Stray voltage?

ca1ore

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So if there is current in the tank can someone please tell me what I should do/what I need to do to prevent myself from getting zapped

Depends on what you mean. Most stray voltage is induced and no big deal (thus my posting of the red herring earlier) but it is possible to have a broken motor or heater that is pumping current into the tank. I only had a heater rupture once, and it blew the breaker. I always stand on a slab of styrofoam (think lid of DD/LA packing boxes) when putting my hand in the basement sump. I don't worry about the actual display because there are no current producing devices there.
 
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Depends on what you mean. Most stray voltage is induced and no big deal (thus my posting of the red herring earlier) but it is possible to have a broken motor or heater that is pumping current into the tank. I only had a heater rupture once, and it blew the breaker. I always stand on a slab of styrofoam (think lid of DD/LA packing boxes) when putting my hand in the basement sump. I don't worry about the actual display because there are no current producing devices there.
When you say most stray voltage is induced what does that mean? I don’t know much about electricity other than current is electrons moving through spacetime
 

ca1ore

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This …..

 

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So if using one of these I would put one end in the tank and one on a good ground but what is a ground plug in an outlet? Or can I just attach this second end to the screw that holds the cover plate to the outlet?

Put the red probe lead touching the water... the black probe lead into the ground line of a plug. This is easier done with an extension cord since most people don't have a plug really close to the top water line of the tank.

When looking at an extension cord plug end... the 2 vertical slots carry your hot and neutral lines. The ground line is the 1/2 sphere shaped slot above the 2 vertical slots.

A grounding probe is a good idea to put on your tank. But, you still need to find the offending item if you actually have stray voltage.
 
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Put the red probe lead touching the water... the black probe lead into the ground line of a plug. This is easier done with an extension cord since most people don't have a plug really close to the top water line of the tank.

When looking at an extension cord plug end... the 2 vertical slots carry your hot and neutral lines. The ground line is the 1/2 sphere shaped slot above the 2 vertical slots.

A grounding probe is a good idea to put on your tank. But, you still need to find the offending item if you actually have stray voltage.
Thank you that helped a lot
 

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