Chiller causing electric shock in aquarium!

[Big Dog]

I just purchased a established tank with a Current 1/10 HP chiller. We moved it yesterday and all went well. After getting it plumbed and water flowing, including through the chiller, I started placing rock, I worked in the tank for about an hour and took a break. When I returned and placed my hand in the tank I got a tingle. I thought I may have got stung by something and tried again, same thing.

Long story short, I isolated the shock to the chiller. I checked everything, nothing wet in the chiller and it appeared to be functioning correctly except for the shock in the water. I eventually blew everything out with an air compressor and checked all wire connections to the control panel, wha la, no shock! My issue is I don't trust it now. Anyone have a plan of attack?

Can the stock be harmed if it was to receive this "shock" inadvertently?

Has anyone had this issue?

Is there anyone that services these chillers?

Thanks in advance!

Greg

 

[partypalooza5]

I just purchased a established tank with a Current 1/10 HP chiller. We moved it yesterday and all went well. After getting it plumbed and water flowing, including through the chiller, I started placing rock, I worked in the tank for about an hour and took a break. When I returned and placed my hand in the tank I got a tingle. I thought I may have got stung by something and tried again, same thing.

Long story short, I isolated the shock to the chiller. I checked everything, nothing wet in the chiller and it appeared to be functioning correctly except for the shock in the water. I eventually blew everything out with an air compressor and checked all wire connections to the control panel, wha la, no shock! My issue is I don't trust it now. Anyone have a plan of attack?

Can the stock be harmed if it was to receive this "shock" inadvertently?

Has anyone had this issue?

Is there anyone that services these chillers?

Thanks in advance!

Greg

It's possible that the compressor or fan motor have corroded terminals or something and that's causing current to leak into the tubing (It is all copper and titanium after all) If you're pretty handy, you can try taking all the electrical components off and inspecting the connectors. The only way it seems possible is some wire is touching the copper tubes and thus conducting electricity into the water. But I could be wrong.

 

[reeferman]

i know its not a solution,but you can put a grounding probe in to help.

 

[Frankie]

A ground probe will only trip the breaker is there is a problem. They do not stop electricity from entering an aquarium.
I suggest calling the people over at Current and getting there advice. Your chiller should not be doing this.

 

[zigginit]

Scary...

 

[zigginit]

BIG RED FLAG

DANGER DO NOT CROSS THIS LINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

if it was me i would take it apart (take pics first as this will help when putting back together.) look and EVERYTHING and clean salt creep off EVERYTHING. then i would look at ALL wires for insulation problems, look at areas that i could cover with silicone to better protect from salt water. (not the cooling part but the wire connectors and what not.)

 

[DBrinson]

Plenty of good advice in the thread already but here is my 2 cents:

Buy a "plug-in" GFI, and get used to using it, in the same way you use your seat belt when you drive (I hope). Plug your chiller (and other devices) into it and observe what happens to "trigger" the fault, then you can begin to troubleshoot what it is that is causing your chiller to leak "free" current into your tank.

All that stuff these guys are talking about doing, taking it apart and looking for copper on copper contact, would be best done while using a dedicated GFI adapter on the appliance in question.

I really just can't stress how important these devices are to pinpointing the cause of equipment failure and electrical shorts. Just having one of these babies handy will make searching for current leaks a snap. And when you put your hand into the tank, you won't teach your kids new words. :lookaroun

I run my equipment with a half dozen GFI's at all times, each with built in alarms.

Here is the closest model I could google to the GFI I use, I think I found them at Lowe's. There are a few "trash" GFI's out there, but most of the models I've used have been reliable.

P.S. Don't install a "wall socket" GFI ... they are expensive and cut the entire wall switch off when a ground fault is detected. (Many of them are trash too, they are designed to meet building codes in garages and outdoor outlets, not switch off reliably when current starts to leak) Better to use a plug-in GFI that cuts off only the equipment that you need to when a fault is detected ... pointing you quickly to the source of the problem.

Has anyone had this issue?

I've absorbed more wattage than I will ever admit to in a public forum ...

 

[Big Dog]

Well I'll be damned if I will buy a Current chiller as a replacement if they don't service non-warranty units. What the hey ................. Their response follows ............

Thank you for contacting Current-USA.
We don’t have a service department for chillers outside of the warranty period, however with situations like this we have found that many times this is related to the pump the chiller is connected to or in the strangest cases the outlet that the chiller is plugged into. For the chiller to start trasmitting electricity to its titanium coil, which is the only part that comes into contact with the water, would mean that there would be some sort of short in the compressor. This would typically cause the breaker to shut down, or the GFCI, or you would notice that the chiller was not chilling any longer. As mentioned you might want to check the pump that is feeding the chiller. Also, if you have changed the outlet that the chiller is plugged into, we have seen issues where the outlet not being properly gounded can cause the chiller’s coil to transmit electricity to the aquarium. This would be another thing to look into.
Please let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Current-USACustomer Service
Ph 760-727-7011
Fx 760-727-7066
info@current-usa.com