I've long wondered this but have never had a knowledgeable bunch of people sitting there with idle time just waiting to jump up and offer me an explanation... ;-)
What is that vibrating sensation you get when you lightly touch the metal on a mains appliance?
What causes it? Is it a sign of inadequate earthing?
Get your wife a cordless vibrator, it'll solve the problem. Alternatively, lower the light switch to buttock height and get her to turn the lights on with her cheeks, you'll then have a happy wife and no need to worry about vibrating switches.
Rgds
Andy R
That and a current leakage through the insulation in the appliance ...
In message , Mike Faithfull writes
Hmmm, - okie thanks - is it dangerous?
On Tue, 18 May 2004 18:06:22 +0100, in uk.d-i-y "dave @ stejonda" strung together this:
Yes, I would get that looked at. There's the dodgy earthing, inadequate circuit protection and the source of the leakage to find!
"dave @ stejonda" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@stejonda.freeuk.com:
What sort of appliance - does it have a nenjin in it; a transformer, which AFAIK is needed in just about any appliance can vibrate.
Try unplugging it - if it still vibrates send for an exorcist.
The truth is out there
mike
In message , Lurch writes
eeek - a job starting tomorrow - you're really suggesting that an RCD (or whatever it is) in the CU should've been tripping then...
In general, no. Unless it happens to be fatal. It should be at least investigated. Do you own a multimeter, and what is the appliance?
And I thought it was just me! See the thread "My buzzing wall lights" of September 2003... didn't come up with any definitive answers.
David
On Tue, 18 May 2004 19:30:52 +0100, in uk.d-i-y "dave @ stejonda" strung together this:
Well, I thought that after I posted, possibly not. But it wants checking to make sure it is functioning correctly. It depends what the leakage on the appliance is, you could measure it with a meter to check it against the RCD In rating.
Yup. You can detect extremely small amounts of leakage by that method - I've discovered quite a few metal lightswitches in this house which were not properly earthed. It does not necessarily mean there is an insulation fault, but it certainly indicates an earthing fault, and you should investigate.
Rick
We used to have an electric kettle - back in the sixties and it ws second hand even then - which we knew was switched on because it gave us a buzz if it was.
We also had one of those electric one bar fires, with the curved back, which received the Home Service.
No, straight ...
Mary
You're thinking of when the Home Service was called 2LO, Mary.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
It was never called that. 2LO was the service before it was divided into regions.
Mary
LO standing for London, the ident of the actual transmitter.
If you're saying you feel it on every appliance you touch then it indicates a fault in you :-)
If it's a specific appliance then tell us more about it.
Are you talking bare metal or insulated?
What if you touch a plastic part of the same appliance?
It could be an earth fault (the conclusion most other posters have somehow jumped to) or a mechanical vibration. It's impossible to say without further information.
MBQ
Or an earth fault in the house?
No, Its what alternating current does when it goes through wires. It sets up an alternating magnetic field and lots of things will react to this by vibrating in sympathy. Like sex really.
o_O
Yup - a rather elderly(!) Skywood Model 500 (as advertised in Practical Wireless in the 60's and possibly earlier)
The one I keep resting my arm gently against is a floor-standing lamp which has metal tubing as the upright. But I've also had the effect from the metal fascia of a Technics hi-fi amp.
In message , mike ring writes
Lol.
The effect is not a physical vibration but an electrical/charged one.
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