# Interest group forums > Electrical Contracting Industry Forum >  Tingling while fiddling shower taps during shower

## Justloadit

I have a little holiday house in Limpopo province, and ever since it was built, some 7 years now, when ever we have a shower, most times, while showering, we get a tingling feeling when we adjust the taps to get the temperature right. When there is no water we do not feel the tingling feeling in our hands, only once the water runs. At first I thought that there may be a faulty element, and I have switched the geyser circuit breaker off, but still get the sensation when adjusting the taps. Now it is not a jolt or anything like that, but have the feeling or presence that there is some small electrical current flowing.

The whole plumbing system is made of copper pipe, and I have checked, that the copper pipe at the geyser is earthed. I have not been able to check that the earth of the geyser is earthed at the DB box, my meter leads are not long enough to go from the roof to the DB box  :Smile: . 

I have checked with an ohm meter, and there is continuity between the taps and shower head, between the shower taps and basin taps. I have tried measuring the voltage between the taps and shower when water is flowing, between the taps and the water on the floor when the shower is pouring water, and was not able to measure AC or DC voltage at all. I have noted that at the meter box on the pole, that the earth is connected to the Neutral. 

Can some one shed some light for the reason that this may be happening, and what I can check. There is an earth leakage in the board, and if I press the test button, it does trip.

I am a little concern every time my family or I have a shower, that it may get progressively worse, but to date it has not.

What can I check, do or whatever to stop tingling from happening.

----------


## ians

Simple, make sure the pipes are bonded hot to cold close to the geyser and the bonding is earthed to the geyser, then make sure the geyser is earthed back to the DB. Then do a loop impedance test, In fact i would do a loop impedance test at the geyser just to be sure.

I would plug in my earth leakeage plug tester, verify that all 3 lights are on then test the e/l unit by turning the knob until it trips, which should be around 20 - 25 mA, if it doesnt trip you know either your earth leakage unit is fault or you have a bigger problem inadquate earth, which you might pick up doing the loop impedance test.

It could just be a bad earth connection, all speculation without being on site to see the big picture.

----------


## AndyD

> I have noted that at the meter box on the pole, that the earth is connected to the Neutral.


This sounds like a TNCS earthing arrangement. There could also be an earth rod on your property usually at the first point of entry. The E-N connection on the council side is normal.

To receive an electric shock there is usually two completely separate problems occurring simultaneously. 

Firstly there's usually an insulation fault (low IR). Insulation is what prevents current 'leaking' to earth in a healthy or compliant circuit. As the value or effectiveness of the insulation decreases the leakage current to earth increases. 

The key word here is earth (ground for our US members). The current takes the path of least resistance so if the earth is good (low resistance) then the fault current flows freely away down this path instead of flowing through someone who touches the appliance with the insulation problem. 

This leads to the second problem required when you get a shock or tingling in your case. If the earth wiring (cpc) is high resistance then any fault current present on a circuit or appliance will happily look for an alternative route of lower resistance to flow to earth. In most cases this is the poor soul who comes into contact with it.

Okay, I've tortured you with enough technical rubbish so I'll suggest a few things you might do to fix it.
You say you still get tingling with the HWC circuit isolated, this kinda throws a spanner in most of the usual suspects.

I'd certainly double check any earth bonding around the cylinder, remake the bonding connections and clean the copper under all the straps so it's shiny.Visually check all the connection points at the cylinder, the isolator switch and in the DB. Test the earth impedance of the cylinder earth and preferrably use a tester such as a loop impedance tester that can put a high current pulse (40Amps) through the earthing.Megger test the cylinder element at 1000v to check its insulation integrity, it should be at least 10Mohms.


All these tests so far are basic bread and butter and from what you say I doubt you'll find the problem there but rather start with the easy obvious stuff and rule it all out of the equation before you go complicated. Once you know the cylinder and its associated circuit are fine it's time to get into the DB. Visual first, check all earth and power connections for tightness, corrosion or overheating damage. Determine if you have an earth rod on the property which would indicate you have a PME system. If you do then impedance test the rod on its own and disconnected (Ra test), also visually inspect the wiring connections to the rod. Same goes for any bonding from the DB to plumbing, check the integrity of the cabling, straps and connections.

If everything checks out then it starts getting complicated I'm afraid. I'll try explain but I can't advise on how to proceed with localizing without seeing the shower and the surrounding areas. There's actually 2 directions you can get a shock. The usual direction is where you have your feet on a zero volt ground and you put your hand or fingers something that has a fault and a high touch voltage. The fault current then runs from the faulty item and through your body to ground or earth. 



The other way you can get a shock is if you're standing on a floor that is at a voltage above zero and you touch a good earth. This is always a possibility with a shower becase they often leak moisture into the surrounding area and the taps are nearly always a good earth point. 

I've seen several similar scenarios that are a bugger to locate and usually end up with tiles removed, jackhammering and waterproofing being required. You need to think out of the box as well as in three dimensions. The trick is to find all the electrical cabling and points in the vicinity of the shower and insulation test those circuits. I've seen damp problems in sockets in adjacent bedrooms giving shocks to users of the shower in the next room. I've also seen a stove isolater that was getting damp because of a bathroom leak directly above giving shocks to people at the wash basin. I've also found one problem years ago where tree roots had grown through a drain pipe and a nearby garden light circuit connection was causing tingling at a kitchen sink through the drain water. 

These kinds of faults aren't easy to find even with state of the art test equipment and the patience of Job. I wish you luck and hopefully it's something obvious. *I would also advise caution if you're not electrically competent, it's easy to get a fatal shock when working on equipment, circuits and in DB's, especially when there's an underlying fault that might have unexpected results. Even earth wiring can become 220V live when it's disconnected!!! You need to know how to prove isolation as well as having the necessary testing equipment. If you're not competent or unsure of anything please seek professional assistance.* You've been warned.

----------


## Justloadit

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your comprehensive reply. The tingling feeling is not always present, but when it does occur, it is only when the water flows. I do have a 1000v insulation tester, which I will bring with me at my next visit, and do a comprehensive insulation test.

I am no electrician, but am familiar with electrical circuits, being an electronics designer and involved in power electronics, like speed drives switch mode power supplies and other industrial controls.

I have done the usual of checking the connections as per your list. I suspect it is a TNCS earthing system with an earth rod. This was a new house in the bush, and from day one it always had this problem. It does have a french drain. I have checked the electrical earth connection between the water pipes and the DB board, and it does show continuity with a ohm meter. I currently do not own an impedance tester, and will seek to beg, borrow, steel or buy one, next time I come up to the house and do an impedance test.

I did inspect the meter box, which is shared by the stand next to mine, and noted an earth wire from my box and the adjacent box going into the ground next to the concrete pole, I suspect this has the earth rod you mentioned. The meter boxes are fed from overhead lines fed from an overhead transformer, which supplies a number of houses in the area. The adjacent box has the neutral connection to the earth wire going into the ground. My box does not have this connection earth connection, so effectively the earth, neutral connection in my house is done by the neighbors meter box. These connections have been done by ESKOM and not the local electrician.

----------


## Justloadit

OK,  I have spoken to the neibours, it seems they are also experiencing this problem, and each one of us thought it was to do with the house wiring, and this is the first time any of us has actually discussed this problem. 

I now suspect that there is either a faulty transformer, or the neutral to earth connection on the transformer secondary side may be open circuit, and hence the symptoms we are experiencing.

I will be contacting ESKOM, and hopefully they can resolve the problem. I will keep you posted, but it may take a long while, as I only pop up to the holiday house a couple of times a year.

----------


## Justloadit

Ignorance is bliss!.

Now that I know where the problem is originating from,
HOW dangerous is this situation?

I have noted that at times the tingling feeling is more intense, and have come to the conclusion that it depends on what loads are running on the ESKOM supply line at the time, the more loaded the more intense the tingling.

----------


## ians

thats what kills you, the current in the circuit not the voltage.

50 000 volts on an electric fence will not kill you, but 1 amp in a 230 volt circuit will.

----------


## AndyD

Is your RCD working (earth leakage breaker)? Does the RCD supply the whole house or just plug points? If the RCD is working correctly and it's supplying the whole house it should intervene if the leakage current reaches a dangerous level. Maybe just ramp test it in both half cycle directions just for peace of mind because all your eggs are in that basket if your earth is high impedance.

Good luck getting the supply authority to come out this time of year  :Smile:  I would be tempted to whack an earth rod in close to your DB and connect it to your main DB earth bar with a 10mm wire. It's not such a daunting task, if you have access to a jack hammer for a day you can use a suitable attachment to do the hammering the easy way. I would start with 2 or 3 x 2.3meter rods coupled on top of each other, anything less will lack impedance stability. If your neighbours are fed from the same Tx it would help enormously if you could persuade them to do the same. The rods, couplings, clamp connector and wiring should come to way under R1K. I might suggest you dig by hand for the first 600mm at least to avoid hitting and services.

----------


## ians

what is the neutral to earth voltage at the DB or meter box?

If it is higher than 50 volts i would switch the power off, it is a dangerous installation.

----------


## Justloadit

There is no voltage between neutral and earth at the DB box and meter box, and the incoming supply cable is about 6 or 8 meters from the pole meter box, where there is this earth rod connected with approximate 2.5mm stranded copper wire. There is one earth leakage isolator on the incoming side, and all circuits in the house go through it. The ELB is rated at 30mA, when I push the test button it trips. I do not have any equipment which can test the 30mA, however if I connect my cell phone charger between live  after the ELB and the neutral before the ELB, it trips the ELB, so it seems that it is able to pick up a low fault current.

This place is in the bush, so there is really no municipal services other than water which is fed by a pipeline running along the stand border line, and ESKOM electricity.
The nearest electrical wholesaler is some 55 Kms away, so it is no walk in the park to buy anything, and with all the public holidays, it just makes it almost impossible. I am also trekking back to civilization on Friday morning.
The ground here is practically rock, so not going to be an easy task knocking a rod into the ground just any where, but I feel that I must do something to set my mind at ease.

This is why I find it so strange, that the impedance from a human body is lower than the impedance of the copper pipe in the walls, common sense would say that there would be no current flow with a high impedance in a parallel circuit where the resistance of copper is almost zero ohms, and a human body is somewhere in the region of 200K ohms. I have even gone into the shower with my multimeter, and tried to measure the voltage in the same plane as my body, water and hands, and the darn meter does not show any voltage, AC or DC but yet I can feel there is something there. It could be the transformer has a primary leak to earth, which is causing this sensation.

 I am thinking of connecting a piece of stripped wire, along the wall in the shower from the taps, down to the shower floor, so that there is a shorter path for the current to flow, rather than using the human body, will think about how to do this in the morning.

----------


## AndyD

A person in a shower has a resistance a lot lower than 200K, maybe nearer 2K, I'm not sure to be honest I've never showered with my mega tester  :Smile: . If anyone ever mentions this again I'll deny point blank I ever advised it because I hate the things with a passion but maybe a neon screwdriver would pick up the small leakage current if you could find a way to prevent it getting saturated.

As for earthing, if your foundations are substantial and made of concrete and there's some exposed steel somewhere this often makes a good earth, it's called an Ufer earth (sometimes referred to as a CEE in the American codes). Knocking in a rod when the ground is rocky is just pot luck. You should certainly go with the thicker rods, I remember hammering one in for hours one time, we attached the fourth or fifth 2.3m rod and shortly afterwards the far end of the rod surfaced through the driveway tarmac about 6 meters away from where we started. It can be a demoralising exercise.

----------


## Sparks

No fault with the answers you already have. I am also inclined to suspect high loop impedance. The only thing is that you do not mention the tingle when using the stove or light switches or touching light fittings so I would normally be leaning toward a hairline crack in the element, however, as the neightbours are experiencing the same problem, it rules that out. Having no voltage reading between N & E means they are at the same potential, no elevated voltage not no voltage and as Andy said, it is not the voltage which will kill you. As for the ELCB, I doubt your geyser circuit is connected to it. I suggest you get the local authorities out and leave it to them. You can always motivate them by calling to ask where or by whom do you submit a claim for electrocution. That will light a fire under them. Keep in mind also that the neutral at the geyser is the same as the one at the lights and stove so when either are being used the geyser neutral should have a potential difference of 220V to earth.

----------


## AndyD

> Keep in mind also that the neutral at the geyser is the same as the one at the lights and stove so when either are being used the geyser neutral should have a potential difference of 220V to earth.


I might be misunderstanding this part but usually the neutral should have zero potential to earth.

I'm worried if your on a PME system the council is just going to tell you to get an electrician to improve your Ir (rod imdedance) which they will see as your problem, not theirs.

I'm trying out a new drawing package so here's another test I've devised for you. Have fun  :Smile:

----------


## Justloadit

> The only thing is that you do not mention the tingle when using the stove or light switches or touching light fittings so I would normally be leaning toward a hairline crack in the element, however, as the neightbours are experiencing the same problem, it rules that out. Having no voltage reading between N & E means they are at the same potential, no elevated voltage not no voltage and as Andy said, it is not the voltage which will kill you. As for the ELCB, I doubt your geyser circuit is connected to it.



We have no tingling feeling on any other appliance, and this being a small house, all circuits go through the Earth Leakage Switch. Even when we wash dishes we do not get any tingling feeling, but then again it is a metal basin. Baths or basins do not behave as the shower either, which makes it even more puzzling.




> Keep in mind also that the neutral at the geyser is the same as the one at the lights and stove so when either are being used the geyser neutral should have a potential difference of 220V to earth.


Not sure what you mean by this statement, if you measure the voltage between live and neutral or earth, it does show 230V.

----------


## Justloadit

OK, I managed to get a voltage measurement. Its a mere 6 Volts 50hZ AC, but it sure does frighten you when you do not know what the heck it is. I can not measure the current, because the cheap multimeter I currently have in my possession does not measure AC current.

It reminds me of a  redesign which I did some time ago for somebody, but never came to fruition because the client ran out of money, and I never got paid. 

But if you check out this video, Farm Freund, you will get a pretty good idea how good the concept is. It was originally patented by RAU university. It immobilizes farm animals allowing vets to do their thing. The voltage is variable between 1 and 12V, at a frequency lower than the mains frequency, but is very effective, and when I tested it, I recall having the same tingling feeling.

----------


## AndyD

The thing with induced or capacitively coupled voltages is that they can be deceptive. Depending on the input resistance of your test meter you'll get different voltage readings. The whack you get from it is more down to the energy it can deliver, as previously stated this is more about the Amps or Joules.

If you can see the voltage on your tester then at least you can get a handle on what is causing the fault. What 2 points did you get your 6VAC measurement between? I would first try to narrow it down to which circuit is causing the reading, isolate all circuits at the DB, check that the 6 Volt reading has gone then reset each circuit one by one to establish which is the guilty one.

----------


## Justloadit

Hi Andy,

I placed a copper wire, not the best connection as it has no real point to bolt too, between the taps and the drain hole, then let the shower water run, measured between the taps, and the shower floor which are earth type of tiles, which was now damp. At this time the only circuit that I had isolated was the geyser. Will do a further test with all the other circuit breakers.

I was hoping that the wire would have eliminated the tingling feeling but it seems not to have made any difference.

----------


## Justloadit

OK I have now managed to get a measurement with out the shower flowing. By placing the meter between the taps, and a tile joint which was damp, I managed to measure the 6V. So it seems there is this residual voltage flowing in between the copper pipes, which in the shower come from the ceiling and chased into the wall and the ground cement.

I switched off all the CBs, and even the EL isolation switch, which disconnects both live and neutral, and there still was a reading. Off course I could not remove the earth wire, and bear in mind at the meter box, the earth is connected to the neutral.

SO confirmation that there is no electrical fault in the house, and that this must be influenced from an outside source.

Now if there was a general ESKOM power failure, it would yield an interesting result, but there have been none for a while, so I have not been able to do a measurement.

----------


## wynn

As an electrical ignoramus I would also check appliances such as washing machines, dish washers, ice machines and fridges with water connected for ice/cold water dispensing. one of them could be causing a crossover.

Oh and change your geyser element and thermostat.

----------


## AndyD

Is the meter box on your premises?

As a final test you could isolate the entire DB at the main breaker and disconnect the main incoming earth from the earth bar. Obviously don't reset the supply without reconnecting the main earth again. If the 6 volts test result disappears then it pretty much proves that your incoming earth is at an elevated voltage to actual earth. 

If this is the case then by all means contact the council but my advice about adding an additional decent length rod close to the DB still stands as a good option. Additional earth bonding to the house foundation steelwork if possible would be even better.

Out of interest, did you physically check all electrical points in the vicinity of the shower for signs of damp?

----------


## Justloadit

Yes the meter box is on my premises.
There is only a single 80Amp breaker on the live, and not much space in the box. Not being a qualified electrician, and not having a good set of tools, I am a little apprehensive in removing the earth at the meter box, as there is really no protection there if something goes wrong. Recently our neighbours house burnt down, and burnt the over head lines, causing them to snap, and they apparently were jumping and flashing on the ground. It only stopped when ESKOM switched the transformer breaker off.

Removing any wires at the DB box requires proper tools, which I do not poses here, and doing it haphazardly is not really safe for me to do, so I will simply lay a complaint at ESKOM, and the next time I come round, I will see if I can bring some earthing spikes and do what has been suggested here.

I did do a visual around the 2 showers, but can not see any dampness outside or around the showers, besides the usual damp you get in a shower after being used. I also can not see any damp around the light fittings and switch boxes on the walls adjacent to the shower areas. 

Having switched off the Live and Neutral via the EL switch, and still had the same symptom, means that the earth wire, connected to the neutral at the meter box, which is connected to the house plumbing, is the last link to make the final decision.

----------


## AndyD

> Yes the meter box is on my premises.
> There is only a single 80Amp breaker on the live, and not much space in the box. Not being a qualified electrician, and not having a good set of tools, I am a little apprehensive in removing the earth at the meter box,


I wasn't suggesting you remove anything at the meter box, I was suggesting you can knock off the supply and isolate the power to the house and only then remove the earth from the main earth bar in the DB to see if the stray voltage in the shower disappears. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with or competent to do correctly and safely. Only disconnect the earth when the power is isolated and don't restore power without the earthing being reconnected and tested first.

----------


## Justloadit

Ha, misunderstood you the first time round.

Thanks for all your help, it has helped considerably in this endeavour.
I will be doing the copper spike thing, as this will be in my opinion the most practical at present.

----------


## Dave A

Is the drainage pipe from the shower metal or plastic? If it's metal, bond it into the earth wiring.

Personally I think Andy's idea of using the steel reinforcing in the slab as an earth net is probably going to produce the best return on effort. Exposing a reinforcing rod that runs under the shower and bonding that to earth sounds like less of a mission than sinking an earth rod into solid rock.

----------


## ians

And a little more thumb sucking, as i mentioned without being on site.

This is what i see, a little farm house in the middle of nowhere, being fed from a pump which "could" be feeding both the houses or affecting the other house via an electrical or water connection . The electricial current/voltage must be coming from a fault somewhere, and thats what needs to be sorted out. 

Heres my thoughts, has anyone checked that the seal on the pump motor is not leaking, asuming you have a water pump either from a borehole or a pump with a small baldder on top. to keep a constant pressure, why i am thinking along these lines is because it affects you when near the water, so anything linked to the water and electricity is wher ei would be looking, water pumps, level probes/balls, geyser elements, thermostats, and anything else you can think of which could be linked to the water.

As i mentioned in previous posts so long as the earthing/bonding is tight and correcting installed as per the sans regs and and the loop impedance readings are with the range. The only other problem, could be either a cable damaged somehow affecting the water pipes or a seal is damaged causing the water to get onto the motor or connections, it could even be rain getting in the motor terminal box or motor.

The problem with trying to give advice on the internet, i cant see what is actually happening on site and a small detail could make all the difference.

----------


## Justloadit

Gents, once again thank you for all your help and suggestions.

Whilst this is in the bush per se, every one has his own vision of the site, which like Ian says, makes it difficult to offer advice with out being on site.

The area is a nature reserve, and has been sub divided into a typical residential suburb, however there are a few municipal services provided, such as water and ESKOM. There is no refuse or sewerage, so that the current solution is a typical "French Drain", or a cavern, dug out in the ground, in which all the drain pipes are connected. The reduction of the sewage is relied on bacteria, and hence the care of not throwing chemicals into the drain pipes, ion order not to kill the bacteria. If extended use of the sewage is made, then drain needs to be pumped out.

All sewage pipes are plastic. My closest neibour does not have the problem, and after careful investigation to his property, which he built himself, I noted that all copper pipes in his plumbing system were laid out in the concrete floor, as opposed to the the other houses built in the area, in which the plumbing is done in the ceiling, and chased down the walls to the taps.

So Andy's idea of the copper rod, or the connection to a reinforcing bar in the concrete makes sound sense. Unfortunately whilst the foundations are concrete, which I observed during the construction of the house, there is no steel reinforcing in the foundation, as it was not structurally required. This poses a problem of a simple connection.

I have noted that the "drain" box was originally made with a concrete floor and brick walls, with a concrete top. If I can knock a copper rod next to the drain wall, i think i will be able to achieve the earthing.

Ian, even after switching the mains off, in which the Live and Neutral were isolate, except for the earth, which is connected to the Neutral in the meter box, I still measured the 6V, so the fault in my opinion would be with the ESKOM supply.

----------


## Dave A

> I have noted that the "drain" box was originally made with a concrete floor and brick walls, with a concrete top. If I can knock a copper rod next to the drain wall, i think i will be able to achieve the earthing.


That really should do it. The goal is to get the local earth potential at the same level as the Eskom neutral.

----------


## Sparks

Hmm, been quite lively since I was last here. I take it the 6V is Neutral to Earth. That would be the Elevated voltage. The EV reading is usually taken at the DB when I do my inspections so that if it is too high I can either have the monkeypality see to it or if need be switch off the supply. Elevated voltage is not a fault condition and will not cause the tingling. On getting a 6V Elevated Voltage reading, I would carry on with my inspection without batting an eyelid, that is average in some areas of Port Elizabeth.
 In light of the further information you have provided I now suspect a floating earth. What are your earth continuity readings? The higher your CB the lower your earth continuity needs to be in order to be compliant. As previously also mentioned, I think it was by Andy, your bonding conductor resistance is also important. Are your bonding conductors copper? What gauge is your earth wire from the DB? Are the earthstraps secured onto clean areas? Having a floating earth on your plumbing could cause the tingling too. You did say that you are on a rocky outcrop. I take it you then have an overhead supply. Have you checked the insulation of the cables where they enter the roof?

----------


## Justloadit

Hi Sparks,
The 6V reading is not between Neutral and Earth at the DB box, but rather between the copper water pipes in the wall, and a damp section on the floor tile grout.
This is not a conventional type of fault in the house wiring. The meter box, which is on a pole some 6 meters from the house, is fed via an overhead three phase, twisted insulated line, and the Neutral is an open silver conductor, which also acts as the mechanical carrying component of the line to the next pole. At the pole there are 2 meter boxes, back to back, which have a single phase KWH meter in each box. The meter box which feeds the adjacent properties, the Neutral and earth have been physically joined. Then there is a 4mm diameter exposed copper cable which goes down the side of the pole into the ground. Coming up from the same position in the ground, there is a copper wire going to the earth connector of my meter box which feeds my house. Effectively there is no physical connection in my box, between Neutral and the earth, as with the adjacent meter box, however the electrical connection of earth and Neutral is done in the join in the ground, which I assume that ESKOM placed a earthing spike.

When I measure between the earth and the Neutral, I get no voltage. After some time and experimentation, I was able to get a reading in the shower, with out the water flowing, which made the measurement exercise much simpler, I was able to get a 6V reading between the copper pipes that have been chased in the wall, and fed from the ceiling and a wet spot of grout between the shower floor tiles. I switched off the main  power to the house through my DB box, which has a earth leakage isolator, not circuit breaker, there is a 60 amp circuit breaker before the EL switch, which then feeds the other CBs in the DB box. So effectively there was no Live or Earth in the circuit after the EL switch, and I still measure the 6V, which meant that the leaking voltage was not coming through the house circuit. It must be noted that at this point, the earth and Neutral connection was still in place at the neibours meter box.

Andy suggested, that I remove the earth in the DB box during this part of the test. Since I was on holiday, I did not have any decent tools with me to perform this part of the test, and decided that I had already de3lved more deeply into this than my qualifications would allow, and decided that I will contact ESKOM next week and lay a complaint to see if they could rectify the problem.

Other neighbours further up and further down from me, fed from the same ESKOM overhead line, do experience this tingling feeling when they shower. Their solution was to get plastic tap covers. My adjacent neibour, not fed from the same pole, but fed from an arrangement as the pole outside my house, does not get this tingling feeling. at first I thought that since he does not use a electrical geyser, he would not get the problem, but after some investigation I noted that all his plumbing planned at the onset of the construction of his house, comes through the concrete floor, which fits into Andy's recommendation of the earth strap into the concrete.

I hope that I have been able to describe the actual setup.

----------


## Sparks

Yip, your loop impedance test or earth-resistance test would have shown it. Eskom will need to come give a decent earth spike at the pole. Your waterpipes are earthed by way of Eskoms earth wire. This is a "protected earth/neutral conductor.(the same one) They must split before your installation and the 1 terminated to the ground. Being rocky they must have decided to call it a day before getting a good reading or else it might have been done while the ground was moist. Your earth from Eskom is also Neutral and from there to the actual moist ground(true earth) you are getting 6V elevated voltage. When Eskom have earthed their side properly you will probably still have the elevated voltage, maybe a bit lower but, without the tingling. Please keep us posted as to the results of Eskoms' tests and the outcome.

----------


## Justloadit

OK Got ESKOM out, and apparently they found a fault in the transformer. The neibours are no longer complaining about the tingling shower experience.ESKOM contacted me to find out if the problem had been resolved. I must say that every time I have dealt with ESKOM in the Limpopo province, they have attended to my grievances, and always contacted me when their technicians fixed the problem.

I will only be there again in a few weeks time and do my test  :Smile:

----------

AndyD (26-Feb-13), Dave A (26-Feb-13)

----------


## Pieter00

This was a very interesting discussion

----------

