AFI Breaker = No melted surge bars

[dockrat]

I have always been scared of a fire breaking out in my place from shorting out a surge bar ... Its kind of scary when you think about it I have melted a few surge bars ... So I installed a ARC FAULT BREAKER when I moved into my new place and It works .... I tested it out last night doing the most bone headed thing , I was changing the water in my QT tank with the surge bar on the ground (stupid ) and ended up getting distracted talking on the phone and overflowed the bucket and ended up poring water into the surge bar , the only indicator that something was wrong was the power went out on the main tank and my feet got wet ... The arc fault breaker tripped before the GFI plug did and no damage was done to the surge bar (but it was tossed ) So I guess the moral of the story is KEEP surge bars off the floor and invest in a AFI Breaker there about $80.00 but that’s dirt cheap compared to what a fire will cost you ... its well worth it I think... Currently it’s only available in a breaker form ... And is not a replacement for a GIF but in tandem they will save you a lot of trouble and might keep you alive...