shocking bath tub fixtures - literally

Users who are viewing this thread

Jeremytl

Scientist
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
durham, nc
ok, when in the shower, you reach down and touch one of the fixtures, you get shocked. and i'm not talking about sliding your feet across the floor in winter and touching a doorknob shock, i mean your funny bone rattles in your arm kind of shock. if you are not touching the water and you just touch the fixture, you don't get it. you have to be touching both. I've been noticing it for weeks, if not longer but I currently have poison ivy and I took a "baking soda" bath. for the first time ever sitting in my bath tub i reached forward to turn off the water and i got it good. what could be causing this? my Dad thinks it is a faulty water heater element, sending a current across the pipes to the shower, tub.
 

Redwood

Master Plumber
Messages
7,335
Reaction score
13
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
You need to call an electrician!
Like right now!
It is probably not a water heater element!
Properly grounded the voltage would not get past the water heater ground.
 

Cass

Plumber
Messages
5,947
Reaction score
7
Points
0
Location
Ohio
DO NOT!!!

DO NOT!!!

DO NOT!!!



use the shower or tub again till an electrician has found the problem.
 
Last edited:

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,602
Reaction score
1,041
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
shock

Do not use any plumbing until an electrician checks it out because it is unlikely that it only affects the bathtub. You just might not have hit the right combination to feel it elsewhere. Like the old man said, "the only time the GFCI trips is when my wife is in the bathtub and I give her the hair dryer."
 

Jeremytl

Scientist
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
durham, nc
you couldn't be more correct, sirs

My Dad happens to be an electrician in Charlotte. Yesterday evening I sent him a link to this thread and he read what we were experiencing in the bathtub. He showed up this morning with bells on and said "I know what it is". My Dad kicks a$$! Turns out, my 43 year old copper pipes had lost the proper ground over the years as the grounding rod clamp had rusted and broken open... and the electricity was trying to find a better ground through the cast iron drainpipes which are very well grounded, you might say, as they lead underground to the septic. It all made sense once he explained it to me in a way only Dad's can. We replaced the grounding rod clamp and then wired an additional ground wire from the tub drainpipe to the grounding rod. Turned power back on, cranked up water heater, let water run for 30 minutes and tested every fixture in the house with the voltmeter. Problem solved. Thanks Dad!

I think I need a shower
 

Chris75

Electrician
Messages
607
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Litchfield, CT
My Dad happens to be an electrician in Charlotte. Yesterday evening I sent him a link to this thread and he read what we were experiencing in the bathtub. He showed up this morning with bells on and said "I know what it is". My Dad kicks a$$! Turns out, my 43 year old copper pipes had lost the proper ground over the years as the grounding rod clamp had rusted and broken open... and the electricity was trying to find a better ground through the cast iron drainpipes which are very well grounded, you might say, as they lead underground to the septic. It all made sense once he explained it to me in a way only Dad's can. We replaced the grounding rod clamp and then wired an additional ground wire from the tub drainpipe to the grounding rod. Turned power back on, cranked up water heater, let water run for 30 minutes and tested every fixture in the house with the voltmeter. Problem solved. Thanks Dad!

I think I need a shower

Sorry, but what your dad did was not fix the problem, he only masked it, ground rods are only for lightning, surges, and accidental contact with higher voltage lines. You need to find the real problem before someone gets killed. Check this link out for a little info.... http://ecmweb.com/grounding/electric_shocking_truth_grounding/
 
Last edited:

Jeremytl

Scientist
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
durham, nc
ok

Chris, what would you do or where would you first look? Can you surmise what the real problem may be?
 

Redwood

Master Plumber
Messages
7,335
Reaction score
13
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
It could very well be an open neutral. The neutral carries any imbalance from the 2 hots. The neutral and ground are bonded at the panel and any imbalance should go back to the transformer on the center tap via the neutral. If the neutral is open the ground becomes current carrying which is probably what you are seeing...

Note I'm a turd herder not an electrician! How did I do Sparky?
 

Jeremytl

Scientist
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
durham, nc
ha!

you guys are an invaluable resource - and entertainment to boot. in all seriousness - is it unsafe to shower
 

Alectrician

DIY Senior Member
Messages
688
Reaction score
0
Points
0
in all seriousness - is it unsafe to shower


HELL yes. Your dad the "electrician" only masked the problem by giving the voltage an easier path to "ground".

Ist step is to call utility company and have them check there end.
Next step is to isolate the circuit that is cousing the issue.

This is something that needs to be addressed now, There are many reasons and a lot of them are not easy for untrained minds to grasp.

The voltage should NEVER be running thru the plumbing.
 

Chris75

Electrician
Messages
607
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Litchfield, CT
Chris, what would you do or where would you first look? Can you surmise what the real problem may be?

I really dont want to say much on the subject except hire someone thats competent to find the problem and fix it. And I cannot tell you how much it hurts when I hear people driving ground rods to fix these types of problems, they really are just uneducated in the electrical field.
 

Cass

Plumber
Messages
5,947
Reaction score
7
Points
0
Location
Ohio
And where is the water pipe ground...sounds like a problem with a neutral but whatever the problem a pro needs to be called in to find it before the shower / tub is used again.

Do NOT use the tub until it is fixed.
 
Last edited:

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,602
Reaction score
1,041
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
solution

If your gas pedal sticks so the car will not slow down, is the solution to get better brakes or repair the problem. Giving a good path to ground solves the symptom, but does nothing to address where the electricity is coming from in the first place. I once disconnected an electric water heater. When I separated the union on the cold side I noticed an arc and told the lady that she should have an electrician check her wiring. She asked me if that is why all the lights and radio burned out and the television set was smoking. The answer was YES.

HJPOSTER.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Chris75

Electrician
Messages
607
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Litchfield, CT
When I separated the union on the cold side I noticed an arc and told the lady that she should have an electrician check her wiring. She asked me if that is why all the lights and radio burned out and the television set was smoking. The answer was YES.

That was a classic case of an open neutral, here is a picture of what actually happens in this case. Just FYI, you should really use an amprobe before you disconnect water mains and such, it could save your life.

This picture shows a multiwire branch circuit, but a residential service is the same idea.
300.13(B).gif

Around my parts everyone has a well, so when someone has an open neutral, its pretty obvious from the get go. Since the current will not travel through the ground to good. Unlike city water where the problem could go unnoticed for years.
 
Last edited:

Terry

The Plumbing Wizard
Staff member
Messages
29,942
Reaction score
3,459
Points
113
Location
Bothell, Washington
Website
terrylove.com
Just FYI, you should really use an amprobe before you disconnect water mains and such, it could save your life.

In the Seattle area, a plumber cut a water main to a home on a repipe in the crawl space, and since it had been the ground, he then became the ground.
It killed him.
 

Chris75

Electrician
Messages
607
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Litchfield, CT
In the Seattle area, a plumber cut a water main to a home on a repipe in the crawl space, and since it had been the ground, he then became the ground.
It killed him.


Actually the water main wasn't the ground, but the grounded conductor, aka neutral, current does not seek the ground (earth) it seeks source in which it arrived, (transformer at street) the earth plays no role in an electrical system, other than we try to protect our system from higher voltages and lighting strikes. thats the only reason why we drive ground rods, Hope that helps.
 

Brother

Member
Messages
69
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
UPC
In the Seattle area, a plumber cut a water main to a home on a repipe in the crawl space, and since it had been the ground, he then became the ground.
It killed him.

What size amprobe would be big enuff to clamp around the water main to measure the current??
 

Master Plumber Mark

Sensitivity trainer and plumber of mens souls
Messages
5,533
Reaction score
354
Points
83
Location
indianapolis indiana - land of the free, home of
Website
www.weilhammerplumbing.com
I had that happen to me

In the Seattle area, a plumber cut a water main to a home on a repipe in the crawl space, and since it had been the ground, he then became the ground.
It killed him.

I lost one of my 9 lives a long time ago this way...

the only thing that saved me from being lit up was the
inslulated channel locks I was useing while kneeling in a pool of water working on the main at the water meter
in someones basement ...

when I cut the line all the lights in the house went out....

and it scarred the channel locks...

I jumped backwards very quickly...
 

JWelectric

Electrical Contractor/Instructor
Messages
2,608
Reaction score
21
Points
38
Location
North Carolina
Several years ago I worked with a plumber and we did primarily restaurant renovations.

The one thing I can remember that Jack always did when opening the metal pipes of one of these old buildings was use a jumper cable across the place he was opening. Yes the same kind of cables used to boost a car.

It wouldn’t matter where the pipe was to be opened or if power was on to the building or not the cable was used.

Jack was a very smart man!
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks