Shocking find this may save a life

I went online and started googling the subject again to see if what I had read was mistaken....that grounding probes will not save a life. Now, skimming articles, I see answers of yes, no and maybe. I see articles that outline that a GFI will not protect a person in certain instances. I see this, that and the other thing. I see a lot of overanalyzation IMO. So, while I concur that grounding probes help in the situation, it should be used in conjunction with other measures of safety to achieve a common goal.

Best I can do......I cannot prove or disprove my earlier statement. Normally, I would just let this one go. Maybe I am wrong, but maybe i am right. My ego doesn't bruise so easily that I would make an argument for the sake of arguement. What I am worried about is that someone may get the idea that they have total protection without a GFI. Not worth taking the risk.

If there are any electricians out there......I would love to hear from them. I would LOVE a formal education on this subject.

 

I actually think that has already been done by tangster who is an electrician among all the many other hats he wears.

I am not an electrician but I do know from high school science class that electricity will take the path of least resistance and a single wire hooked to your houses ground would be exactly that.

 

Yes, farmerjohn, ReefSparky (if "Sparky" didn't give it away) is an electrician, and Tangster did HVAC, plumbing, and electrical work.
I was a physics major, so I did take many electrical and electronics classes, backed by many years of hands on AC and DC work, primarily wiring houses and 12V car electrical systems.
Electricity takes the path of least resistance to ground, which in this case is always a properly grounded and functioning grounding probe.

 

I am also a electrician in the US Coast Guard. The path of least resistance is right. The currunt and voltage is lookin for one thing always. Ground. Humans have thousands of ohms of resistanceto ground. On the other hand a good ground prope hooked up to your outlets ground is 0 ohms of resistance. That is the way the Votage would go.

The GFCI is great protection also. It means Ground Fault circuit interuption. They trip when there is a short to the ground or inside the wire from water or whatever else. This would kill the power to the cicuit. The powerhead was running when my hands were in there. My reef tank is on a gfci but not the fish only. The only protection I had was the probe. I now have it on a GFCI. You should too. It would have turned the power off then there is no way I would have missed it. IF i had to coose which one to put on my tank it would be both always.

 

Thanks to these forms I bought both and I hooked them up this morning. I feel better already.

 

Duh...here is question from non-electrician...

Is water flow between main tank and sump adequate to provide protection with ground in either of tanks?

(assuming return pump is functioning)

 

Glad you are alright....

Thought this article was interesting

Aquarium Grounding Probes

 

I just read this article--I'm confused!!! Should I remove my ground probe???

 

Yes, Omard. Compared to distilled water, salt water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Even if the return pump is not working, as long as there is a continuous path of water between the two vessels, a ground probe in either one is equally efficient. That's why the ground probe instructions state to hook it up to the sump. That serves the purpose of the probe being out of the way, while still fulfilling its duty as a continuous path to ground.

Hope this helped.

 

Now I am confused also...


Think this is case where I am going to go along with Tangster and ReefSparky unless one of them change mind...