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electricity on shower metal

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Posted: Tue Mar 18th, 2008 01:55 pm

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1^st Post

RockyGirl
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electricity on shower metal
am not sure if this belongs on this web site, but if not perhaps someone can direct me to the right place.
I have just noted we have live electricity on our bathroom shower. :shock:

I was taking shower and touched a metal shampoo etc holder and got a bit of live electricity.
Have not noted this any place else, yet.

where do I start.

rg

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Posted: Tue Mar 18th, 2008 02:03 pm

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hvacdrd
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Some electrical systems tie in the plumbing lines to the main panel electrical ground . A few things to look at would be the main electrical panel ground, possible short in electric water heater element(if yours is electric). Electric is lazy and will take the least resistive path to ground so don't mess around with it. If you cannot locate something yourself contact a licensed electrician.

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Posted: Tue Mar 18th, 2008 04:37 pm

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RegUS_PatOff
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hvacdrd is correct, also, make sure no one has ever replaced any metal (copper/galvenized) pipe with plastic PVC between where the electrical ground connects and where it enters the building.

If they have, you'll need to connect a jumper wire across the PVC sections.

Including the water meter. The new ones are plactic and require a jumper connection on both sides.

On my house, the eletrical panel doesn't connect the ground to the water pipes, but on the main incoming water pipe, there is a ground wire connecting from one side of the (shut-off valve / water meter / shut-off valve) to the other side.

Last edited on Tue Mar 18th, 2008 05:02 pm by RegUS_PatOff

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Posted: Mon Mar 31st, 2008 10:53 pm

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ynotaj
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A common problem is that the main neutral, either coming into your house at the point of attachment or at the main neutral link in the switchboard becomes loose, when this happens the voltage will travel down your earthing system, another indicator of this is that your lights may dim when a large appliance is turned on, like a stove or air conditioner, hot water system a welder or compressor.

Here in Australia we use what is referred to as the MEN system, multiple earth neutral, this is where the earth is connected to the main neutral and also to the copper or steel water pipes and there is also an earth rod about 6 foot long driven into the ground which has the earth wire connected as well.

Now if your earthing system is working ok, 100% ok, which is rare, you will not notice the stray voltages, but in times of dry weather or if earthing connections become loose and you have a bad neutral connection you will feel the leaking voltage in the shower taps, the other reason you feel it in the shower is because you are wet and more conductive and sensitive to smaller amounts of voltage.

I am not sure where you are from, as I stated I am in Australia and here we have earth leakage circuit breakers on our power and light circuits, so if we have a faulty hot water system or other faulty appliance it throws out before any voltages can harm us.

This is not a problem you can fix yourself, I am an electrician and have spent days trying to find these problems before, sometimes it can be a problem on the main power line, I have seen whole streets get electric shocks from their shower taps because of a loose neutral at the transformer in the street.

You need to contact an electrician.

Tony

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Posted: Fri Apr 4th, 2008 01:44 am

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RockyGirl
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the problem ( for starters) was the copper water pipe had wires touching it and they were twisted and not capped off nor in a "box".    we had a number of exposed wires -some were hot. when the water was turned on the water pipe vibrated and it touched the wires. if you adjusted the water flow, the pipe moved and the wires touched it- producing a shock if you were in the shower and touching metal.

they are going to rewire the wall between the kitchen and shower ( they are flush) as the wirings extremely old and there again the water pipes and wires are near each other.

the house is not grounded- it was not required when built.  most of the wiring is very old.

how much should a wall cost to be rewired?   he also said he'll put in some gfc (?) or whatever switches in the kitchen when he rewires that wall, and put the fridge on its own circuit.

i get the feeling he's gouging us a bit( like how badly do i want a shower) but we hope we can trust him. our house is so old and probably not meeting current codes right now. we are trying to get it up to current code, but it will take a while. right now we are trying to make sure it does not burn down or electrocute someone taking a shower.   I guess we will rewire on room at a time.

our city has some odd codes, lie the overflow tank on hot water heaters.    most people feel that is useless. but our city requires it .any advice is appreciated regarding this.
  rg

Last edited on Fri Apr 4th, 2008 02:06 am by RockyGirl

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Posted: Fri Apr 4th, 2008 07:25 am

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RegUS_PatOff
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aahh, yes, old houses. Some have exposed wiring in the walls.

> gfc (?)

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, disconnects the power if there is a grounding problem with devices that are plugged into them. Required nowdays in damp locations, kitchens, bathrooms, outdoor recepticles, some basements, ect..

> overflow tank on hot water heaters

do you mean a hot water "pressure tank", used to safely absorb the expanding hot water in the system, needed if a backflow preventer valve is in the main water line entering the house.

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Posted: Fri Apr 4th, 2008 08:12 am

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7^th Post

nickfixit
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I think it's a wise investment to put money into upgrading the electric system in your older home. It will greatly add to the safety of your home. It's not just shock hazard, you have to think about the possibility of fire.

Some older homes suffer from components and connections failing. When current flows through a bad connection you get heat. That heat can cause trouble with old dry wood close by.

Try to get someone with a good professional reputation to at least inspect the wiring and give you his recommendations.

Nick

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Posted: Fri May 9th, 2008 04:08 pm

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Northern-Tech
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Well, if the service person found the problem with the bad connections, thats a good thing. First of all, it is not required to bring the whole house up to code. Existing wiring can be left alone............but is it safe ?? If not, then yes, repairs should be done. GFCIs will definitely help. The receptacles are cheaper than the breakers, so be aware of that . One GFCI receptacle can protect all other receptacles downstream. So if the GFCI is installed at the first outlet, then by connecting the other leads to the " load " side, you will have protection downstream. If there is a fault, you will have to go back to the first plug to reset, but it will work.

Im thinking the water heater accessories you mentioned might be the overpressure valve ? If the thermostat fails closed and keeps the hot water heating, then the water may boil, turn into stream.....and now we have a pressurized boiler.....I think. ITs a pretty good idea to have one on.

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