Getting Electrocuted by LED Lights

[daman6052]

Hello,

I just bought a pair of Mars Aqua Chinese LED dimmable 165 watt lights. I built some custom brackets to hang them on my hood and so far I love them. However, I've noticed on several occasions that when I use my turkey baster (tis' the season!) to feed my fish and my hand is slightly touching the light and the baster is in the water I get shocked!!! Should this be happening? I have no idea what's going on and I'm not sure what to do or if there is even a way to prevent this (aside from just not touching the light during feeding, but that's a bit difficult). When I touch the light even with wet hands without the baster in my hand I'm fine--nothing. Suggestions?

I've attached a picture to show exactly how this is playing out...Thanks in advance reefing forum!

-Matt

 

[amadesu]

Sounds like the fixture isn't grounded properly, definitely not normal. I would unplug it, open it up, and see if they attached the ground wire to a screw or rivet going into the chassis.

 

[BrettDS]

Sounds like the fixture isn't grounded properly, definitely not normal. I would unplug it, open it up, and see if they attached the ground wire to a screw or rivet going into the chassis.

It may be that the light is grounded, but there is a voltage leak in the tank. Probably worth getting a voltmeter and checking the tank and the lights for stray voltage.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I'd be far less suspicious of the light and more so of any power cord in the water. IMHO the light is what is grounding you and not the source of the electricity.

 

[mcgyvr]

all submerged line powered equipment MUST be on a GFCI device..
heaters/ac powerheads,etc...

You can just buy a power strip with GFCI and plug all that equipment into it..

 

[michaelrc51]

Is that a wood mount that you made?

 

[OllieNZ]

It may be that the light is grounded, but there is a voltage leak in the tank. Probably worth getting a voltmeter and checking the tank and the lights for stray voltage.

I'd be far less suspicious of the light and more so of any power cord in the water. IMHO the light is what is grounding you and not the source of the electricity.

^^^^^
I've had these lights open and can confirm that the chassis is grounded and unless you've submerged it, it's unlikely to be the light. If you do decide to open the light and check all the connections they are very easy to open and to put back together.

 

[ru4serious]

Heaters are notorious for this. Unplug you heater and I'd bet it stops shocking you

 

[ericarenee]

how did you attach that wood mount to the lights..

the wiring is close to the top cover in there. Is there a chance you nicked a wire or have your screws ran into something electrical inside the light fixture.

cant really tell by your image on how you did this..

 

[BrettDS]

Definitely worth getting a voltmeter and checking though. Check both the water and the lights to be safe. Don't just let it go and don't test it by checking to see if you get shocked as that can be quite dangerous. If you don't have a voltmeter, spend $20 or $30 at lowes to get one. It's not worth risking your life.

Also, as mentioned above, pick up a GFCI outlet or power strip while you're in lowes.

 

[OllieNZ]

how did you attach that wood mount to the lights..

the wiring is close to the top cover in there. Is there a chance you nicked a wire or have your screws ran into something electrical inside the light fixture.

cant really tell by your image on how you did this..

Looks like there's screws through the brass eyelets where you normally attach the hanging kit.

 

[mikedawg8898]

ive had powerheads be the source of stray voltage in my tank as well so unplug things one at a time and see what the culprit is

 

[daman6052]

Thanks for all the great responses. To answer a few questions...

1) Everything on the fish tank is on a GFCI or power strip.
2) The mount is made of wood and screws. I don't think anything on the power cords for the lights are compromised because I ran the power cords after everything was put together. And yes, I put screws through the brass eyelets that are normally used for hanging. I'll post a few more pictures of the setup--I actually got the idea from a youtube video. I plan on posting mine on there too.

I think I'll start by checking the voltage in the water before I take apart the light. Luckily I have a voltage meter so I'm going to do that as soon as I'm done typing this response. If I find voltage I'll take the advice on unplugging things one at a time to see what it is.

I will post a response after I give that a try. Thank you all so very much for the feedback. I'll let you know soon!

 

[daman6052]

Okay, A few interesting things...First is I don't have a GFCI outlet. Although it's grounded and things are on power strips it's not a GFCI like it is in my bathroom, etc....I'm going to probably change this.

And for the results....I was reading about 100 volts in the water! And in case anyone is wondering how to test for voltage you just ground your ground wire and stick the positive probe in the water

I took your advice (thank you again everyone) and started unplugging each component one at a time. I found the 2 culprits...One of the powerheads was responsible for 90 volts being discharged into the tank...GOODBYE! So after I found that one I was still getting about 7.5 volts (which I thought still probably wasn't normal). SO, I kept going and found out that the 7.5 volts was coming from my giant and expensive protein skimmer (from a company that's no longer in business). So......I'm not sure what to do about that one. Is it dangerous to keep the protein skimmer for now? I'd really hate to trash it, but I also don't want to die. Any thoughts on that one?

 

[oreo57]

It is not the voltage but current that will kill you..
That said, some motors/pumps induce current via their magnetic fields..

Magnetic Induction

Moving magnetic fields can induce a voltage and current in the aquarium water (or any conductor). Pumps and powerheads often have spinning magnets and may generate up to 50v of voltage but only very small amount of current.

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Stray_current
http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/GroundingProbes.html

 

[daman6052]

It is not the voltage but current that will kill you..
That said, some motors/pumps induce current via their magnetic fields..

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Stray_current
http://angel-strike.com/aquarium/GroundingProbes.html

Oreo, I read both of those articles and they are very informative, thank you. It sounds like there is some sort of connection between volts and current. The fact that I was getting shocked sounds like there is some form of current getting through. I haven't used to meter to check for current, so maybe I should do that?