Electricity in Faucets?

[ray.bowles]

In our master bathroom we have a garden bath and an ajoining shower stall. I happen to be touching the bath faucet spout and the metal frame of the shower stall at the same time the other day and got a minor, but steady shock.

I have since used my multimeter on it and get nothing unless I slight move one of the leads along one of the surfaces.

I did this same test on our dual sink vanity on the two water spouts. I set the dial on the meter to the red 200 Voltage (has a wave over the red V) and got a steady reading of 3.5 thru 4.0 without moving the leads.

What does this mean?

[hallerb]

You electrical service MUST be bonded to your plumbing and a jumper installed at the meter along with grounding rods connected to the main electric panel ground / neutral and all this tied together.

you might have a wire rubbing a pipe creating a minor connection. this could create a major safety hazard.

you need to look at entire electrical system

dont delay it might be a real danger of electrical shock

[Ray]

Thanks for the info. When calling an electrician is there anything I should look for? Certifications and such so I know I'm not hiring a hack / crook?

[Toller]

What did you connect the meter to; the spout and what? You can't feel 4v. Just for fun, see if there is any DC voltage.

I suspect you are imagining it. Even if a wire is somehow contacting a pipe, your plumbing should be better grounded than you are; so you shouldn't get a shock. But having it checked out is certainly prudent.

[Ray]

In the first case I used the bath spout and the frame of the shower stall. Our Bath and shower are seperate.

In the second case I was using two sink spouts. Our sink area has two sinks.

[Toller]

If you have copper plumbing, the two spouts are tied together and can't possibly have any voltage between them. (yes, it is remotely possible that some teflon tape was used and it might cause one or both to be insulated, but then you go to #2 below) If you don't have copper plumbing then your spouts are insulated can't possibly have voltage between them. Either way it can't happen.

[Mark Lloyd]

You can if it's applied to a particularly sensitive body part (like your tongue), but you shouldn't feel in on your hand.

Could it have been a high voltage with high impedance (quickly goes down to 4V when touched)?

[Mark Lloyd]

Different metals in contact can produce a voltage. How about acidic water?

[dnoyeB]

Well since its highly unlikely your current is coming FROM your spigot, its likely you have a problem with your shower stall. Do you have a light in your shower stall, or any other electrical contraptions in that area?

[hallerb]

Theoritically everything in a properly grounded plumbing system should be grounded at zero volts. BUT life aint perfect:(

Poorly conducting pipe joints, after all they are checked for leaks not resistance, teflon tape, and a wide variety of possible fittings. ground strap may not be jumping out meter, I had a washing machine motor windings fail once producing a low voltage, improperly connected main house ground, a poor ground or neutral connection in the main panel, a doorbell transfoirmer wire intermittently connecting when the hot water tank burner goes on, pipes can shake a bit, Dont laugh, I found that once when I was a kid, doorbell rang at odd times. BIG CATCH for me at 10 years old:) I am 49 today. Theres a million reasons that can cause this:(

The BIG THING FIND AND FIX IT its might be a electrocution hazard! Say standing in shower with your foot on drain you touch the faucet and DIE!!!

May be minor, but its not worth the risk!!

[dnoyeB]

I agree. Things can and do go wrong as obviously is the case here. Just pointing out that for the current to come from the faucet you would need at least 3 failures. A bad electrical component passing current into ground. An interrupted ground system. A water system also improperly grounded. Just much easier for instance if he has a light in his shower that has failed. Also much easier to fix.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Toller :

Heh. You'd be surprised what's possible. What with renovations over the years, parts of the plumbing may be grounded one way, and parts not at all.

If he's getting a tingle, it's best to call in a professional plumber, or even an electrician, _without_ trying to guess the results from misinterpreting test equipment.

[Chris Lewis]

According to :

Most likely surface scum interrupting connectivity flow until you scrape it.

You need to hire someone to take a look at the situation. I _suspect_ your voltmeter is confusing you when you test your vanity, but the tingle on the shower is _definately_ wrong. Don't trust the meter, get a pro in to check.

Either an electrician or plumber should be able to find out what's wrong.

[mm]

I would never say "can't". I've seen too many things, at least a dozen, that don't make sense, not just in electricity. They don't follow the laws of physics or logic and it's almost like God has set out to confuse me, by violating the laws of nature. But I can't imagine my getting that kind of attention, or His wasting time that way, so I figure I don't fully understand the laws of nature, or the facts.

The world is a very complicated place, even when it seems simple.

>

[Tom G]

Agree with other posters that hiring a proffesional is wise. I once sold a new dryer to a lady who called me the next day and complained that there must be something wrong with it as she was getting a shock when she touched it. I checked it with my meter and it was indeed hot. However, there was a separate ground wire from the dryer to a water pipe behind it and when that was disconnected, no current detected. To make a long story short, her electric water heater had a shorted heat element and was feeding current to the water which was making the pipe charged. Found out her electric bill had jumped drastically the last 30 days and she occasionally felt a tingle when touching the basement shower controls. Apparently the old dryer didn't have the ground wire.

Tom G.

[Mark Lloyd]

I remember getting a shock from a wet noodle. It was cooking on an electric stove.

[Ray]

I actually felt it on the back of my bicep. I was leaning on it with my foot up on the spout talking to someone.

[Ray]

The only electricity I know of are the two light fixtures on the ceiling. No outlets in the bathroom

[Ray]

Thanks everyone I guess I'll be seeking a professional. I'm 1 year 900 miles away from any trusted electrician as I moved here last July. Wish me luck. The house is only 10 years old so hopefully it's nothing major.

Thanks again.

[Beantown]

I don'thave much to offer in the way of advice, but I can attest that this *does* and *can* happen. I had that situation in an apartment I rented once.

If I was using the shower, so problem, but if I was immersed in the tub and grabbed the handle to recharge my warm water or grabbed the spout or whatever, I had the tingle, too. Definitely some voltage there.

good luck fixing it!

Ray wrote: