On 2007-06-11, Stormin Mormon wrote:

1) Why would a brand new furnace be leaking power?

Good question. Note that in order for someone to be shocked as
described, there must be a double fault. That is, a live conductor
must be energizing some metal parts, which are themselves not properly
bonded. If you ensure that all the metal parts (hot and cold water
pipe, gas pipe, furnace frame) are properly bonded to the EGC in the
building service, then a fault in the furnace should trip the breaker.

2) Why isn't the power going out the neutral and ground?

If there is a return path that parallels the proper neutral path, some
current will always flow on it. So a person will get a mild shock
when standing on the shower floor and touching the plumbing because
they complete a circuit, one that is fairly high resistance compared
to the "usual" return path.

And that the solution is to run a new ground wire out the wall, and
sink a ground stake right outside the wall with the panel box.

This in and of itself will not help you, and under bizarre
circumstances it could make the problem worse. You having a bonding
problem, not an earthing problem. Earthing provides protection in the
case of overvoltage; bonding provides protection in the case of
accidentally energizing metal parts.

Cheers, Wayne