Ungrounded Lights And Deep Water Cultivation Question

[animal454]

Hello and thanks in advance..

I am doing DWC this time around. I just realized that the ground prong of the cord that feeds the lights is not grounded.

I am wondering if this could cause issues with my plants..??

I am in a tent in 3.5 gallon buckets with individual stones in each bucket running off of two air pumps.

I am vegging under T5's.

I am gonna change out the questionable cord but I was wondering if anyone has ever had any complications with this situation..

 

[animal454]

When my hand was in the water my arm touch the light fixture and I got a little zap...I was wearing socks standing in the tent..

I cannot believe that I missed the cord missing the prong..****face palm*****

I changed out the cord and duplicated what I did when I got shocked and this time I did not get shocked.

It seems that if a plant is touching the light or even the tent they would be getting zapped too..

 

[Hushpuppy]

That sounds like more of a static buildup and discharge. The only way that there could be a discharge of electrical current to the water is if the buckets and/or water within are grounded. Given that you were wearing socks and working within a tent that is made of polymer tells me that there was a static build up. If you are running an older style magnetic ballast, they will build up considerable static because of the magnet. Also the air bubblers within the DWC will also build static. You supplied the circuit for the potential static build up to ballance itself.

Not to discount the grounding prong, but they are really for if there is an internal ground to the frame from the circuitry within or if there is a short circuit within the same case, it will ground itself and blow the circuit breaker. However, in some cases it can be helpful to keep static fields from building up. But in this case, even having a grounding prong may not help alleviate the static buildup, or could even be a connection to ground a static discharge from your DWC buckets.

The wise thing would be to never touch the lights or ballasts while also touching the buckets. The worst thing that usually kills people is when they touch a ground and a power source with their hands which creates a circuit path that leads across the heart. What we are doing here with electricity, heat, water, and chemicals is inherently dangerous, and should always be respected for the danger that is present. Be careful fellow grow-friend

 

[animal454]

GREAT info Hush...Greatly appreciated.

Green mojo Amigo..

 

[HabitualConcepts]

Unless there was an original ground that was apart of the plug I wouldn't worry about it. If the ground has been broken off, you have a negative charge just waiting to complete the circuit with anything touching it. I have no idea about it effecting plants?

 

[Growdude]

Its unlikely it was just static only because your fixture was not grounded.
When you build up static and touch something grounded you get the discharge.

Most likely since the cord has the ground terminal removed you plugged the plug in backwards.
Normally the ground and neutral wire share the same leg so if you plug it in wrong the hot now is contacts the outside case.

The few that might remember the old refrigerators that only had a 2 prong plug will remember that it was quite common to get a shock if you touched the fridge and the sink at the same time.

 

[Sol]

I had the same trouble with a grounding pin cut off of an extension cord i was using. I was wondering why my cable t.v. was'nt coming in. Took me 4 days to track it down to that extension cord along side my tv coaxial cable running along the baseboard. It interfered with every t.v. in the house. And yes, i tossed it, and bought a spankin new heavy duty cord all proper like.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Its unlikely it was just static only because your fixture was not grounded.
When you build up static and touch something grounded you get the discharge.

Most likely since the cord has the ground terminal removed you plugged the plug in backwards.
Normally the ground and neutral wire share the same leg so if you plug it in wrong the hot now is contacts the outside case.

The few that might remember the old refrigerators that only had a 2 prong plug will remember that it was quite common to get a shock if you touched the fridge and the sink at the same time.

While what yu are saying is true and it is not my intention to argue this as I agree with you, but I differ in opinion. If it was not static and only wall voltage then he would have to be grounded in some way, or connected to the source to complete a circuit for 120v to jump. Yu seem to know about electrical like me, so you probably know that electricity seeks the path of the least resistance and desires to (return to the source if it is DC, or go either to ground or back to source if AC).

Given that he said he was in his tent, in socks and touching 2 different things that (we assume) are not connected in some way to ground or source, then the only thing powerful enough to jump to an isolated object would have to be static electricity. I know from experience that the polymer tents, plastic buckets, synthetic fiber socks all coming into close contact with movement causes static build up and magnetic fields. So I am inclined to think static unless the "shocking event" lasted for more than just an instant and/or repeated itself quickly after initial contact.

Non-the-less I agree that if it doesn't have a grounding pin that it should be replaced with one that has a grounding pin

 

[Growdude]

While what yu are saying is true and it is not my intention to argue this as I agree with you, but I differ in opinion. If it was not static and only wall voltage then he would have to be grounded in some way, or connected to the source to complete a circuit for 120v to jump. Yu seem to know about electrical like me, so you probably know that electricity seeks the path of the least resistance and desires to (return to the source if it is DC, or go either to ground or back to source if AC).

Given that he said he was in his tent, in socks and touching 2 different things that (we assume) are not connected in some way to ground or source, then the only thing powerful enough to jump to an isolated object would have to be static electricity. I know from experience that the polymer tents, plastic buckets, synthetic fiber socks all coming into close contact with movement causes static build up and magnetic fields. So I am inclined to think static unless the "shocking event" lasted for more than just an instant and/or repeated itself quickly after initial contact.

Non-the-less I agree that if it doesn't have a grounding pin that it should be replaced with one that has a grounding pin

Definetly possible Hushpuppy.