Wierd electrical question...

[tommu56]

I didn't think of it but I have seen a breaker that went through a flood that would open but the dirt in it would keep a couple of volts on the line.

I recommend every one have a non contact voltage tester

like the Fluke 1AC A1 II

http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+1ACII+VoltAlert.htm?catalog_name=FlukeUnitedStates&category=ELT(FlukeProducts)


and test it on a known live line before use.

tom

 

[biggerten]

This is what I thought initially...but lemme ask... if so, then how is it possible that I was still feeling a shock when the main breaker on the panel box was turned off?

Shouldn't that kill 100% of any issue inside the house, regardless of what might be wired or grounded wrong?

Electricity and house wiring is certainly not my area of expertise so I don't presume to know anything here but I would think killing the main breaker should have made working on this foolproof yet, it was clearly "sharing" its voltage with me as I touched it.

Who can say what the real problem is? But for sure you haven't located it. You really need to check that the ground is in place at the heater, that the other end is connected in the panel, and that the panel is grounded. The situation is suspicious enough that there are probably multiple issues here, and that another circuit or a faulty device is energizing what you *think* is ground, but really isn't. Another poster mentioned phone lines, an intersting possibility.

But the voltage is coming from somewhere, and your grounding circuit is deficient somewhere.

 

[dmccarty]

The satellite dish should cause a problem.

My Sat dish does not have power running too it. How would power come from the Sat dish? COAX does run to the dish is that somehow powered? Course if it was powered then when Richard drops the main it should not be powered.

Or does the dish pick up the 12v from the signal?

More Confused Than Usual.
Dan

 

[kenstrac]

Are you the only one on the transformer?
Is the entrance cable damaged and causing leakage?
Ground at pole bad transformer lost grd.
Pull meter and check all the connections for corrosion causing leakage.
How close are you to another service or neighbor?
Shut off all of the breakers see if it goes away could be back leakage from defective UPS

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

My Sat dish does not have power running too it. How would power come from the Sat dish? COAX does run to the dish is that somehow powered? Course if it was powered then when Richard drops the main it should not be powered.

Or does the dish pick up the 12v from the signal?

More Confused Than Usual.
Dan

Not to speak for the Inspector, but I think that was a typo


And just to add to the discussion, in the US we have a combined bonded ground and neutral which is different than Europe. So if you loose the ground in your house that means any voltage coming back across the neutral line to the house will not be sent to ground and zero'd out.

So what you should do to eliminate your house as the source of the problem, bad ground or neutral issues. Have you BIL or another qualified electrician pull the house meter and check for potentials there. Since that is the entry point into your house you can inspect your grounding at the entry point as well as tell exactly what you are getting from the power company. 9 times out of 10 your issue will be yours and located in the meter box. Failed bond or broken line is the normal cause.

I can't stress this enough, unless you are a qualified professional electrician, pulling the meter should only be done by a professional. This is not a DIY test as you can and will kill yourself if you accidentally touch the wrong lines and ground yourself. There is no breaker to pop between you and the pole. Just you.

 

[biggerten]

Your satellite dish *does* have power running to it, there's an amplifier at the dish. The power is run through the coax cable.

 

[tommu56]

Not to speak for the Inspector, but I think that was a typo


And just to add to the discussion, in the US we have a combined bonded ground and neutral which is different than Europe. So if you loose the ground in your house that means any voltage coming back across the neutral line to the house will not be sent to ground and zero'd out.

So what you should do to eliminate your house as the source of the problem, bad ground or neutral issues. Have you BIL or another qualified electrician pull the house meter and check for potentials there. Since that is the entry point into your house you can inspect your grounding at the entry point as well as tell exactly what you are getting from the power company. 9 times out of 10 your issue will be yours and located in the meter box. Failed bond or broken line is the normal cause.

I can't stress this enough, unless you are a qualified professional electrician, pulling the meter should only be done by a professional. This is not a DIY test as you can and will kill yourself if you accidentally touch the wrong lines and ground yourself. There is no breaker to pop between you and the pole. Just you.

Note pulling the meter will not isolate the neutral from the neutral wire coming in to the house . it will only brake the line wires coming in (this might be a reagonal thing) but if you still have voltage after the mete ris pulled it has to be coming back from the utility.

tom

 

[jwstewar]

Your satellite dish *does* have power running to it, there's an amplifier at the dish. The power is run through the coax cable.

But not if the mains to the house are disconnected.

 

[zzvyb6]

This same thing happened at my place. Turns out that with the lowered water table and dry soil, the copper rod "ground" was no longer grounded to planet Earth. Drove a new rod and the differential voltage went away. Also, the Aluminum wire they used for ground cable turn to sawdust when we touched it. The tip off was that the Ground Fault Interuptors were going haywire until a rainstorm passed thru....

 

[biggerten]

But not if the mains to the house are disconnected.

I think your mixing up messages from the original poster, Richard, who opened the circuit breaker, with Dan, the one I was replying to, who said nothing about removing power.

Otherwise, I agree 100% with you, if there is no power is supplied, there will be no power in the circuit. But that's kinda like saying water is wet, we all know that.