I had 2 plug-in GFCIs fail on me, one in the off position, the other (its revised replacement) in the on position. The replacement's replacement has been fine for 10 years, and I do press its test button before each use. Also I've twice been protected from shock by other GFCIs.
Yes, and it happened to me, twice, and each time it was fairly painful.
To prevent nuisance tripping, GFIs have a time delay that varies by the level of current leakage. The old UL standard 943 allowed 6 milliamps of current to flow for as long as about 6 seconds before the AC had to be disconnected, but the time shortened to 30 milliseconds at a current level of about 200 mA. That's a very, very dangerous current, and even a far lower 20 mA is bad enough to cause muscle paralysis and prevent a person from letting go. Apparently humans can feel electric current at just 0.5 - 1.0 mA. Do NOT try to get an idea of the sensation from an AC outlet, even with a 15,000 ohm resistor in series to limit the current to a safe level
yes you or the horse will feel the current for the time before the GFI trips. If the current is high enough, it can be very painful.
yes along with using the GFI, you should ground the metal tub and any other large metal associated with electrical devices.
Mark
That would depend on penis size :)
This is not in a stall, this is outdoors in the pasture. The old tank heaters put a metal spiral, like a spring, over the cords, but like everything they make the shit cheap these days. Yea, I wish there was a cheaper way to keep their water from freezing. My electric bill doubles or worse during the winter.
You are correct about the boredom regarding the wood chewing. In summer they get to hunt around for their favorite grass or weeds. In winter they can only eat hay and stare at snow. Hell, snow bores me too.... Maybe I need to get WIFI enabled laptop computers for the horses so they can look for sexy pictures of other horses of the opposite sex :)
Think of what you pay to feed and vet those horses. Is it too much to spend another $10 to $20 for a GFI outlet? As I said in my original message, I installed the GFIs after a heater went bad, and would have electrocuted the horse, had I not run out of the house and ripped the cord out of the outlet. The horse was already down, and could not release from the tank. Scared the shit out of me!!! I've had several tank heaters stop working, but that was the first time one shorted where it was shocking the animal. Then too, if you have children help do chores and they were to touch a tank with a shorted heater, they could be killed too. I now feel that whereever an electric cord enters water, it needs a GFI.
Most of my tanks these days are plastic (Rubbermade brand). The heaters themselves have a ground in the cord, but that's about the only way to ground a plastic tank.
let me know if you figger out a way to keep that water water without electricity. We have three 1500w heaters going ourselves. And we're on a COOP power company. electric bill sucks.
Seems like ought to be some way to use propane, to provide a bit of heat.
Electric circulatiing pump, and a boiler of some kind. Boiler that won't light your hay on fire. But, it's only needed in winter.
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let me know if you figger out a way to keep that water water without electricity. We have three 1500w heaters going ourselves. And we're on a COOP power company. electric bill sucks.
And the stock tank NEEDS to be grounded. A shorted heater in a grounded tank will trip the breaker or blow the fuse.
Ypu could always throw a sheet of stainless steel in the bottom with a good ground cable out to a ground rod.
your veterinarians office and get some FREE advice about the horses and th= eir chewing problem. We seldom had any chewing problems with our horses so = it would be best to seek professional advice.
Wonder if the horses were feeling the 'tingling' from AC and found that the tingling source came from the heater, thus threw it out of their tank?
Heat pumps will more efficiently heat the water than straight thermal heating, right?
LMAO! well if it's plastic, it's a little hard to ground. If it's metal, it IS grounded. Duh, hello? It's sitting on the ground.
veterinarians office and get some FREE advice about the horses and their chewing problem. We seldom had any chewing problems with our horses so it would be best to seek professional advice.
no, they just get pissed when the tank is empty.
seems a little elaborate for a horse tank. Got a link to one that costs less than $40 and pulls less than 1000w?
If it is sitting on gravel or dry sand the "ground" is useless. Same if sitting on concrete. Our watering troughs were always grounded.
A steel t-bar driven (usually also part of the fence) connected to the (galvanized) tank.
Recirculating engine heater in Canada :
If you (or anyone else) can tell me where to buy it, I'd do just that. That would save lots of hassles.....
EXACTLY !!!!!!
I have to fill my tanks manually, which is sub zero weather is a chore in itself, because hoses freeze real fast. I cant fill a tank, shut off the water and spend 15 minutes feeding or petting a horse, because the hose will be frozen by then. Normally, I do all my feeding, grooming, petting, and other stuff first. Then I drag my 125 feet of hose out of the house, and begin filling water tanks. (While feeding I make a mental note of which ones need to be filled). That way, I fill one, and move the hose to the next one immediately and keep going from tank to tank until finished. When it's a larger tank, I get a few minutes to warm up in the house and look at my watch to time it. I know just about how long it takes to fill any tank. When I'm finished the hose is dragged back in the house and drained as best as I can as it comes in the house door. Since I dont have a basement, those damn hoses are laying on the kitchen floor all winter long for me to trip on, and leave small puddles to mop up after I bring them in..... Every two days I have to struggle with this, all damn winter long. The small stall pail I fill with a bucket in the in-between days. Aint worth dragging out the hoses for that one bucket....
But yes, the do toss the heaters when they are out of water because they are pissed..... They also knock the tanks over and shove them around. I have a Shetland / crossed pony who tosses he heater, then pushes the tank outside the electric fence. HOW DOES HE DO THAT???? (But that's his way of communicating....) Shetland ponies are extremely intelligent!!!!
One other thing. I bought three 16 foot hoses. A local farm supply can order any length, from 10' to 100'. I hang them on 8' high hooks on the barn wall so both ends barely touch the ground. When the weather gets real bad, those 3 hoses can be screwed together, which is 48'. That will fill 90% of my tanks. I always have a heat gun near those hoses too. There is always a little ice that prevents the female end from turning. A few seconds with that heat gun, they will turn....
Do anything often enough, you learn the shortcuts and tricks!!!
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