rocko918 July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Anyone know what settings a volt meter should be on to test for stray voltage in the water? Got shocked lastnight and trying to figure out where it came from. Got tried of getting shocked. I have one just like this.
Guest thefishman65 July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Start with the highest setting. Ground one probe and put the other in the water. Work your way down till you get a reading. Most likely it is start 120 so you will probably end up at the 200 AC range. Don't forget if you have some DC equipment it could be DC. I am free tonight. Want some help and I will return your drill bit?
Origami July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Set the dial on your unit to 200 ACV (it looks like you may only have 2 AC voltage settings). Plug the black (ground) lead into the bottom socket (COM) and the red lead into the second middle socket. You can ground the black probe into the earth ground (the third, kind of round hole) of a standard socket or into the neutral (the long slot). Put the red probe into the short slot of the outlet. You should get a reading of your line voltage (typically 117 to 120VAC). This just confirms that the meter's working alright. Now, put the red probe in the water and see if you get a reading. Disconnect devices until the reading drops to zero.
paul b July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 To check for induced current or leaking current use the AC scale. Like the fishman said start with the 200 volt scale, if you don't read anything go to a lower AC scale. If it is induced current it will probably be around fifty volts or so which does not mean much, that just comes from the pumps being in the water, but if it is 120 volts, you have a bad heater, pump or something else in the water and you should not, and can not, put your hand in the water. Just turn off everything one at a time (without putting your hand in the water) until you find the problem
Big Country July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Good luck with that meter, the one I bought from Harbor Freight never worked and I tossed it in the garbage.
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 thanks for the input guys. will send you a pm fishman. btw i also have a grounding probe in the tank and the only thing i thought was still on were the lights. I thought everything was either unplugged or turned off. I do have several things plugged into 2 dj panels and they were still on but the switches to the equipment were off. Will also unplug them. I got a shock from the cut on my hand.
Guest thefishman65 July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Did you only feel it on the cut? It maybe really low voltage then.
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 yes i felt it the most where the cut was, still got a tingle on my other hand.
F&Fmgr July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Did you only feel it on the cut? It maybe really low voltage then. +1 i get little tingles or shocks on my fresh cuts or cuticles(nailbiter)....Hey Rob, is that kind of low voltage negligable?
Guest thefishman65 July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 I don't really know. What kills us is the current going through the heart. It does not take much as I understand. The big difference between AC and DC is how the body reacts. Some frequencies will make our joints lock so we can't let go. Others we just get a shock. Maybe someone more knowledgable will chime in, but IMO I would isolate and fix anything that is shocking me. Sean, when I was out for the social we talked LEDs. I am starting a new group buy - in case you missed it.
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 yea sometimes they are little tingles but this was a good shock so i would like to figure it out and remove it all together.
Kevin Garrison July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 (edited) Why just because I had the same problem about 2wks ago with a Koralia? Edited July 28, 2011 by Kevin Garrison
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 I bet you is your Koralia powerhead. cant be. I dont have any of them.
Coral Hind July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 Remove the ground probe from your tank when doing your tests. Are you touching the luminaire at all when you feel the tingle. If the fixture is not properly grounded it could be bleeding through you into the grounded tank water.
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 ok remove ground probe. I am getting shocked in the sump and the frag tank. I was not touching anything else. I do have 2 retro t5 setups hanging over the frag tank but nothing it touching the water or tank from them.
Coral Hind July 28, 2011 July 28, 2011 This old post might help you. http://www.wamas.org/forums/topic/35227-i-feel-electrical-shock-from-my-tank/page__view__findpost__p__303100
rocko918 July 28, 2011 Author July 28, 2011 This old post might help you. http://www.wamas.org/forums/topic/35227-i-feel-electrical-shock-from-my-tank/page__view__findpost__p__303100 I knew i read it somewhere. Thanks for reposting that link!
Swimboy123 July 29, 2011 July 29, 2011 Side note, i accidentally touched the electrode on a water heater one time. Really, really, really not fun.
rocko918 July 29, 2011 Author July 29, 2011 OK thanks to thefishman we were able to isolate the issue. Really nice to have the 2nd set of hands to do it. Anyone want to guess what it was. It was not any pumps or heater.
rocko918 July 29, 2011 Author July 29, 2011 no one wants to guess. oh well. Power strip. When we removed the power strip the stray voltage went away. i think the volts were up around 110 in the water.
Guest thefishman65 July 29, 2011 July 29, 2011 They were 116 not that 6 volts will matter at that voltage. And I repeat i still don't see how the power strip could do it so I would periodically check for stray voltage. Now I have a question. The tank had a ground probe, everything was connected through a GFCI (or looked like it). So how come it did not trip?
Coral Hind July 29, 2011 July 29, 2011 Now I have a question. The tank had a ground probe, everything was connected through a GFCI (or looked like it). So how come it did not trip? The GFCI is designed to trip normally at only 5mA, that is .005 amps of ground fault. It doesn't care about the voltage, it is only watching the current which is leaving on the hot compared to what is returning on the neutral. If the difference of what is going out and what is coming back is 5mA or more then it opens the circuit. You can feel a mild shock sensation or tingle at only .001 amps depending on skin resistance, far below what it takes a GFCI to trip. The cut reduced the resistance in this case allowing it to be felt easier. At .01 amps it becomes severely painful and at about .1 it becomes lethal. Did the power strip have a three prong plug and was the ground prong still intact? Was the grouding probe plugged into the strip?
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