Need ADVISE/HELP on home/farm ELECTRICAL ISSUE

[DPKetchum]

Have a rubber stock tank with a heater in it. Wiring is underground from a pipe line company to stock tank. Wiring about a year old with outlet coming out of ground at tank. I had a floating heater by Allied Inds. www.alliedprecision.com Products in it that is two seasons old and is thermostatically controlled. It killed one of my horses yesterday. He was the first one to drink. I touched water wearing LL Bean rubber boots and felt current go through me. Unplugged,no current. the pipe line company asked if they could disconnect power till Monday to check something??? What?? Fault ground or??? Need advise on how to get some answers to what triggered event etc. Thanks guys.

 

[JApol]

Sorry to hear about the loss of one of your hay burners. Is the heater still under warantee? If no I would suggest opening it up if you can to see if there is a water leak or bare wires are touching the case. Also wire in a GFCI outlet for the water tank. It will trip long before the breaker will even think about it.



If your underground cable run is shallow enough the cable could have been damaged by heavy equipment rolling over it but my bets are on the heater itself.

 

[DPKetchum]

I think the heater as a problem BUT I think more then that there is a GFCI problem or lack of?? Am I thinking wrong? This line was ONLY installed by pipeline company to RUN a heater system. I don't want to open heater UNTIL I talk to the manufacture but the WARNING on it says to have a PROPER GFCI. I need to get all the knowledge about this so it won't happen again. I'm lucky that HE was the only one to drink. Others ran back. I could have had SEVERAL dead around the tank.

 

[JPope]

Have had similar issues in two past places, but no dead animals. Sorry for the loss.



1. Horses were not drinking, and the one that tried was very uncomfortable (e. g. tongue in and out fast!!!). Solved this one by going to a common ground , one rod, for all devices (lights, receptacles, etc. ) on the circuit. And then put everything on GFCI. Believe this is similar to what happens in dairy barns, stray leakage current, and upsets the cows when you try to milk them!!!!



2. Other place, the wife got knocked on her butt the first spring we were there, while cleaning dribbled hay from the waterer. Checking the circuit, the previous Owner had reversed the hot and neutral, in the last junction box, so when you tried to kill the circuit, it was switching the neutral, rather than the hot.

Corrected the wiring and installed a GFCI in line so everything fed through the GFCI.