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Nate Nagel

On 10/27/2013 06:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 27 Oct 2013 17:26:24 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

On 10/27/2013 03:19 PM, Bill wrote:
Fred wrote:
"Robert Green" wrote in message
...
"TomR" wrote in message
...
Robert Green wrote:
"Fred" wrote in
:

How can I be getting shocked off my faucet? This happens only in my
bathroom & laundry tub downstairs. It's not all the time, but it's
a good enough zap to make you jump.
It's probably a good idea to first determine whether this is a static
electricity shock or an actual 110VAC buzz. I'm betting on the former
because water pipes are *usually* grounded so it's hard to energize
them to the point of getting a shock unless you're touching something
that's an even better ground. If walking on a carpet has given your
body a static electric charge then it could be easily dumped to
ground when you touch a faucet or some other metal part of the
plumbing.

Fred, is your basement carpeted? Are we talking a sudden spark and a
zap or is there a constant tingling when you touch the faucet? Do
you have plastic water pipes or copper? Does this happen all the
time or just when the humidity is very low? Do you have an electric
water heater or gas unit?
All good questions. Hopefully, the OP (Fred) will reply back.
Thanks. I thought it was a bit premature to call in the cavalry because
the
word "zap" in the original post made me think "static shock" and not
110VAC.
But it always pays to be careful and I think with the right questions
(and
perhaps some testing) we can help the OP determine what's going on.

--
Bobby G.

Ok, this is way weird. I just was going to replace a toilet flapper. I
went to turn the shut off valve, and got zapped, big time!

It's not that weird. As has been pointed out, some malfunctioning
appliance is grounded to your plumbing. As has been suggested, get a
professional to isolate the problem before someone gets hurt!

If you have a voltmeter or test light, measure voltage from a copper
pipe to a good ground (usually the copper pipe *would* be a good ground,
but in this case it is apparently not! Try a grounded receptacle.) I'm
guessing you'll find there is some. Unplug any appliance that connects
to water line one at a time (clothes washer, refrigerator with ice maker
are the two obvious ones; water softener if you have it, etc.) until you
find the faulty one. Leave that one unplugged until it's fixed.

If you've unplugged everything and you still have voltage on the pipes,
start turning off breakers one by one until it goes away. Then
depending on your skill level you can find the issue or give a pro a
good place to start troubleshooting (and be safe in the meantime.)

Consider driving some ground rods, and bonding your panel and plumbing
system so this doesn't happen again!

nate
FIRST thing to check is the jumper pver the water meter - make sure
the copper piping IS grounded. Once it is grounded there is a pretty
good chance a breaker will "pop", telling you where the problem is.
Just grab a booster cable to do the temporary ground - see if that
fixes it.

Good point; I didn't think of that as it's been 30 years or more since I
lived in a house with a water meter actually indoors - but if you do
have that kind of setup definitely there should be a jumper across it.

Next thing to check for is a heavy bonding wire between the same area
and the main electrical panel. (was the main feed from the city water
line originally copper or galvanized but recently replaced with PVC?)

nate

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