a lot of pumps are not coming with earths. The latest victim seems to be the ever popular maxijet1000 and its siblings. If your using such pumps then make sure your water is earthed somehow. check something else in there is earthed, otherwise run one. you can attach to a radiator, or most building metalwork. just not gas appliences or you could run a wire from a plug. perhaps even the pumps plug if its not moulded on.
faults have been found with them cracking open under the heat of running dry. If you have no earth, an rcd wont even see it happen. The pump will just carry on running. ive seen it.


The cable is usually a dead giveaway. a flat cable, means no earth. The sticker on the pump will also have a small square drawn within another small square to signify the units double insulated. its not enough for fish, never mind people imo. electric in water needs an extra degree of protection. compaired to other regs, its surprising its allowed.

Whats the best way to earth the water itself? Dangle the earth wire in the water?

that would do. it need not be a 10 foot earth rod. just a match head sized contact area will be enough. thats what an earthed pump has, a match head sized water connection.


or...you could just remember its dangerous. such is life

if your install is one your going to run for years, then a bolt through the tank gives a good earth connection. use big washers and silicone sealant. use stainless steel parts. it will be tough enough to forget about then

Its good to have a electrician around

sorry but just a quick question to someone in the know, at the moment my grow room is somewere with very limited plug,s there is not 1 double plug socket what is the safest way to connect my double plug contactor to a single plug, can i use an extention lead with a cutout on it or do i need something else i am worried about FIRE big concerne ov mine will a power breaker make any difference in this department either????

thankyou for anyhelp any one can give me to put my mind at ease at night not good worrying!!!

Earth the water...thats a good one...you need to use rcd protection, which monitors the current in the live and neutrel conductors (which in a healthy circuit will be equal) if there is an imbalance then there is a leakage somewhere in the circuit (through your body for instance) and the rcd will operate, cutting of the supply current quickly, before any harm is done.
An earth wire in the tank would not blow the plug top fuse as the resistance of the water between the pump and the earth wire would be to great and therefore very little current will flow.
However this advice is hypothetical, as the best advice would be not to put your hands in water with the supply to the pump or heater switched on and use rcd protection to be sure.
The reason why this equipment has no connection to earth, is that it was designed to not rely on earth protection (class 1), but to rely on the fact that the equipment is double insulated (class 2), which is to say that no single failure can result in a dangerous voltage becoming exposed, so even if we remove the pumps outer casing it will still be insulated as to afford adequate protection.
That said if a pump has overheated and the result is a crack in the case, then replacement is a must.

i've been using maxijet 1000 for years now with no probs
they pass the British standers test which is good enuff for me

no-one should be letting them run dry anyways

Iv used the maxijet 1000 for a while with no problems. But reading this I think I will earth it does not cost the earth and could keep the familys safety in tact so worth a shot(sorry for the pun).

Thanks for the heads up, will make sure both my res's are earthed!! A+