electrical shock

[Oakie]

went to unplug one of the pumps on my Euro Reef and when I grabbed the plug, it felt like I was getting a steady, but light shock. Unplugged it and went to work. Came home plugged it back in and it didn't seem to have the shock, but I could see a little arching just between the small gap between the electrical outlet and the plastic on the plug...........what gives?

I've had another skimmer now in that same outlet with no problems.

[corals b 4 bills]

Is it grounded? It's gotta be a fray in the wire of that pump.

[Oakie]

It's a three prong plug, and plugged into a GFI outlet.

Don't see any fraying....could it be frayed at the pump maybe...the part that's in the water?

[Roy G. Biv]

The little arching you see is when you plug an ON appliance into a socket. The light shock may be coming from water breaking the seal of the pump. If the outlet is GFI it should have popped. If not HD or Loews sells a 6" extension cord with 6 outlets GFI protected. When I'm not sure what is giving me a buzz, I unplug everything then plug one at a time into that strip until one makes it pop. Heaters are more known to cause that buzz than pumps. Pumps are usually 100% encased in plastic, unless it was dropped at one time.

[Oakie]

The thing with the arching is that it isn't just once. It keeps arching when it's plugged in. Not just when you plug it in or unplug it.

I was surprised it didn't trip the GFI either.

I think I need to be looking for a new pump though.

[Icefire]

Try to plug it in another outlet.
If it do it again ditch it ASAP.

Arcing will make the plug catch fire

[Oakie]

Thanks.....long since ditched....did the same thing on another plug, so into the garbage it went and I just finished putting in the new one.

Not worth the chance