Gfci ......

[whatcaneyedo]

I've personally had it happen as well were I've splashed a powerbar that was not plugged into a GFI outlet and watched it crackle and smoke before I shut it off. I have then had it happen again after I had installed the GFI outlets and they shut off immediately before anything else could happen. Even if stopping fires is not what they are intended to do you have to admit it can happen.

These are the 5 cases I mentioned to the best of my knowledge.
1. Water ran down a cord to the electrical socket behind the tank. Fire originates at electrical socket. The fire does enough damage to kill everything in the tank.
2. Previously overloaded timer presently being used to turn a 150W MH on and off spontaneously catches fire. The fire leaves some black scorch marks around the timer.
3. A powerbar sitting on the floor behind a tank subjected to a lot moisture and corrosion catches fire and leaves black scorch marks on the wall behind the tank.
4. The ballast blows (why? no one knows...) in a regular fluorescent light fixture above a tank. The fire does significant damage to the basement of the house, the aquarium glass explodes onto the floor.
5. Another regular florescent fixture hanging over a tank begins to smoke (moisture, corrosion, spray? I dont know). The smoke is significant and everything in the tank dies.

Based on this little information could none of these have been prevented with GFIs? In at least 3 of the 5 cases it was a combination of electricity+water=fire. If a GFI trips when electricity and water meet is it not conceivable that they would prevent a fire?

[RR37]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

I've personally had it happen as well were
These are the 5 cases I mentioned to the best of my knowledge.
1. Water ran down a cord to the electrical socket behind the tank. Fire originates at electrical socket. The fire does enough damage to kill everything in the tank.
2. Previously overloaded timer presently being used to turn a 150W MH on and off spontaneously catches fire. The fire leaves some black scorch marks around the timer.
3. A powerbar sitting on the floor behind a tank subjected to a lot moisture and corrosion catches fire and leaves black scorch marks on the wall behind the tank.
4. The ballast blows (why? no one knows...) in a regular fluorescent light fixture above a tank. The fire does significant damage to the basement of the house, the aquarium glass explodes onto the floor.
5. Another regular florescent fixture hanging over a tank begins to smoke (moisture, corrosion, spray? I dont know). The smoke is significant and everything in the tank dies.

Based on this little information could none of these have been prevented with GFIs? In at least 3 of the 5 cases it was a combination of electricity+water=fire. If a GFI trips when electricity and water meet is it not conceivable that they would prevent a fire?

Thats the common misconception regarding GFIs its not the water that trips them, its the ground or lack there of. A GFI will only trip when the power moving from the receptacle to the object being powered does not match what is moving back into the receptacle, from said object. That may be just getting wet or that may mean it getting wet while you are holding it or any other number of possibilities/situations. It does not sound like a grounding problem in any of those instances, sounds like an arcing problem from here.

an example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhW9V...eature=related