to trip? How many times has it tripped? Has there been any electrical problems in the area recently?
"When I try to turn on my lights, the fountain trips the GFC breaker."
The C-75 Control Panel is likely wired wrong. The C-75 Control Panel requires 3 wire plus a ground wire to function properly. This problem indicates that only 2 wires plus a ground has been wired into the control panel and no neutral wire is present. Without a neutral wire, even the small amount of current from the Photo Eye will back feed through the GFC Breaker for the fountain and cause the breaker to trip. An electrician needs to rewire the control panel to bring in the proper 3 wire plus a ground wire power.
"My unit ran fine for a long time but now trips the GFI right away."
This, again, is a symptom of many possible problems. There could be water contamination to the unit and/or cord, problems with the motor, control panel problems, etc. You will need to contact Kasco and have your equipment looked at by an Authorized Repair Center.
"When I turn on my floating fountain, the timer runs but when the timer turns off, the fountain stops working."
This indicates the timer is on the Load side so when the timer turns off, the unit also turns off. You need to move the motor wires for the timer to the Line side.
"I have hooked up my lights, but they will not work."
This indicates a wiring problem. Either the red wire from the Photo Eye in the C-75 is not properly hooked to the blue, yellow, or black wire on the Primary side of the Transformer or the two black wires in the Low Voltage Compartment on the Secondary side of the Transformer are not properly hooked to the white and black wires coming from the lights. The green, ground wire from the lights may have been incorrectly hooked to one of the two black wires in the Low Voltage Compartment. The lights may have also been hooked up to the Primary side of the Transformer and the bulbs have been blown. There could be a Photo Eye problem or something simple as the timer not being on or the bulbs not being in place.
"My Floating Fountain, Pond Aerator, or Water Circulator seems to run slowly."
This can also be a symptom of several possible problems. There could be an electrical problem where the unit is not getting the proper voltage. This could also indicate a problem with the motor of the unit, which needs to be looked at by an Authorized Repair Center. Check that the unit is receiving the proper voltage, and, if so, contact Kasco for further steps.
"My Floating Fountain, Pond Aerator, or Water Circulator hums, but will not start. When I spin the prop with a stick, it starts up."
This indicates a problem with the Starting Capacitor. Each Kasco Fountain, Pond Aerator, or Water Circulator is equipped with a Starting Capacitor to get the unit going when it is first plugged in. If it is operating, but not spinning and can be started by spinning the prop with a stick, the Starting Capacitor needs to be replaced by an Authorized Repair Center.
"My Floating Fountain, Pond Aerator, or Water Circulator turns itself off and back on without the timer and without tripping the GFI breaker."
Each Kasco Fountain, Pond Aerator, and Water Circulator has a Thermal Overload built in that will turn the unit off when it overheats. Once the unit has cooled down, it will start back up. If you are noticing these symptoms, the unit should be unplugged right away because the Thermal Overload will continue to turn on and off until it burns out and damages the motor. The unit should be unplugged and taken out of the water to find the cause of the problem. The problem could be one of many, such as, low water, build-up on the unit to prevent heat dissipation, something inhibiting the free rotation of the shaft, etc. If something is caught in the unit or there is a build-up on the unit, remove the debris and, if caught early enough, the unit should be fine. Contact a Kasco representative before restarting the unit.
"My Floating Fountain or Pond Aerator flow seems to fluctuate and be less than usual."
This can occur because a few different reasons. Most of the time, this symptom is caused from the Bottom Screen on the unit being clogged. A mat of weeds, many leaves, plastic bags, etc. can clog up the screen and cause the unit to be starved for water. If the unit does not have the proper amount of water, the flow or pattern will fluctuate up and down and look sporadic. If you are seeing these symptoms, unplug the unit and clean away the debris that is clogging the screen. Another possibility if these symptoms are noticed, is the unit is not sitting correctly in the float. Unplug the unit and double check how the unit is sitting in the float. This can also be caused by a broken or chipped prop that is causing the unit to wobble and not pump properly. When the unit is unplugged, check the prop for any damage and replace if damage is found.
"The GFI breaker in my control box trips randomly and sporadically. Sometimes it is a few hours of operation, other times it can be days or weeks."
This is referred to as a Nuisance Trip. This usually occurs where the unit is installed a great distance from the initial electric service on the property where the ground stake is placed. It is caused either by induced current in the ground wire or a base voltage difference due to soil pH levels. To resolve the problem, install a local grounding stake near the Control Panel and wire it into the Control Panel. This will eliminate the induced current and any base voltage differences. Kasco equipment can have up to a 200' power cord. If cord was added beyond that length, it could cause nuisance trips. It will also void the warranty, ETL listing, and cause malfunction with the GFI breaker (pdf file).