# difference between surge protector and gfci



## DarrinLindsay (Jan 11, 2005)

A GFCI monitors the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral. If there is any imbalance, it trips the circuit. It is able to sense a mismatch as small as 4 or 5 milliamps, and it can react as quickly as one-thirtieth of a second.

A standard surge protector passes the electrical current along from the outlet to a number of electrical and electronic devices plugged into the power strip. If the voltage from the outlet surges or spikes -- rises above the accepted level -- the surge protector diverts the extra electricity into the outlet's grounding wire.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

My understanding is that a surge protector won't protect you from shocks like a GFCI will. To draw an analogy, most indoor outlets that are near water (ie bathroom) are required by code to have GFCI outlets, not surge protectors. I recall googling "GFCI aquarium" and there were a number of articles that advocate use of GFCIs.

A GFCI recently saved me from a shock. Shut down the circuit before I knew the short had occured.


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## DarrinLindsay (Jan 11, 2005)

Your correct a surge protector will not protect you from a shock, but a gfci will.
To correctly supply electric to your aquarium, you should have a dedicated 20 amp gfci curcuit from your panel. I don't see any reason to have a surge protector, unless you have some type of electronics with microprocessor in it. 

Are you just wonder what the difference was, or are there other reason.

If there is any other electrical question you have I can help. I am an electrician. 

Darrin Lindsay
Lindsay's 'Lectrical Lines


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## panboy (Jan 27, 2006)

o ok, I believe I get it now.
I don't have a GFCI outlet installed, but I am going to very soon. My powerstrip has a surge protector also, which I thought would help, but I guess not...at least not as much as a GFCI

I actually have another question regarding grounding. I have heard some people like to use grounding probes. If you had a GFCI, would the probe still do anything?

There are also many types of powerstrips out there. Does it matter how 'heavy duty' the powerstrip is? Do I need to worry if the cheap ones can take all the plugs from my aquarium?


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Is something like this just as good (assuming you don't have a dedicated circuit)?: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=145277-33536-30338062&lpage=none


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## anonapersona (Oct 19, 2002)

*better - from Walmart $12*

http://www.fireshield.com/

This power strip is actually recommended for use with aquariums. About $12 from Walmart.

You have to be careful with the ones from the hardware store, some of the construction types will misbehave when a normal power outage occurs. So, if during a storm there was a momentary power outage and the electricity went down then came back on, those will not go on, they stay off. 

The Fire Shield power strip does not have that issue, it goes off if it is tripped but not if there is a simple power outage.


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## jgc (Jul 6, 2005)

Here is a question for the hive. If I think my outlet is on a gfci circuit (wired off the bathroom circuit). So, how do I know for sure...


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Plug something in to test outlet, then hit the 'test' button in bathroom. It should go out.


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## jgc (Jul 6, 2005)

Ok, simple solution. Thank you - will wait till lights out tonight and hit the reset and see what happens.


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## panboy (Jan 27, 2006)

anonapersona said:


> http://www.fireshield.com/
> 
> This power strip is actually recommended for use with aquariums. About $12 from Walmart.
> 
> ...



i dont have that fireshield strip, but some normal belkin one, and it doesnt turn off when the power goes out either.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

jgc said:


> Here is a question for the hive. If I think my outlet is on a gfci circuit (wired off the bathroom circuit). So, how do I know for sure...


Even if the outlet is on the same circuit, it may or may not be protected by the GFCI, depending on how the GFCI unit is wired. In fact, the more outlets you have protected by the GFCI, the greater the chances of the unit tripping unnecessarily. That's why fridges aren't usually protected by GFCIs. If you went away on vacation and the GFCI tripped one day into the trip, well I'm sure you'd get the picture.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

*Question for Darrin*

Assuming I had already planned on plugging my self-wired light fixture into a GFCI, was it necessary to ground the unit and equip it with a 3 pronged plug? If it was necessary, why? What extra protection is provided?


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## panboy (Jan 27, 2006)

jart said:


> Assuming I had already planned on plugging my self-wired light fixture into a GFCI, was it necessary to ground the unit and equip it with a 3 pronged plug? If it was necessary, why? What extra protection is provided?


im wondering that myself


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## panboy (Jan 27, 2006)

anyone? This question is kinda bugging me :icon_roll


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## anonapersona (Oct 19, 2002)

*portable GFI*

I have a bright yellow GFI that plugs into the wall, got at Sears, on sale, sometime ago. It has one 3 prong outlet and the two switches to test and reset. It was deeply discounted, maybe to $4. I'll guess original price was near $6 or $8.

If you find that you need the GFI but don't want to invest in another power strip or cannot get approval to replace the wall outlet with a GFIC outlet, then this may be the answer.


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## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

This might also be the case with hi-tech reefs where the electrical bits are LIFE SUPPORT. If the lighting tripped the GFID and took the filter down too...



jart said:


> That's why fridges aren't usually protected by GFCIs. If you went away on vacation and the GFCI tripped one day into the trip, well I'm sure you'd get the picture.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

jart said:


> Assuming I had already planned on plugging my self-wired light fixture into a GFCI, was it necessary to ground the unit and equip it with a 3 pronged plug? If it was necessary, why? What extra protection is provided?


I asked that question before and the resounding answer was that GFCI will work fine with 2 pronged things.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

jart said:


> Assuming I had already planned on plugging my self-wired light fixture into a GFCI, was it necessary to ground the unit and equip it with a 3 pronged plug? If it was necessary, why? What extra protection is provided?


As Wasserpest said, it will still provide protection to your 2-pronged light. If it develops an electrical leak, and you come in contact with the current while also grounded to something else, the GFCI will trip.

However, if the light fixture has any large metal surfaces (such as casing or reflectors), wiring the ground lead from a 3-prong outlet to the metal adds a little extra protection.


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## panboy (Jan 27, 2006)

Wasserpest said:


> I asked that question before and the resounding answer was that GFCI will work fine with 2 pronged things.


I'm not sure if he is asking that, 
but i meant it in another way.... Does a grounder still protect my aquarium and equipment in some other way that the GFCI doesnt?


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