Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board - do you use a grounding probe?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

A GFI works by comparing the current on each leg, hot and neutral. When there's a ground fault, current in does not equal current out (some is flowing to ground) the device trips.

For a GFI to work when there's a problem, there needs to be a alternate path for current to flow to ground. This can be from a device with it's own ground, a stand alone ground probe, or the human body.

so if all our equipment is 3 prong grounded we should be fine. and sence you can not get CSA aproval for anything with out grounding that is designed for possable water contact then it should be safe.

I found a good site on GFI's the standard is for them to trip at 5mA.
http://personal.cha.bellsouth.net/j/...les/rv/gfi.pdf

seing that most of us have wooden floors and carpets ect.. we are not a good contact to ground and I have experenced this my self by having a leaky pump in the tank, I could put my arms in there all day when standing on the floor but if my elbow touched the metal stand (which I grounded) then I would get a zap and my GFI would trip befor I hardly felt it. Personaly I don't use a grounding probe but would it hurt?? probably not but it would hide any leaky voltage in your tank or make your GFI trip more often from what I have read. I would never use one with out a GFI though as the GFI should be your first line of protection.

I would also hazord to guess that because the GFI protection is required
" by the National Electrical Code to be areas of higher hazard due to the possibility of water contact in the presence of current " that if you didn't have your fish tank on one your Insurance company would have grounds to turn down a claim should and electrical fire originate at your fish tank.

Steve