# stock tank heater electrocuting....



## Old Mission

Why are my stock tank heaters shocking the animals? They are plugged into a extension cord and thats my only option, how can I prevent this? I have bought new heaters and its still doing it so its not the heaters.


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## arabian knight

You have not a good enough ground, the extension cord maybe too long for a good ground.
Or it is not grounded at all.
I had the same thing happen many years ago.
My barn only had 2 wires coming in One Neutral, One hot.
I then Put in a ground rod outside of the barn and ran in a separate wire for the 3 prong plug on the heater, making it then a grounded connection at the plug.
Problem solved.
And Please Get This Corrected.... If it is being used for Horses, Horses can't take much electricity at all.


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## wr

Are you plugged into a single extension cord or a serious of extension cords and is there any chance that your cord has a crack or some damage?


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## haypoint

Extension cords have a ground?
Does the outlet have a ground plug?
Is the outlet properly grounded?

Since it isn't the heater, you may need an electrician to run some tests and correct this problem. 

I've seen a few outlets that have a ground plug, but the ground wire went to nothing or grounded to the box and nothing else.

This can be a big problem as horses will refuse to drink and you can have health issues or death. Horses hate electricity, that's why electric fences work so well.


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## fols

Same issue here. We didn't figure it out. We just plug ours in at night now when the horses are stalled and make sure it is unplugged by the time they go out in the morning. Not sure if that's an option for you. Weird because our cows will drink from the plugged-in water, but the horses won't.


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## haypoint

A number of years back there were dairy farms that were troubled with a loss of milk production. They checked everything. Discovered it was caused by a faulty ground. The electricity was giving the cows mild shocks. It had gone on for years. Not sure if it was an on-farm problem or something Consumers Power was doing at the road.


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## pcwerk

out of curiosity, can horses feel an electrical current that is too light for a human to feel? 
i know its kind of stupid, but i worry about the ground thins as well since i too have to use 
an extension cord but i always check the water w/ my hand to make sure its ok...so far so
good ;-)


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## haypoint

pcwerk said:


> out of curiosity, can horses feel an electrical current that is too light for a human to feel?
> i know its kind of stupid, but i worry about the ground thins as well since i too have to use
> an extension cord but i always check the water w/ my hand to make sure its ok...so far so
> good ;-)


I'd say yes. Those cows I mentioned were feeling it while humans didn't. 
Plus it seems my horses can tell when the fencer is off, without getting a jolt.


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## bergere

Ground your tank.

Take a 8' grounding rod, leaving only 6" above the ground.
Get a heavy cable, husband used a battery cable and attach it both to the tank where the animals can't get to it and the grounding rod.
He used an H clamp and a heavy duty washer for the tank side of things.

Make sure the heater is plugged in to a "GIF", too.

DH uses an OHM Meter to make sure everything is working properly.

Doing these two things will keep you and your animals from being electrocuted.


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## pcwerk

thanks for the feedback...i'll definitely check on this grounding the tank. does it work on a rubber tank?


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## arabian knight

pcwerk said:


> thanks for the feedback...i'll definitely check on this grounding the tank. does it work on a rubber tank?


No.
That tells me it IS the cord~! 
Something is not getting grounded and that something is the heater itself.. And being a rubber tank it is not that.


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## pcwerk

arabian knight said:


> No.
> That tells me it IS the cord~!
> Something is not getting grounded and that something is the heater itself.. And being a rubber tank it is not that.


thanks AK ;-)


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## willow_girl

If your tank is within 50 feet of an electric fence charger, it may be wreaking havoc.


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## minister man

I am an electrican, canadian mind you, but electricity needs no passport!


So there is an extension cord coming from and out let on the barn. Take a volt meter and put one lead in the hot side of the recepticle, ( which should be the right hand side, if the ground is on the bottom) and the other lead into the ground slot. You should have 120 volts. that would tell you that the plug is grounded at the source. 

The question I have is there a water line that goes out to the tub? Is it plastic or metal? I have seen situations where a metal water line inside a building will come in contact with power ( which allows the water to conduct) and the pipe underground is plastic, which insulates the water from the ground. The tub is rubber which is also and insulator. Ground the metal water lines in your building to be sure they are not carrying stray voltage. 

Cows usally won't drink if there is stray voltage, so I am guessing it is all fine. Please Don't ever put a ground rod in the ground and leave 6" sticking out of the ground. Dig a shallow hole, drive the rod below ground, hook the wire on and cover it. Have you ever had to pull a friend off of a ground rod impailing thier gut?


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