Electrical Q

[Delphinus]

Everytime the question of how a GFCI works I see exactly this (which is why I said I wasn't sure). One post that says "current on the ground = trip" and one post that says "hot/neutral amp imbalance = trip". I know a few years ago I caused a GFCI to trip on an otherwise empty circuit (ie., nothing was on that was plugged in) because I touched my light reflectors and got a static shock. That suggests "current on the ground", but the "hot/neutral imbalance" makes more sense to me or at least would be a safer option because if electricity can escape out of the wires into the tank, it's not necessarily going to work it's way back to the same ground wire that the GFCI is on.

Is is possible it is a combination of both options? Sorry, I'm not trying deliberately to be dense, but I am legitimately confused since I always see the same two different explanations when this topic comes up.

Either way though - if the GFCI itself isn't faulty then it's bad that the mag pump trips the GFCI. It may be the end of the road for the pump.