Danger! High Voltage!

Is the meter analog or digital? Are you familiar with its settings? Some are more difficult to read than others. If it lists a make and model, I could google a pic perhaps and let you know if you're setting it and reading it correctly.

You're placing the probes correctly. One in water, one in the ground plug. You might want to take a piece of wire as a jumper to extend a ground from one receptacle to another in the house and measure the voltage b/w the two grounds. You may find that the voltage is coming from your ground, rather than from your tank.

 

@TahoeMtn: Thanks for the advice. I believe that's what I've been doing.

@ReefSparky: My multimeter is digital. Here is a good picture of it. I set the dial to read vAC at 200. Can you tell me how would I place the probes to check the voltage between grounds? I would place a wire connected to the ground on one outlet, to the ground on another outlet right? Then how should I proceed?

Thanks again!

 

Great picture and link. Thanks!!

OK, so it's digital. It should be auto range setting, then. Just to be sure, keep it on the 200 VAC setting. Put the black into the center, common jack; red probe into the Volts, Ohms, mA jack on the right, and put the probes into the two blades of a receptacle. If it reads 120 (the red into the short, or hot slot), then you know you are doing everything right and your tank voltage is accurate.

As for the voltage between grounds, yes--right. Just as you said. Stick one probe into the center, round, ground plug in one receptacle, and the other into another. You'll need a jumper if they can't reach--and they probably can't. Code calls for a receptacle every 6 feet. Unless your probe leads are 48" each, you can't do it without a jumper. Maybe two GFCI's in above your kitchen countertop would suffice? They're usually pretty close together.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

 

Hmm. I think I may have been using the meter incorrectly. I had the black lead plugged into the 10A jack.

I read the manual again, and sure enough, it was supposed to be in the COM jack... OI! I'll test my tanks with the lead in the right jack when I get home & see what the readings are. Boy is that embarassing!

 

Embarrassing? You kiddin' me? Those things are so danged complicated to use correctly that if I wasn't an electrician, I wouldn't know how to use one myself!! The 10A jack is for amperage readings only.

Use the instructions above, in a household receptacle--plug the red into hot, and the black into neutral. If you read between 110-124, you know you're using it right. That setting applies to your tank, too.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Okay, I'll try it when I get home & post back. Thanks again for your help!!

 

Well, this is disappointing. I put the black lead into the COM jack, and I still got the same readings in both tanks. I checked an outlet placing the red lead into the smaller hole and it read about 121v, which is about where it should be right? Hmm I'm stumped.

 

So the next step would be to insure that the voltage is being created in the tank. If so, we can address that--

For now, check the voltage between two ground plugs on adjacent receptacles. If it reads zero, then it's in the tank. If not, then it's a different problem altogether. Either way, we'll figure it out.

 

Okay. I'll check the voltage between the ground plugs in the morning. Do they need to be different wall outlets or would it work checking the grounds on the two plugs in the same wall plate?

 

different.