shock in shower

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tractor21`

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I hope someone can help, A friend just moved into their new house and said when she touches the shampoo bottle in the shower she gets a faint tingle. She has called the electrician but he hasn?t responded yet. Besides checking the electrical connections and the system ground what else should be checked. It is a new house with an underground service and plastic water piping. The shower where this is happening is also a hydro massage tub.
 
What is the bottle resting on when she touches it? Ill assume the bottle is plastic so the current must be flwoing on the wet surface of the bottle, which then brings the question what the bottle is resting on when she touches it. The shock would have to go away once whe picks the bolttle up.
 
She says it is sitting on the shelf built into the fiberglass wall of the tub. Apparently the electrician did go to the house claims he fixed the problem but never went into the house?
 
Does this still occur if the breaker to the tub is turned off? This is on a GFCI breaker, right? Has any one checked for voltage to ground between the point where the bottle sits and the drain in the unit?
 
I don't think this is something that would be resolved (or caused) by a GFI device. I believe that you have two different ground potentials, and the wet bather is feeling the difference in potential between them. The two key elements that stand out are the plastic water pipes and the hydro massage tub (which would be/should be properly grounded).

This is a stretch and I admit I am only speculating, but the first thing I would try was to bond the metal plumbing fixtures of the shower (head, valve, and drain cover). I would also confirm that the tub is properly bonded.

Any metallic components in the water system near the shower could experience capacitive coupling with nearby circuits, and their voltage would rise significantly due to their isolation. I am sure the tingling would be short-lived, but nevertheless noticeable to a wet bather. (hmmm, maybe you could ask for an in-use demonstra.....nah, never mind:grin:.)

Oh, you might be able to detect the possible differences in potential with a high impedance digital volt meter, and this would narrow down what components are well grounded versus those that are not. Make sure that any fans or lights that are normally operating during her bathing are also operating during your inspection.

The confusing part is that the bottle is sitting on fiberglass. It may not actually be the bottle that is making her feel the tingle, but the change in body position, such as stepping on the drain cover in the process. I joked about the demonstration, but that might not be a bad idea (dry environment of course) if you can't isolate any other source.
 
I suspect grab bar or shower door screws driven into cables in the wall. I would like to propose to the next cmp that all wiring in the tub area be eliminated for just this reason. It causes too many electrocutions.
 
Tell her to call a GOOD electrician, NOW.



Try and find an old one :cool: who has seen this issue.

I have seen this twice in 30 years. It is real and it is (obviously) dangerous.

Do it now.
 
220/221 said:
Tell her to call a GOOD electrician, NOW.



Try and find an old one :cool: who has seen this issue.

I have seen this twice in 30 years. It is real and it is (obviously) dangerous.

Do it now.
Click to expand...
Gothca beat...4 times in 34 years:
1-bad element in electric water heater
2-busted neutral to house( between pole and house)-all neutral current ran back through the ground
3&4-shower door screw through romex inside wall
 
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