Electrical socket help for fish tanks

[atlweb]

Judging by the way I'm asking this question, you will probably figure out I don't know much about electricity

I have a two prong outlet in a 1948 home. I'm not sure if it is grounded or not?

I saw amazon sells a converter from 2 to 3 prong that will allow me to hook up a surge protector for my new tank.

Does this converter make this fish tank safe? As long as I have a surge protector, should my inhabitants be protected from getting shocked? Or a fire in a lightening storm?

Are these terrible questions?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[rdnelson]

First they are not terrible questions. . They are great questions.

To answer them, I need to give a little info about electricity and grounding so please be patient.

In standard home electrical outlets you have a hot wire, neutral wire and a ground wire. For simplicity we will say that the hot wire takes electricity fro the panel out to the outlet and the neutral returns it to the panel. The ground wire does nothing if everything is working properly. But, if a piece of equipment goes bad and allows electricity to leak out, the ground wire gives a path back to the panel that has less resistance then going through you. Electricity takes the path of least resistance kind of like my kids. . This also allows the circuit breaker to do its job and kill the flow of electricity.

In your case, you do not have a ground wire. Therefore there is no path back to the panel other than the neutral. The adaptor you mention does not correct this problem but only allows you to plug a 3 prong plug into a 2 prong outlet. Not good

A surge protect does not protect you either. What it does is divert a high current spike coming from the utility to ground to protect the equipment it serves. Since you don't have a ground it would do nothing at all.

But not all hope is lost. . While installing a ground wire back to the panel would be best (done properly of course) that can be very expensive. But another device will give you some protection. Normally, the current flowing through the hot wire will be the same as that flowing through the neutral wire. If something goes wrong som current will go elsewhere ( like you or your tank) and they will no longer be equal. A device that measures this difference would be a GFI. A difference of more than 5 mili amps will cause it to trip stopping all flow of electricity.

Done properly, this can be an acceptable solution but make sure it is done by a licensed electrician to be sure it meet code and gives you proper protection.

 

[grouper therapy]

That was one of the best explanations I've heard for that scenario. Well done! one would think you do that for a living.

 

[rdnelson]

grouper therapy;1008899 wrote: That was one of the best explanations I've heard for that scenario. Well done! one would think you do that for a living.

I slept at a Holiday Inn last night.

 

[grouper therapy]

Well I play one on TV!!

 

[atlweb]

rdnelson99- Thanks so much! That was very helpful.

I found this article: http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-install-a-gfci-outlet/index.html">http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-install-a-gfci-outlet/index.html</a>

If I was to do this and just install a GFCI, it looks like I'd need to buy:

- Wire strippers
- Grounder tester ([IMG]http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-120-VAC-GFCI-Outlet-Tester-1-clam-5-clams-master-GFI-3501/202867890">http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-120-VAC-GFCI-Outlet-Tester-1-clam-5-clams-master-GFI-3501/202867890</a>)

I can follow the instructions to convert the 2 prong into a GFCI outlet, and then check it using my tester after (this will trick it into thinking it is grounded, right?).

If that whole thing will take me less than an hour + under $50, does that sound about right?

 

[rdnelson]

I haven't looked at those articles but yes the material should be about that much.

To be clear it doesn't trick it and it doesn't provide a ground path. Normally, a GFCI senses imbalance between hot and neutral and also senses any current flow on the ground. In your case you won't have a ground to sense but it will still sense any imbalance. It is better than what you have now but not the best. A car with front airbags is better than one with no airbags but one with front and side airbags is best.

 

[atlweb]

I'm going to get a ground tester and see if another outlet about 6ft away is "actually" grounded. It is a 3 prong, but I'm not sure whether or not it was ever properly grounded (the previous owner was known for taking short cuts).

If so, I will probably just run a 7ft surge protector from there to the tank (and hide the wire with some wire hiders). I also plug my computer + speakers + amplifier into that same outlet on another surge protector, so hopefully that and a small tank would be too much for that outlet?

 

[atlweb]

weird, not letting me edit!

won't* be too much for that outlet.

 

[rdnelson]

Depends. Do you have a breaker panel or fuse panel? In a house of that age, the wiring is mostly 14 gauge which is only rated to 15 amps. With a small set up you should be fine but with a larger setup you may be exceeding the limit and start tripping the breaker. Some people would be tempted to put a larger breaker on it but that would be very dangerous because the wire is not sized for it.

My bet is the other outlet is not grounded either. But even if it is, the surge protector will not give you or you animals any protection. All it does is protect your equipment from a large surge that could damage the equipment. GFCI protection is what protects you and the livestock.

Even in brand new homes, I would recommend GFCI protection on the tank but in an older home it is even more important. If you have a bad piece of equipment leaking electricity into the tank, there is no ground to return it back to the panel. But as soon as you put your hand in the water you become the path it can take and the current flows through you. A GFI will help to prevent that if working and installed properly.