Tingle / Shock from inground pool

[tking]

I have an inground pool with concrete decking. If you have a cut or scrape on your body you can feel a mild shock or tingling sensation while touching the decking or aluminum coping. For example, if you have a cut on your hand and put this hand in the pool water, then place your other hand on the concrete decking, you feel a mild shock. This cannot be felt unless the skin is broken. A woman who has recently shaved her legs will also feel the tingling. The is about .

8v of current detected with a meter from the pool water to the concrete deck. Do you think this is some type of ground issue, etc? I can provide many more details to anyone who has suggestions or think they know what the problem is.

[CJT]

DC or AC?

of current detected with a meter from the pool water to the

[sym]

do your service wires to the house run underground? if you shut off your mains to the house do you still get the tingle? if yes you might need to contact your power company. i had a similar service call, i was getting 4 volts ac i know they drove some ground rods (several) to try and bleed off the stray current. dont know what came of it but i havent been sent back.

[gfretwell]

You have a bonding problem. The safest thing is to call an electrician but the first thing you can do is to be sure all of the solid 8 guage wires are connected. They should be connected to the light, pump and one coming from the steel in the concrete

[tking]

AC current. It ranges from .600 to .900 at different times.

[tking]

Yes, service wires are underground. I have shut off the the mains and the shock/tingle still exists. One problem is that I do not know how the pool itself was grounded. Also, the person who did the concrete did not ground the rebar (I think). Any thoughts on how to do this after the fact, or any other tests I can do? I called the power company and they are supposed to come out within a week. The other odd thing is that stray voltage isn't supposed to be a problem unless its 4+ volts. My voltage is less than 1 and I can still feel it, but only if you have an area of broken skin that contacts the water. All around my house I get a 1 volt reading by putting a meter probe in the ground and the other on a bare metal piece of a downspout.

[tking]

I don't think there is any ground to the steel in the concrete. Is there an easy way to do this after the fact? I will have to check on the light. Would it be grounded under the decking by the light fixture, or are you talking about the ground coming to the switch from the light fixture. I subbed all this work out individually (pool, concrete, electrical, fence, etc.) so it's probably my own fault for not keeping tabs on the grounding/bonding. Any other ideas or tests I can run would be appreciated.

[trader4]

Since the voltage is there with the main breaker open, what you have is apparently what is called a stray voltage problem. It's not all that uncommon. Sometimes the utility can identify a likely cause in their distributions system and correct it. Other times, it proves very difficult to rectify. I know areas here in NJ where that has been a problem and despite a lot of focus on fixing it, it still remains to some extent. Getting the electric company out is the first step.

[tking]

Thanks. I called them yesterday and they should be able to make a visit within one week.

[mm]

They probaby don't use the "broken skin standard" when saying 4 volts.

[James Vetter]

replying to tking, James Vetter wrote: what was the result of the power company visit

[Sam Hill]

We'll never know. tking was electrocuted to death on May 14th, 2007 and his spouse was not aware of this thread so that she could tell us the power company found his corpse fried to a crisp...

(Read the *dates*, homeownersflubs!!!)

[FromTheRafters]

They said they would send someone out to have a look in about 8 to 10 years. They say to not swim until then as it could be dangerous. They should show up any day now.

[Kenneth M Barnfield]

replying to tking, Kenneth M Barnfield wrote: open neutral from power company

[Debi]

No answers??? Please help if you know how to stop the tingle!!

[Dean Hoffman]

You need an electrician or someone else with the knowledge and proper test equipment. We could tell you that it's a bad neutral, for example, but that won't fix the problem. Milking barns and other livestock buildings have to have extra grounding measures. Livestock are four foot drive. There have been cases of milk cows holding their milk because of a slight problem like yours.

[neirrigator]

Read gfretwell's response from long ago. I'm repeating my answer since it showed up on usenet but not here apparently. "You need an electrician or someone else with the knowledge and proper test equipment. We could tell you that it's a bad neutral, for example, but that won't fix the problem. Milking barns and other livestock buildings have to have extra grounding measures. Livestock are four foot drive. There have been cases of milk cows holding their milk because of a slight problem like yours."  Reply all  Reply to author  Forward

[Shadow]

That was 14 years ago. If he's still feeling the tingle, he should probably visit a neurologist. []'s

[Tekkie©]

On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 15:15:02 +0000, Debi posted for all of us to digest...

Get a competent electrician NOW! This issue has exploded over the past several years with electrocutions. I repeat do it now. Do NOT use the pool until repaired.

[bruce bowser]

The NEC Article 680 talks about grounding in pools, spas, hot tubs, fountains, etc... "this grounding conductor shall be sized not less than the largest supply conductor in each cord, cable, or raceway."

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