Disastrous Heater 😳

[tlindsey]

One of my favorite DIY Joey. I recommend watching this video very scary imo.

 

[RD.]

Posted the following several years ago....

I run a ground probe in all of my tanks, with all electrical appliances being ran through a GFCI protected power bar. If a piece of equipment leaks stray current, there is no risk to my fish, or myself, as the GFCI will kill the power source & I will immediately know that I have a problem somewhere, and can rectify it.

See post #23 (and beyond) of the following past discussion for more info.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...458766-electricity-in-tank-how-to-test-for-it

Contracts etc blah blah blah - heaters fail because like everything else on the planet, they are made cheaply due to the average consumer wanting everything made & sold as cheaply as possible, in order to save $$$$$. Unfortunately, this has been the driving force behind mass made aquarium goods since forever. I once had a manufacturer explain to me how he could make a fail-safe heating unit, but the cost to consumers would be 2-3 times higher than what the vast majority would be willing to pay. The old adage, you get what you pay for.

Quite frankly, I find it shocking that folks with so much time & $$$$ invested in their fish, would be so reckless as to count on a cheap mass marketed device, to keep their fish out of harm's way from stray current. Doh! When I see vids like this, all I can think - is what a moron .


But a good reminder - thanks to tlindsey for posting this!

 

[RD.]

Just wanted to repost this from the previous thread in 2012...

From the Reef Central link previously posted .....

Scenario 1. Hot line to water via submerged equipment. This is when a submerged piece of equipment like a powerhead, heater or UV lamp fails and the hot line of the power supply gets in contact with the water:

a) No GFCI and No Ground Probe.
As the tank is isolated from ground via plastic piping and wood stands the water becomes energized to 110 V but the main breaker does not trip as there is no current to ground. Fish has no problem because they are in a situation similar to a bird standing on a power line. This is a VERY DANGEROUS situation for the aquarist because as soon as you touch the water you get electrocuted as you become the path of current to ground. Breaker does not trip as there is not enough time for it to act or enough current to create enough heat. (They are slow trippers)

b) GFCI installed but no Ground Probe: Again nothing happen initially but the tank gets energized to 110 volts. as soon as you touch the water the GFCI will trip within 5 milliseconds and below a current of less than 5 milliamps. You may feel a small shock but nothing enough to hurt. This is the safest situation for the tank critters but may still hurt the aquarist mainly if the GFCI is malfunctioning.

c) GROUND PROBE INSTALLED BUT NO GFCI (Our case of discussion in this thread): As soon as the device fails and a short circuit is established then current is established to the ground probe, current may or may not be high enough to trip the breaker. Fish and critters will die and corals will RTN. If the breaker does not trip (Which is most of the cases) the short circuit may not be noticeable and you will be at a loss of why your critters are dying, even if you touch the water you may not notice unless the ground probe is not making a good ground. (See also Scenario 3c below) This is also a dangerous situation for potential fire. The current could be high but not high enough to trip the breaker, wires heat up, insulation melts and they catch fire.

d) Ground Probe Installed and GFCI installed: As soon as the short circuit is established the GFCI will trip shutting down whatever equipment is connected giving you a physical indication there is a short and something bad for you to fix immediately. This is the safest situation for the aquarist but has the downside that if you are away from the tank for a long time the lack of operating vital equipment may put your critters at risk.

So under this scenario the safest for the aquarist is to use both a GFCI and a ground probe. The next safest is to use GFCI alone.

 

[jjohnwm]

All my aquarium-related equipment is always GFCI-protected, all tanks are ground-probe equipped, and my innate paranoia demands that everything be powered down before I ever reach into the water. Lights are usually hung high above my tanks so can be left operating, but I ain't fiddling around in a tank with heaters, pumps, etc. still energized. I'm a retired electrician; old habits die hard.

I shudder when I see one particular friend of mine standing on the damp concrete floor of his basement and blithely splashing around in one of his tanks. This guy uses individual heaters (usually 2 per tank) and has so many water circulating pumps and wavemakers buzzing away in his basement it sounds like he's flying a drone down there. No GFCI's. Never turns anything off.

He's recently retired as well...but he's a plumber, so...

...heaters fail because like everything else on the planet, they are made cheaply due to the average consumer wanting everything made & sold as cheaply as possible, in order to save $$$$$. Unfortunately, this has been the driving force behind mass made everything since forever.

Fixed it ^ for you.

 

[RD.]

He's recently retired as well...but he's a plumber, so...

I have a plumber working in the boiler room at the moment, I’m so tempted to read your comment to him. Lol

 

[jjohnwm]

Lol, sparkies and turdherders...er, sorry, electricians and plumbers (or, more accurately, "pipefitters")...are like dogs and cats.

They, obviously...are the cats.