GFCI Part #2
Okay well the last two weeks have been interesting. I received a power head from Shagman that was shocking him and ran into all sorts of problems with it not tripping GFCI receptacles. It wasn’t until I let it sit a few days in water did it rear its ugly head to where it leaked enough current to trip the GFCI with help from a grounding probe. Because my equipment is not sensitive to pick up low amounts of current I was not able to check to see what or how much current it took to finally trip the GFCI receptacles and breaker. They should trip with 4 to 6 milli-amps.
The following are my test results;
Bad pump and nicked cord on pump
At first I was getting 48 volts and no tripping even with a grounding probe
I was getting a slight tingle when I placed my finger in the water. With a ground probe the shock was eliminated
Used several GFCI receptacles and still no tripping
Sealed the back of the pump with silicone thinking I could seal the pump, tested it several days later and it seemed to work. Voltage was down and no shocking.
Left the pump and cord in the water for several days and the animal reared its ugly head again
This time on the test I had sixty-five volts and a slight shock being bare foot on a tile floor (DO NOT TRY THIS PLEASE) and no trip on the GFCI receptacles or breaker.
Added a ground probe to the water and a immediate trip on receptacles and breaker
I also used an Arc Fault Breaker and no trip even with the grounding probe installed
In following up, a grounding probe is a must for protection to get GFCI receptacles to work properly if the power head does not contain one plus the protection you get from stray voltage from open lamps and internal pumps. Since I did not have a bad power head with a grounding conductor I can not tell you for sure if you would be protected not using a grounding probe? Using a GFCI with out the grounding probe you may still get a shock when placing your hand into your aquarium.
Remember to always check/test your GFCI to see that it works. Nothing worse than thinking you are protected when you are not.
Also you are not protected using just Arc Fault breakers!
On another project I ran into only having five volts and getting an extreme shock becuse the home did not have a sufficient ground rod at the service and it was using the aquarium for a ground.
Before using a grounding probe you must check or have an electrician check to see if your service is well grounded and also check the receptacle you will be installing the probe to.
Materials:
Pass and Seymour GFCI receptacles
General Electric Panel
General Electric GFCI Breaker
General Electric AFCI Breaker
Bad Power Head
Grounding Probe
Bucket of Water
Fluke Meter
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Originally Posted by alton
