Grounding Probe

Well, I thought the outlet was a GFCI since it was in my kitchen not too far
from an actual GFCI outlet. I just tested that one and it did not shut off
the outlet at the tank. Guess I'll be changing that outlet today...although
I think I have a portable GFCI I can attach for now. It's only a temporary
setup for an injured fish. It's a 25 gallon tank with an Eclipse hood and
it's that light that was causing the little shocks. Probably because some
water got inside it. It's a big puffer in there and he splashes allot. So,
anyway I'll just keep the light unplugged for now. I'm sure it's fine and
just needs to dry out.

You're answer though does lead me to another question with my big tank. I
have that on a GFCI outlet (for sure) with 2 power strips plugged into that.
The ground probe is plugged into one of the power strips. Will the probe
still trip the GFCI before I stick my hand in or must it be plugged directly
into the outlet, not the power strip.

Thanks!


"Brian C. Attwood" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Just wondering here...I put a ground probe in one of my tanks and
hooked it up to a GFCI outlet. I was feeling some shocks when I
touched the water. I narrowed the problem down to the lighting.
Anyway, the GFCI never tripped. I thought aside from supposedly
ridding the tank of stray voltage, that it would also trip the GFCI
when the water is touched. I guess not? What's the deal?

The GFCI will only protect you against leaking devices that are plugged
into the GFCI. It does not really matter if ground probe is plugged
into the GFCI or not, because the GFCI compares the current in the hot
and neutral wires to detect a fault rather than monitoring the ground
wire. The ground probe merely provides a means for a bad device to leak
to ground and trip the GFCI before you stick your hand in. I would
suggest that you make sure that ALL devices are plugged into the GFCI,
otherwise you are not fully covered. If it still does not trip I would
check to make sure the GFCI is wired correctly.