Electrical shock from shower handle.

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djtazjr

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In hopes of having the groups of minds think with me of these subject, I posted this question on this forum.

The situation I have run into is something that I have picked up from another techincian that use to work for us. From the beginning of this service call the customer has complained about feeling a tingle from the shower door and hot water handle. To shorten a long story, the first call a ground rod was driven into the ground but I haven't a clue if any other troubleshooting was done.
I figured checking to see if there is a good bonding system and checking the loads inside the panel as well as checking to see if the neutrals are seperated from the grounds.

Anything further.......
 
djtazjr said:
In hopes of having the groups of minds think with me of these subject, I posted this question on this forum.

The situation I have run into is something that I have picked up from another techincian that use to work for us. From the beginning of this service call the customer has complained about feeling a tingle from the shower door and hot water handle. To shorten a long story, the first call a ground rod was driven into the ground but I haven't a clue if any other troubleshooting was done.
I figured checking to see if there is a good bonding system and checking the loads inside the panel as well as checking to see if the neutrals are seperated from the grounds.

Anything further.......
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A ground rod will not fix your problem.
 
djtazjr said:
In hopes of having the groups of minds think with me of these subject, I posted this question on this forum.

The situation I have run into is something that I have picked up from another techincian that use to work for us. From the beginning of this service call the customer has complained about feeling a tingle from the shower door and hot water handle. To shorten a long story, the first call a ground rod was driven into the ground but I haven't a clue if any other troubleshooting was done.
I figured checking to see if there is a good bonding system and checking the loads inside the panel as well as checking to see if the neutrals are seperated from the grounds.

Anything further.......
Click to expand...

Check your water heater element if it is electric and make sure the water pipes are bonded. I have seen elements broken in half in the tank with current going into the water.
 
stickboy1375 said:
A ground rod will not fix your problem.
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Thanks stickboy1375. The ground rod was driven by the first technician about a year ago so I know this solutions is null.
 
stickboy1375 said:
Was the water bonded Dennis?
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I don't remember for it was a long time ago. The leakage in the water was not enough to trip the breaker, if they were bonded but enough to feel it at the shower when you stepped on the cast iron drain.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Check your water heater element if it is electric and make sure the water pipes are bonded. I have seen elements broken in half in the tank with current going into the water.
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Okay Dennis, will do. However, if the element isn't broken would other suggestions would you have in mind? I am wondering, would an unbalanced system have a tranverse effect on the customers water lines?
 
stickboy1375 said:
The only fix is to find where the current is coming from. Then fix that problem.
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I agree! So it would seem I have some work ahead of me. You dont suppose that there may be a short in a wire some place and because the system isn't bonded properly the circuit isn't clearing?
 
djtazjr said:
I agree! So it would seem I have some work ahead of me. You dont suppose that there may be a short in a wire some place and because the system isn't bonded properly the circuit isn't clearing?
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It could be... Get the HO in the shower and start turning off the breakers until she can't feel it anymore. That will tell you what circuit it is. :D

Seriously-- just don't use the HO use a tester. :smile:
 
djtazjr said:
In hopes of having the groups of minds think with me of these subject, I posted this question on this forum.

The situation I have run into is something that I have picked up from another techincian that use to work for us. From the beginning of this service call the customer has complained about feeling a tingle from the shower door and hot water handle. To shorten a long story, the first call a ground rod was driven into the ground but I haven't a clue if any other troubleshooting was done.
I figured checking to see if there is a good bonding system and checking the loads inside the panel as well as checking to see if the neutrals are seperated from the grounds.

Anything further.......
Click to expand...

Unclear on the check neutral ground separation. If by isolating breakers and it is feed from a main panel serving the dwelling the neutrals and grounds are together. If you find buy isolating breakers the problem goes away and it is in a sub panel then the neutral and grounds must be separated
 
Dennis Alwon said:
It could be... Get the HO in the shower and start turning off the breakers until she can't feel it anymore. That will tell you what circuit it is. :D

Seriously-- just don't use the HO use a tester. :smile:
Click to expand...

Had a customer do this very thing while his wife was bathing. After a couple times of "Did that help?" hollered up from the basement, she protested. She was a cutey and I was tempted to ask her to repeat the experiment for me.
 
I troubleshooted this problem once before. The water feed was copper and the drain was cast iron. I installed jumper wire between the two and the problem went down the drain. The cause was not found but the solution fixed the tingle.

Rick
 
RUWired said:
I troubleshooted this problem once before. The water feed was copper and the drain was cast iron. I installed jumper wire between the two and the problem went down the drain. The cause was not found but the solution fixed the tingle.

Rick
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A solution it was not, a booby trap for the next plumber is more like it !!!
 
RUWired said:
I troubleshooted this problem once before. The water feed was copper and the drain was cast iron. I installed jumper wire between the two and the problem went down the drain.
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Have you measured the current?
 
I would start by reading this .

ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD DUE TO STRAY CURRENT


The first response of most persons is to bond the shower water control valve to the floor drain. In many cases, this is impossible. In the case under discussion, the shower was in the middle of the room without any access to either the piping or the floor drain. In the case of the camp ground there was no floor drain, just a gutter running the length of the shower building.
Bear in mind that a bonding jumper still has current flowing through it. Placing a person across the two points of the bonding jumper could result in current flowing through the person. In the example shown in Figure 2 and Table 1, place a person across the points C and D in addition to the jumper. There would be three paths for the current to flow. Granted, the resistance of a person would be much greater than the other two paths, but according to the laws of electricity, some current will flow through the person. Should the person have an open cut or abraded skin, there may not be sufficient resistance to prevent harm. It probably will be insufficient current flow through the person, however, do you want to take that chance?
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LarryFine said:
Have you measured the current?
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This was over 20 years ago in my own house and i don't remember reading any current. The cast iron drain went to a standard septic holding tank.At the time i figured the cast pipe was creating a better potential than the 3/4" galvanized pipe for the ground rod. The water heater was a gigantic old beast, the service was main range fuse, the floor was dirt and the romex was cloth covered. The fix was only temporary because i knew it was all getting changed.

Rick
 
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