Quote:
Originally Posted by mike31154
In the first post, the OP said he felt a tingle until he removed the grounding probe. If current was flowing from a piece of faulty equipment through the probe to ground, he shouldn't be feeling a tingle. This makes me suspect that he may have a faulty receptacle (or wherever the grounding probe was 'grounded') and that this is actually introducing a voltage potential into the tank and when he put his hand in the water, becomes the return path. This is why I suggested he investigate his house wiring.
But again, yes, I don't personally use grounding probes because their presence can actually hide or mask a problem all the while giving you a warm and fuzzy because you have one installed. Power can be a funny character, lots of gremlins in the wiring. GFCI is the way to go for your personal safety.
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The ground probe cannot be the source, it's only connected to the ground and if the receptacle didn't have a proper ground then removing or adding the probe would not make a difference. I see no way how a receptacle could be faulty in such a way that a ground probe would add voltage. The stray voltage is from the pump since unplugging the pump eliminates the voltage (also in the OP). Removing the ground probe simply prevents the flow of current, voltage can be created through induction in many ways from pumps and lights but it does not mean the equipment is faulty. Adding a ground probe creates a path for current to flow, typically the ground probe is a strong ground and a person won't feel any current because the ground probe is a much stronger ground but electricity takes the shortest easiest path so a poor ground is more likely the issue relating to the stray voltage but a better ground isn't the solution IMO.
Remove the ground probe, use a multimeter to measure the voltage between the tank water and removed ground probe. If you measure a voltage then the ground probe is functioning properly. The tank is obviously not grounded so voltage cannot flow from the ground probe to the tank, it must be the other way.
A GFCI is the best way to go, a ground probe won't really protect you, this example clearly tells you that. If the current was large enough to cause damage it still would go through you over the ground probe just as the small amount did.