Power Shower, tingling (current?) in pipes.

[ban-all-sheds]

CU does not conform to current regs

There is NO requirement to upgrade it for its own sake.

I do hope your electrician didn't suggest that there was.

and it only has 4 fuses so given I will be making alterations to house I need a new one.

But that will probably be the best way to ensure that any new or changed circuits comply.

He talked about 'potentials' and that the electricity should be going back to the CU via the cables but due to the bath being cast iron, pipes being copper and no earth, that is the problem.

Ah...

Hmm...

That really does sound as if he was testiculating, but whether that is what he said, or if it's what you you thought you heard is impossible to say...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Umm...

The lighting ring comes from the electrical board which is RCD

CU does not conform to current regs and it only has 4 fuses.

 

[xr4x4]

Umm...

The lighting ring comes from the electrical board which is RCD

CU does not conform to current regs and it only has 4 fuses.

ditto, ive just noticed that.

unless shes on a TT and has a pre CU RCD.

 

[RF Lighting]

Or pre CU VOELCB, in which case the spark is right to replace at least the ELCB, and maybe the whole CU.

 

[Buzx1313]

i have been giving this some thought


i think you have had an N E fault,,,

do you have a TT supply in your house?? that means your earth is afforded by a rod in the ground??

if matey boy has just bonded all your pipes and you still have the fault assuming you have no RCD then all your bonded metal work will become live

please make sure he has cleard the fault first.. there must be one for you to be getting tingles

The lighting ring comes from the electrical board which is RCD and has not tripped.

CU does not conform to current regs and it only has 4 fuses so given I will be making alterations to house I need a new one.

and this???

 

[bernardgreen]

As has been said in other threads the "earth" wire in a house is not necesarily at true ground potential. People report voltages between their "earth" wire and true ground. In at least one thread the DNO came to dig up the road to repair a fault on the network neutral.

Main bonding is required to be fitted so that true ground potential on service pipes cannot enter the equipotential area inside the house.

This suggests that "earth" and true ground can be different and this has to be taken into account when the installation is designed. This bonding is in 10mm to ensure it can carry high currents if the impendance of the incoming service pipe to ground is low and there is a significant voltage difference between "earth" potential and true ground potential. As most service pipes are now plastic this impedence is high and current is low even when the voltage difference between "earth" and true ground is considerable.

Where the "earth" is derived from the incoming neutral then it is the potential on the neutral that determines the potential on the "earth" inside the house. Even with a perfectly good network the neutral as it enters the house will not be at true ground potential due to voltage drops along the network neutral conductors.

This difference between "earth" and true ground potential will produce tingles when a person touches an "earthed" object and an object connected to true ground. In almost all case the tingle will be too small to notice. If angel's bath has metal waste pipes to a metal stack pipe then the bath is connected to true ground and the pipes are "earthed".

Answer is to main bond the metallic waste pipes. Or is it a requirement to equipotentially bond the bath to "earth" and accept current flowing in the waste water pipe work from bath at "earth" to the true ground. In effect another grounding for the PME neutral.

 

[Buzx1313]

find the f****$£G fault................

 

[bernardgreen]

find the f****$£G fault................

The fault has been found. The pipes and the bath are not at the same potential and that potential difference has to be prevented by remedial work.

Bonding bath and pipes together is the obvious method.

 

[aptsys]

So do we get a nudie picture or what?

 

[AngelV]

find the f****$£G fault................

The fault has been found. The pipes and the bath are not at the same potential and that potential difference has to be prevented by remedial work.

Bonding bath and pipes together is the obvious method.

New RCU in - and no, he didn't try to sell it to me, I asked for it and will get a BR Cert for the installaton.

New RCU not tripping when shower running (he tested it, tingling still happening)

Earth wire is now connected to rising main, looped around to gas pipe and connected to CU where the main earth is.

Bath/pipes still at differend earth potential at the moment, bonding happening today.

Meanwhile bath only rule still applies.

And I'm having a load of other work done to make the whole house 'make sense' and mor importantly, SAFE!

And no - no photo of me in the shower. You'd run away screaming...