Heated water trough safety ?

[Ticker]

One of the first things were we taught in college, oh yes, I have a degree in electronics and decades of experience as a senior engineer,…is
“keep one hand in your pocket”. You don’t want electricity to go across your chest, it’s a good way to die.

Tank heaters become just as dangerous as any other electrical device…in water…when it starts to fail. Electrical devices
Can fail in many different ways…and you dont want to find out the hard way that your tank is now electrified. Water is a great conductor of electricity and the human body , being made up of mostly water, can make a great connection to ground giving the current( current kills) a path thru you down your legs into your feet and then the earth.
Earth is “the ground”. And please…please…please…don’t touch the water and grab a metal fence post as suggested above, that’s a perfect path from one hand thru your heart and out the other hand.

Wear thick rubber soled boots to prevent current from finding an ‘easy’ path to ground and keep one hand in your pocket to keep current from finding a path across your heart…when you are checking your tank heater.

Added: A tank heater is basically a large resistor in a metal cage. The current flowing thru the resistor causes heat which is then transferred to the water by the metal cage. The water keeps the resistor, which is most likely a ceramic material, from over heating and burning up. This is why heaters fail when the water level gets to low, the ceramic burns up and opens the circuit. The electricity is still in the wire from the outlet it is plugged into leading up to the ceramics point of failure so there is still a risk potential here. You do not want a failed water heater to find a path to ground thru the water in your tank… this is how your tank can become electrified.

Now let’s discuss tensile strength of materials. Anyone who has bent and unbent a wire knows that you can only do this so many times before the wire breaks. This is called tensile strength. Every time you lift the heater by the wire, which you have to do, you are stressing the wire connections. Any nick in the wire, caused by you or your horses playfulness is a potential failure cause. Not all failures are going to result in an electrified water tank. Same thing for that ceramic in your heater, you can only heat and cool the ceramic so many times before the material eventually fails.

If you have one of those heavy plastic water tanks, the plastic acts like an insulator, separating the current flow from a failed tank heater to ground…even tho the tank is sitting on ‘ground’ it’s not a good connection…until…your horse comes along. Your horse provides a much better path to ground thru his body, out his hooves, current flows,a potential shock is delivered. If the ground is wet, a better shock. If the ground is dry, maybe not so much.

Same thing with you. If you wear those thick rubber soles on your feet, you are insulating your body from ground so current does not flow thru you so easy.

[Lolliver]

@Ticker

One of the first things were we taught in college, oh yes, I have a degree in electronics and decades of experience as a senior engineer,…is
“keep one hand in your pocket”. You don’t want electricity to go across your chest, it’s a good way to die.

Tank heaters become just as dangerous as any other electrical device…in water…when it starts to fail. Electrical devices
Can fail in many different ways…and you dont want to find out the hard way that your tank is now electrified. Water is a great conductor of electricity and the human body , being made up of mostly water, can make a great connection to ground giving the current( current kills) a path thru you down your legs into your feet and then the earth.
Earth is “the ground”. And please…please…please…don’t touch the water and grab a metal fence post as suggested above, that’s a perfect path from one hand thru your heart and out the other hand.

Wear thick rubber soled boots to prevent current from finding an ‘easy’ path to ground and keep one hand in your pocket to keep current from finding a path across your heart…when you are checking your tank heater.

Added: A tank heater is basically a large resistor in a metal cage. The current flowing thru the resistor causes heat which is then transferred to the water by the metal cage. The water keeps the resistor, which is most likely a ceramic material, from over heating and burning up. This is why heaters fail when the water level gets to low, the ceramic burns up and opens the circuit. The electricity is still in the wire from the outlet it is plugged into leading up to the ceramics point of failure so there is still a risk potential here. You do not want a failed water heater to find a path to ground thru the water in your tank… this is how your tank can become electrified.

Now let’s discuss tensile strength of materials. Anyone who has bent and unbent a wire knows that you can only do this so many times before the wire breaks. This is called tensile strength. Every time you lift the heater by the wire, which you have to do, you are stressing the wire connections. Any nick in the wire, caused by you or your horses playfulness is a potential failure cause. Not all failures are going to result in an electrified water tank. Same thing for that ceramic in your heater, you can only heat and cool the ceramic so many times before the material eventually fails.

If you have one of those heavy plastic water tanks, the plastic acts like an insulator, separating the current flow from a failed tank heater to ground…even tho the tank is sitting on ‘ground’ it’s not a good connection…until…your horse comes along. Your horse provides a much better path to ground thru his body, out his hooves, current flows,a potential shock is delivered. If the ground is wet, a better shock. If the ground is dry, maybe not so much.

Same thing with you. If you wear those thick rubber soles on your feet, you are insulating your body from ground so current does not flow thru you so easy.

Great information Ticker! What is your suggestion for the best (safest) setup for water tanks and heaters? What’s the best way to test the water, assuming sticking your hand in it is the worst way!

[Ticker]

The best setup is not to have to use the tank heater at all, but thats not pratical for many people who need it.

I like the K and H sinking heater, it appears safety tested…ul listed and comes in a variety of power ratings. I would chose the lowest power rating possible for my application. It also is thermostatically controlled so it turns itselelf off when the water reaches a certain temp. The thermister is internal so not adjustable.

I would probably purchase a temperature(air) contolled outlet plugin that shuts the outlet off…ie no current flow to the heater at all above preset air temp.
A ground fault interupt as others have mentions would also be a priority.
I would enclose the heater cord in a hopefully horse proof conduit…the pvc pipe is a good choice. I also like closing off half the water tank with a lid to keep horses away from the element.

I would unplug the heater, pull it out and check for any damage, including calcification on the unit from minerals in the water…like a coffee maker that needs vineger to function properly. I would replace a unit with too much buildup, it wont cool properly and may cause a failure.

I had a paragraph here on how to test your tank with a voltmeter…but I deleted it. I don’t think someone who is not trained to use this equipment safely …should not try this.

My suggestion to monitor the health of a tank heater is to get one of those digital battery operated temperature monitors that record lowest and highest temp for the day…along with current temp. I would put the temp probe in the water and attached the display to the outside of the tank…away from horse lips under the lid. You should be able to determine what the ‘healthy’ temp range is for the tank. Anything outside of the expected range should prompt a heater inspection or replacement.

[Kmacht]

Some misinformation in this thread. Yes, household 120v wiring can and will kill you under the right circumstances. The key isn’t that it is 120 volts but that it is 15 or 20 amps. It is the amps (amount of power) that will kill not the voltage. Electric fences are a very high voltage (10,000 to 20,000 volts) but extremely low amperage (0.120 amps). They also pulse the voltage so that you a chance to let go or disconnect from the fence. Household current doesn’t. The most likely way to get killed by household wiring is to have the voltage go across your chest (in one hand, out the other). This potentially sends the voltage across your heart. As far as safety of water tanks, plugging the heater into a properly functioning GFCI outlet is the best and safest method. If your GFCI is constantly tripping you need to get it and the wiring leading to and from the outlet inspected. Don’t ignore it and just install a normal plug. You also want the GFCI at the plug and not one of those adaptors that go on the end of an extension cord. Any shorts in the extension cord before the adaptor can easily send voltage through that wet or snow covered grass the cord is running through. The adaptor only protects what ever is plugged in after it, not the cord itself.

Keith

[ASB_Stars]

My tanks heaters are on extension cords (heavy duty) and plugged into a GFCI that I just replaced recently. Yes, it will pop when it rains really hard, but then, the tanks aren’t freezing if it rains, are they? :lol: Occasionally, I will find that it tripped randomly, but I am sure that there was some circumstance that caused it to do so, and I’m fine with that.

Protecting the electric cord is a wonderful idea- but, I want the GFCI anywhere that there is water, and electricity. That’s why they are code for your bathrooms and kitchens.