Shocking Question

gtcway

About a month ago there was a thunderstorm and lightning hit an electrical pole, which also has phone and cable lines on it. Several houses in the area were affected, (computers, cable boxs, phones, etc). A friend's house with copper plumbing will shock you when you touch the shower control. I was in his neighbour's houses around a computer and got shocked when I touched the back of the case with exposed metal and the son said he got shocked when he touched the microwave. This isn't a life threatening shock, more like a tickle but was wondering what the problem might be. I'm not sure if the electrical company fixed it yet but some of us non electricians were thinking it might be a problem with the neutral. Anyone know?

Teetorbilt

You never know with lightning. If I were you, I'd call in a pro. Troubleshooting over the web could take a month.

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

tgeb

And could get someone injured ...or worse.

Lightning strikes should be covered by most HO insurance. But also notify the electric company, it could be on their end.

Be safe, not sorry.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

gtcway

I'm not trying to fix it and as far as I know the electric company has already fixed it. Was just wondering what could have caused it.

mdshunk

It was probably an open service neutral, and the neutral was returning (in part) through the equipment ground, through your body, and back through the earth. The earth sucks as a conductor, so that's why you only got a tingle.

MEI

The grounding conductor from the panel to the earth has been opened most likely. With an effective ground you cant have a voltage potential.

mdshunk

NOT! The grounding electrode conductor is not and never was intended for that purpose. The code requires that a grounding electrode have no more than 25 ohms of resistance to the earth, so that's a heck of a lot of potential difference. The grounding electrode conductor and grounding electrode has absolutely positively nothing to do with clearing faults or reducing touch potential.

Speedy Petey

Shall I pull up all my Mike Holt links proving this?

I'm actually surprised to hear such a thing from another electrician.

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RobertWilber

Speedy-
which position are you taking here?
Grounding electrode conductor does or does not help clear faults?

... further, there is no such thing as a non-life threatening shock.
If you can feel it, it can kill, given variable conditions.
Has this problem really been corrected? ... or is everyone ignoring it until the skinny guy with the scythe visits?

[in a whisper]
Psst ... hey, did anyone notice that we're alone again? All the carps left when we started our NEC technical mumbo-jumbo chatter ...

Double-A

[replies in a whisper]
Ya, I noticed that. I'm just here for the free donuts and coffee . Plus I like it when MD and Speedy get all techno babel. I imagine them having to put on those little nose glasses to read the latest code citation.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

CE1

Psst….. Hey Robert
Do you really want to get between two prizefighters? All they need is a referee.(2 in fact) The audience is just waiting to see BLOOD and the knockout blow.

My money is on MD because if he knew what was written on the inside of a chamber pot, He knows everything and anything IMHO.

Speedy Petey

I was agreeing with Marc. I quoted Marc and commented I had refrence links to prove his statements.

Here is the first sentence from this Mike Holt page:

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mdshunk

No, no... me a Speedy are on the same side on this one.

Ground rods are among the most useless pieces of electrical hardware, but they do have a very finite purpose... to drain most of a lightening strike or high voltage surge (read, transformer failure) to the earth and keep some of it out of your house wiring. That's all they do... period... end of story.

I, too, am somewhat embarrassed that the statement from MEI was coming from a fellow electrician. I guess people are at all phases of their trade education, which is part of what we help with here.

MEI is confusing grounding and bonding. With an effective bonding path, you can't have a potential difference. That has nothing to do with ground rods, or the state of the grounding electrode conductor, be it solidly connected or open.