Grounding Probe
 

Hi all
Simply curious as to how many of you use grounding probes plugged into GFCI?

I don't think a grounding probe would do what it is supposed to do, collect stray voltage form your water if it was on a GFCI circuit, it would pop the GFCI. You'd be better off with what ever hardware your worried about leaking stray voltage on the GFCI. I'm not a electrician and could be totally wrong however...

I have read that using a grounding probe along with a gfci is the fastest way to cut power going directly into the tank, thus providing a milli second shock instead of making funeral plans:biggrin:

I use both. Might as well provide a path for the GFI to trip if there was leakage ahead of time rather than system waiting for me to but my hand in.

I thought using a ground probe with a gfi is dangerous, since the probe may interfere with the gfi and the gfi will not trip...then Zapp! Gotcha

No using a grounding probe with no GFCI is what is dangerous

Please explain.

a probe won't interfere with a GFI and a GFI will work with or without a ground.

From what I have researched is: that a grounding probe used along side a gfi provides the fastest or most direct route to shutting down power supplies, going gfi alone is also ok but not as direct/fast, and running a probe without gfi or no probe/gfi combo is basically allowing enough time to be seriously injured or worse!

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong:redface:

way a GFI works is it simply compares the current between the hot lead and the neutral and trips if there's an imbalance.

Throw a heater with a crack in the insulation (cord or housing) into a tank without a ground probe, basically the current in is the same as the current out. Now say you're grounded (touching a light fixture) and put your hand in the tank, there's an alternate path to ground, the imbalance detected and the GFIC trips. Put in a ground probe, the alternate ground path already exists if something was to fail.

Either case trip time of the device the same once the imbalance detected, just might go undetected until you put your hand in.