Electric shocks-How long to wait before you call an electrician

ARWadsworth · 2009-04-30T11:01:11+00:00

This weeks Darwin award is for someone that waited 2 years.I got a call from a customer to say that she was getting electric shocks off her kettle and deep fat frier (both shiney chrome beasts) when pluged into one particular double socket in the kitchen. She even got a shock off them when the switch on the socket was turned off.I tried a socket tester. It showed L N reversal.I tried my second socket tester (I keep one in my tool box and one my test case, different makes). That also said L N reverse.I plugged in my proper test meter (a Di-log 9083P) That just flashed L-Pe and L-N and would not perform a test.The actual problem was not a L N reversal but NO earth at the socket and the earth was shorted to the live. The CPC at the socket is somehow disconnected from the CU earth busbar (>200Mohm) I suspect that there is a junction box under the tiled floor. It is the only socket on the circuit that is not part of the ring.She has received shocks from this socket since she moved in 2 years ago and only called me as she had a baby 2 weeks ago and the health visitor got a shock when using the kettle and told her to call someone.That is scary. Two years worth of 230V live lumps of metal sat on a kitchen worktop.She is only alive due to good luck IMHO.Adam

Apr 30, 2009 87 Replies

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John Stumbles 17 years ago

Indeed. She might have pulled the wrong knob and got stout :-)

I'll get me coat ...

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John Rumm 17 years ago

Fair do; some of it is there.

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Grimly Curmudgeon 17 years ago

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember geoff saying something like:

My gawd, suppose someone had asked for a Newky Snakebite.

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tony sayer 17 years ago

In article , Grimly Curmudgeon scribeth thus

Woss the formula for that then Grimly:?...

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Lobster 17 years ago

Hmm. But my 18-year-old daughter managed to pass her test last year. Nuff said.

David

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John Rumm 17 years ago

Newky brown and cider one presumes...

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Clot 17 years ago

That's dreadful. Please spend more time concentrating on the speedometer.

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Mike 17 years ago

Unfortunately the annoying lad then decided he didn't want to be a car mechanic and decided to do something else instead. Years later the whole world would get to know about Fred Goodwin.

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