Stray Voltage Help

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steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
Hello Folks,
looking for help on solving stray voltage issue: We have a URD neighborhood and the one of the houses at the end of the cul de sac has stray voltage issues. We were getting readings of 4.2V- 6.0V. We check other houses, and transformers and communication pedestals and we were getting readings from 3.2 to 6.0V. For this particular house we pulled the meter and lifted the (line side)neutral and the voltage was still present. Long story short, we went to the riser pole open up the cutout and lifted the system neutral for total isolation and at the end of the cul de sace, the stray voltage increase to 6.3V. The stray voltage at the beginning of the neighborhood is near 0V. The soil at the end of the cul de sac is wet soil on the marshes which makes it a good conductor. There is also a gas main that crosses behind this house to another neighborhood which is also a URD system. We did the same thing open the cut out and lifted the primary neutral and no changes. I was hoping the voltage was flowing down the gas main. We used a fluke meter and put one probe on the ground and the other on a metallic surface, such as meter socket, water spicket, pedestal etc. Moral of the story, by lifting the system neutral should of eliminated the issues. then we would of look on our system for a bad bond etc.

any thought or suggestion would be appreciated
 

steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
Welcome to the forum!

What do you mean by "stray voltage issue"?

What you are reading doesn't sound so bad when using a digital meter.


Its an issue, enough when someone feels a shock. What i am trying to find out, when the neutral was lifted, could this be a result from a bad bond from telephone or cable some where on the street even when the power was out in the primary neutral disconnected, the voltage is still present?
 

steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
Hello Folks,
looking for help on solving stray voltage issue: We have a URD neighborhood and the one of the houses at the end of the cul de sac has stray voltage issues. We were getting readings of 4.2V- 6.0V. We check other houses, and transformers and communication pedestals and we were getting readings from 3.2 to 6.0V. For this particular house we pulled the meter and lifted the (line side)neutral and the voltage was still present. Long story short, we went to the riser pole open up the cutout and lifted the system neutral for total isolation and at the end of the cul de sace, the stray voltage increase to 6.3V. The stray voltage at the beginning of the neighborhood is near 0V. The soil at the end of the cul de sac is wet soil on the marshes which makes it a good conductor. There is also a gas main that crosses behind this house to another neighborhood which is also a URD system. We did the same thing open the cut out and lifted the primary neutral and no changes. I was hoping the voltage was flowing down the gas main. We used a fluke meter and put one probe on the ground and the other on a metallic surface, such as meter socket, water spicket, pedestal etc. Moral of the story, by lifting the system neutral should of eliminated the issues. then we would of look on our system for a bad bond etc.

any thought or suggestion would be appreciated





Could this be an issue with Telephone and Cable with a bad bond some where?
 

Fitzdrew516

Senior Member
Location
Cincinnati, OH
6 Volts is HUGE. One thing that comes to mind is a utility power quality issue on the primary (voltage gradient throughout the soil). It could also be a bad neutral in another neighbor's house that is traveling across a shared water pipe. Isolate telephone and Coax as well. Here's a really good video about stray voltage issues if you have time to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAs_FmdxXhQ

- Drew
 

steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
6 Volts is HUGE. One thing that comes to mind is a utility power quality issue on the primary (voltage gradient throughout the soil). It could also be a bad neutral in another neighbor's house that is traveling across a shared water pipe. Isolate telephone and Coax as well. Here's a really good video about stray voltage issues if you have time to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAs_FmdxXhQ

- Drew

I did watch this video awhile back which is excellent... We eliminated the neutral issue 3 times, one being at the beginning of the Street by killing the power for the entire neighborhood and removing the system neutral.
 

mivey

Senior Member
A few Neutral-Earth volts might be expected at the end of a long single-phase system or un-balanced three-phase system. But when you go back to the start and open the phase and neutral you have a different source. This is obviously being transferred from somewhere else through the telephone, water lines, CATV, etc. Perhaps a well or something on a nearby neighbor from a different circuit. Could ride a fence or something else and get back on one of the other conductors.

See if you can isolate the alternate conductors on that one house (fence, pipe, telephone, CATV, etc.) and you can identify the path.
 

steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
A few Neutral-Earth volts might be expected at the end of a long single-phase system or un-balanced three-phase system. But when you go back to the start and open the phase and neutral you have a different source. This is obviously being transferred from somewhere else through the telephone, water lines, CATV, etc. Perhaps a well or something on a nearby neighbor from a different circuit. Could ride a fence or something else and get back on one of the other conductors.

See if you can isolate the alternate conductors on that one house (fence, pipe, telephone, CATV, etc.) and you can identify the path.

That a good point. The only other thing there is (2) 13.8kv going into another along the marsh. about 900ft away, I test the guy wires and got nothing, however its is 2/0 bare Cu and its from a different utility, i wonder if those lines are inducing a voltage onto the ground?
 

steve9477

Member
Location
massachusetts
That a good point. The only other thing there is (2) 13.8kv going into another along the marsh. about 900ft away, I test the guy wires and got nothing, however its is 2/0 bare Cu and its from a different utility, i wonder if those lines are inducing a voltage onto the ground?

After I posted this last thread, I went to those line and found an inslutor was tracking, and the bare neutral was tracking down the pole and onto the guy wires which happends to be right one the water. I found 8v coming down from the top. this is another utility which isn't the utility I work for. Phewwww Thanks everyone for posting comments. Stay safe out there.
 

mivey

Senior Member
After I posted this last thread, I went to those line and found an inslutor was tracking, and the bare neutral was tracking down the pole and onto the guy wires which happends to be right one the water. I found 8v coming down from the top. this is another utility which isn't the utility I work for. Phewwww Thanks everyone for posting comments. Stay safe out there.
Awesome hunting. :thumbsup: Always fun to find the problem.
 
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