This thread reminds me of some of my favorite safety videos. Lets drill a tiny hole in the center bullseye of a dart board, you look thru the hole from behind and we will play darts. We all suck at a darts, so you'll probably be fine. I'll take a fortune in dead tank before I risk my eyeball or my life, I'd rather cry than die. I've never had a GFCI trip unless there was an actual wiring fault, granted I have never abused one by running a refrigeration motor on it. I have had them trip a couple times over 20yrs of being a homeowner, but every time I found a fault that caused it.
Are GFCI's Necessary. A Thought for not having them for your tank
- Thread starter Dragon52
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Yes if you are putting a Fridge in your garage and you must have a GFCI in your garage you are going to have nuisance trips. This isn't a reason to knock a GFCI, they are not supposed to be used for large motor type loads. It sucks that your code says so, but I doubt any code anywhere calls for a dedicated GFCI for Fridge outlet. But some codes call for a dedicated fridge outlet in a kitchen because it should not be on the main kitchen outlet GFCI circuit.
No a surge protector is not the same as GFCI. The GFCI protects against ground faults like an electrical short. A surge protector protects against lightning or a power outage. You can buy a surge protector that has built in GFCI protection, but these are plainly marked as such. Most of the surge protectors that have built in GFCI I think have a test and reset button also. Don't quote me on this, but I believe some of the surge protectors are tied to a ground and could trip the GFCI. Im not sure about the extension cord with GFCI. I've never heard anything or have learned about those I don't know why it would be different, but if I were using I would still use a drip loop
GFCI are good but I am gone a lot and if lighting every strikes close to the house they trip always and I have large trees around so it strike close to the house often. I can't use them
five.five-six
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licensed bonded electrical contractor with 30 years in the trade here.
Fish and coral can be replaced.
If you don't want a GFCI that's your choice but if you have kids here is a handy formula:
(18-y)*A =I
Y= youngest child's age
A= your annual income
I= You minimum life insurance policy value
Fish and coral can be replaced.
If you don't want a GFCI that's your choice but if you have kids here is a handy formula:
(18-y)*A =I
Y= youngest child's age
A= your annual income
I= You minimum life insurance policy value
five.five-six
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How does a GFCI work?
Simplified single phase version:
Your receptacle has 2 current carrying conductors.
The amount of current on one conductor will always be the same as the current on the other.
Unless there is a ground fault.
In which case some of the current is taking a different path to earth. (you could be that path)
The GFCI is contently measuring both conductors.
If there is a difference of as little as 5ma it disconnects both conductors.
It takes as little as 53 ma to put your heart into fibrillation leading to loss of consciousness and death.
Most circuit breakers in a house are rated at either 15,000 or 20,000 ma.
Simplified single phase version:
Your receptacle has 2 current carrying conductors.
The amount of current on one conductor will always be the same as the current on the other.
Unless there is a ground fault.
In which case some of the current is taking a different path to earth. (you could be that path)
The GFCI is contently measuring both conductors.
If there is a difference of as little as 5ma it disconnects both conductors.
It takes as little as 53 ma to put your heart into fibrillation leading to loss of consciousness and death.
Most circuit breakers in a house are rated at either 15,000 or 20,000 ma.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
Are your receptacles less than 4 years old? That shouldn't happen in a newer GFCI device. You may also want to make sure the ground rod on your house is still properly connected.
I tried about 4 or 5 years ago to fix this, I put another ground rod in, I have to have large surge suppressors on all of my electronics. I replaced all the GFCIs on the outside of the house I think when I put the ground rod in. They all tripped last night in the lighting storm that came through. Heres what I do, I am not certified but I do electrical work. I use a fluke tester if it shows anything in the tank then I get my meter involved. Because I am not home everyday I won't risk the safety circuits on this house.
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Considering most homes have working fire alarms and such the death analogy might be a bit far off but I’ve seen a lot of tanks and how they have been wired. A vast majority of these boxes of saltwater with 20 cords, plugs and outlets are huge fire hazards because only a small majority of reefers follow basic safety practices like drip loops or make sure pumps and heaters are in an areas which will stay submerged under any cercomstances.
Saltwater and 24/7 operation is also really hard on a lot of this gear so I’d wager that anyone who maintains a reef tank for longer than 3 years has a higher chance of running into an electrical related issue or even fire than you might think. Those in the 5-10 year range much higher because almost everything on the tank has failed one or more times by then.
Yes trur I have had salt water tanks for over 40 years now and yes everything fails at some time, this is life, have I ever had a pump catch fire yes, but this is ture with everything I have had not huge but fairly large pumps catch on fire to like 150 HP pumps on 480 60 amp circuits. just be careful
I am in Florida & honestly I have never thought about that until you mentioned it. Perhaps this might explain some of the random trips..
@Brew12, what are your thoughts???
tgp4274
Well-Known Member
ok so i understand safty and all..... but..
20 yrs ago codes and gfci didn't exsist toward this and wasn't a problem....
i think that you prob have a better chance of getting a squirrel in you attic and chewing thru wires and catching it's nest on fire ( have had afew homes around me that have had this prob...)
no one puts there hands in there tanks and feels a jolt and leaves there hand in there saying "oh i feel a jolt but i'm not pulling my hand out of it"
to much propaganda and to many ppl makeing laws to make them selfs money
to me it's no diff than the seat belt laws.....
20 yrs ago codes and gfci didn't exsist toward this and wasn't a problem....
i think that you prob have a better chance of getting a squirrel in you attic and chewing thru wires and catching it's nest on fire ( have had afew homes around me that have had this prob...)
no one puts there hands in there tanks and feels a jolt and leaves there hand in there saying "oh i feel a jolt but i'm not pulling my hand out of it"
to much propaganda and to many ppl makeing laws to make them selfs money
to me it's no diff than the seat belt laws.....
PhreeByrd
Active Member
There is so much misinformation here that I don't even know where to begin. You have no clue. So please just leave it alone and do everybody a favor by not spreading misinformation.
For those who are concerned about this stuff but don't have the knowledge to DIY safely, correctly, and effectively, please hire a licensed electrician to help you out. This is no place to guess, practice, or pinch pennies.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I would disagree with this statement. The number of electrocution fatalities in homes has dropped by over 600 people per year in the US since GFCI's were required by code. Adjusted for population growth and they likely save over 1,000 people per year. We still have around 200 fatalities per year, over 100 of which could be prevented with proper use of GFCI. If you are the friend or family members of one of these people I doubt you would say this isn't a problem.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
No, a GFCI should not trip during a lightening strike unless that strike causes equipment to flash over to ground. Older ones used to but the filtering circuits have been improved since then.
Hmm,
All of mine are about 15 years old!!??
Perhaps we have crept closer to my nuisance trips causes??
Brew12
Electrical Gru
Big advancements have been made in the filters GFCI's use in the CT circuits over the last few years. Larger motors and power electronics are much more likely to cause a GFCI trip on an older GFCI than a modern one.Hmm,
All of mine are about 15 years old!!??
Perhaps we have crept closer to my nuisance trips causes??
I helped a neighbor replace theirs last week. They purchased an electric pressure washer that used a variable speed motor. The units build in GFCI wouldn't trip, but they couldn't run it on their GFCI protected receptacles. Updated the receptacles and everything works fine.
Looks like I have another project in the very near future, at least for the home systems...
n2585722
2500 Club Member
You are correct. I had my power pole struck by lightning. It blew the fuse on the transformer on the pole. We were without electricity for over 4 hours. Power company had to come out and replace the fuse. I had one power bar damaged and the subwoofer output on my surround sound reciver damaged. Not a one of the GFCI circuits tripped. The ony reason I can finde for the power bar and receiver is the power bar was plugged into a different outlet that the others. The subwoofer was also plugged into a different outlet than the receiver. Luckly My wife called me and I was home when the power was turned back on. The controller was not working until I removed the damaged power bar from the system.
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