Split off of How to bond a resin pool? JasonLion
With above ground pools you don't have any path to ground, all you have is a isolated body of water. If something electrified was to touch the pool wall the breaker or GFCI should trip,because the wall is bonded to ground. But not if it fell in the water. The vinyl liner and the PVC pipe isolate the water from ground. So if you had a person standing in the water and touching the pool wall the GFCI should trip because that person becomes the path to ground. But if you had a person standing in the middle of the pool not touching the metal wall there going to get electrocuted and the GFCI will never trip.
I'm not saying GFCI don't work, they do under the right conditions. Look at most of your small appliances, they don't have a 3 prong plug they only have 2. That means that they don't have a ground wire running to them so when they fall into the pool it still has no path to ground untill you make contact between the water and some sort of ground path.
The same thing hold true with all these whirlpool bathtub in your home and your hot tubs. They are all fiberglass with all PVC piping.You need some sort of metal in contact with the water and grounded for the GFCI to work.
Ive been an electrician for 18 years and I have tested to see if the GFCI would trip with no path to ground and it didn't. but as soon as i put a ground wire in the water it trip instantly. I also used a meter to check the voltage in the water with a hair dryer in the water and I was reading 118 volts to ground. Please don't try this just believe me and leave it at that.[/i]
You're safer but not completely safe. You have to remember that you don't have any metal parts in contact with the the water so if some electrical equipment was to fall in the water, the breaker or the GFCI will not trip. In order for a breaker or GFCI to work properly the current has to have a path to ground.cubbybeave08 said:Looks Good and now you are safe too.
With above ground pools you don't have any path to ground, all you have is a isolated body of water. If something electrified was to touch the pool wall the breaker or GFCI should trip,because the wall is bonded to ground. But not if it fell in the water. The vinyl liner and the PVC pipe isolate the water from ground. So if you had a person standing in the water and touching the pool wall the GFCI should trip because that person becomes the path to ground. But if you had a person standing in the middle of the pool not touching the metal wall there going to get electrocuted and the GFCI will never trip.
I'm not saying GFCI don't work, they do under the right conditions. Look at most of your small appliances, they don't have a 3 prong plug they only have 2. That means that they don't have a ground wire running to them so when they fall into the pool it still has no path to ground untill you make contact between the water and some sort of ground path.
The same thing hold true with all these whirlpool bathtub in your home and your hot tubs. They are all fiberglass with all PVC piping.You need some sort of metal in contact with the water and grounded for the GFCI to work.
Ive been an electrician for 18 years and I have tested to see if the GFCI would trip with no path to ground and it didn't. but as soon as i put a ground wire in the water it trip instantly. I also used a meter to check the voltage in the water with a hair dryer in the water and I was reading 118 volts to ground. Please don't try this just believe me and leave it at that.[/i]