EXT wrote:

TimR wrote:

Kids complained they got a shock from the stove.

I put a meter on it, a pan on the burner while turned on is 40 volts
above ground. The rest of the stove metal seems to be at ground.

The burners look in good shape but it's an old stove. Burners
normally have ceramic insulation, right? Is it time to replace them?


Any electric leak is likely to be more than 40 volts as the burners run
on 240 volts.

Think about that again, EXT.

The heating element inside the burner casing is a resistor, and
depending upon just where along its length leakage to the casing occurs,
the measured voltage could be anywhere from zero, for a leak half way
along the length of the heating element, to 120 volts, for a leak right
at one end or the other. You'll never measure 240 volts unless the stove
power wiring has been horribly misinstalled.

All of which presuumes that whatever means the stove manufacturer
employed to make sure the element casing was connected to the rest of
the stove metal has failed or been disabeled by a sloppy repair or use
of an incorrect part.

Normally people and children don't touch the pan
especially when the stove is on. The pan is metal, the stove is metal,
it all should be the same electrial potential. The stove is (or should
be grounded)

The stove may be properly grounded, but that in itself does not insure
that the element casing is grounded. It SHOULD be, but a sloppy repair
job or installing an incorrect element for that model stove can result
in the element casing NOT being connected to the stove metal.

so that any leak will trip the fuse or breaker.

Not ANY leak, but one from near the end of the heating element MIGHT.

Probably as
said earlier, static shock from someone with rubber soled shoes/slippers
jumping to the grounded stove.


Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.