Inexpensive grounding probe - ebay....

Thanks Brandon, I just ordered mine! Should have had one years ago you are right!

 

Why do you need one? I haven't heard/read any solid evidence that they work.

 

Interesting Sone. I haven't read the research either but in theory it makes sense if you have leaking electrical items. I have heard many people claim they work but not scientifically.

 

Theoretically, you should not need one...assuming that you are using a GFCI circuit (which *everyone* should be using). GFCI's are designed to measure the amount of current going from hot to neutral in an AC circuit. If the amounts differ, then that indicates an energy "leak". It takes less than 5 miliamps to trip the GFCI...and that happens in sub-second speeds. That amount of electricity is so insignificant that I doubt it would be enough to harm anything in your tank. I'm far from a guru in this area, (maybe someone in the club is an electrician and knows more about this than I do and can elaborate) but from what I know, I think I'm with Sone on this one...they should not be needed.

Now if you are not using GFCI, consider replacing one of your wall outlets with a $12 GFCI outlet. Just one on your circuit protects the entire circuit.

And sorry Brandon, not trying to rain on your parade...for those that are wanting to purchase a grounding probe, I'm sure that's a fantastic deal.
--AJ

 

AJ, unless things have drastically changed since I was a "practicing" electrician. The outlet will only protect what is plugged into it. You need a GFCI Breaker to protect the whole circuit.
But, you are correct about how the GFCI works and that is a very good point! I hadn't thought it through and guess I should have. I may have just donated some $$ to someone. Oh well. I will have to get going on those GFCI outlets. You know it is cobblers kids that have no shoes.

 

Posted By jtesdall on 06/10/2009 10:11 PM
AJ, unless things have drastically changed since I was a "practicing" electrician. The outlet will only protect what is plugged into it. You need a GFCI Breaker to protect the whole circuit.
But, you are correct about how the GFCI works and that is a very good point! I hadn't thought it through and guess I should have. I may have just donated some $$ to someone. Oh well. I will have to get going on those GFCI outlets. You know it is cobblers kids that have no shoes.
You can protect more than one outlet with one Gfci by adding additional outlets to the load side of the gfci.

 

Ah, very true I forgot about that. You would have to rewire, but there will already be some of that going on to put in the outlets I guess. The outlets are also cheaper than the breakers.
Brandon is right though, A little leakage and the whole system can shut down. If you are out of town that can be a very bad thing as he experienced!

 

Ah, very true I forgot about that. You would have to rewire, but there will already be some of that going on to put in the outlets I guess. The outlets are also cheaper than the breakers.
Brandon is right though, A little leakage and the whole system can shut down. If you are out of town that can be a very bad thing as he experienced!

 

Right, as with everything, you have to balance the pros and cons. The fact that this hobby revolves around large quantities of water, lots of electricity and submersible devices significantly increases the risk factors of electrocution. I would rather err on the side that could save my life. Many controllers can notify you in the event of a power outage if the controller itself has an appropriate backup power source as well as the devices being used to relay the notification.

As for dealing with power failures, there are a number of ways to handle that, but none that are cheap or easy.

--AJ