bathroom earth fault

[zeroberto]

Just had a new bathroom suite fitted un my own house, and a chrome towel rail fitted in place of radiator.

Now getting shocks from towel rail & whb & bath taps - of the tingly sensation type. Bit embarrassing - its my own house & I am a JIB approved contractor, 30 years in the game!

Old bungalow with 2.5/4mm earths so have run new 16mm earth from Dist Board to cold feed, taken 6mm earth from there across all heating pipes in cupboard, through to bath taps. Cross bonded hot & cold there. These pipes are teed under floor to whb. Have cross bonded them again at whb with 6mm & bonded from there to towel rail. Still getting a strong buzz, & power tracer pen buzzes like hell when I go anywhere near metalwork.

No other taps in the house are giving a problem.

Cant get a voltage reading via the tester, but then I am going back to same earth so may not.

Any ideas?

Iain

 

[ukpablo]

have u checked all earth continuity on all ccts in property? ie the light cct, shower cct and socket cct? also check neutral feeds go back to the board?
try disconnecting one cct at a time from board to narrow down if a specific cct is the prob?

take it is not rcd protected?

 

[Giovanni]

Just had a new bathroom suite fitted un my own house, and a chrome towel rail fitted in place of radiator.

Now getting shocks from towel rail & whb & bath taps - of the tingly sensation type. Bit embarrassing - its my own house & I am a JIB approved contractor, 30 years in the game!

Old bungalow with 2.5/4mm earths so have run new 16mm earth from Dist Board to cold feed, taken 6mm earth from there across all heating pipes in cupboard, through to bath taps. Cross bonded hot & cold there. These pipes are teed under floor to whb. Have cross bonded them again at whb with 6mm & bonded from there to towel rail. Still getting a strong buzz, & power tracer pen buzzes like hell when I go anywhere near metalwork.

No other taps in the house are giving a problem.

Cant get a voltage reading via the tester, but then I am going back to same earth so may not.

Any ideas?

Iain

Is the cupboard in the bathroom? Or have I got the wrong jist here?....It reads as though you have linked from the CU to cold feed, and then continued all the way through?

 

[IQ Electrical]

You need to get a wander lead out and check R2 readings at various points in the location.

It sounds like a cable has been pierced by a screw etc.

Have you done IR tests?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Are you dragging your feet and getting static shocks?lol

 

[telectrix]

test Ze, make sure the property has an earth, yhen wander lead to cold stop tap, then to bathroom etc.etc.

 

[telectrix]

Are you dragging your feet and getting static shocks?lol

it could actually be static. it's been known.

 

[Giovanni]

They'll be some big bloody feet, is it hagrids house?? lol

 

[zeroberto]

thanks for the answers, appreciated.

have narrowed it down to the socket circuit in that area - switch mcb off and it disappears.

Was a complete bathroom refit - big flood! - so screws a possibility, but there are no sockets in the walls adjoining the bathroom.

Immersor cupboard adjoins bathroom so took new earth to there then onto all pipework in bathroom - thinking being taht all pipework should now be at same potential.

Test equipment is (of course!) being calibrated - should get back next week.

plan for tomorrow is to isolate which cable in the ring is casuing the problem, then rewire if poss (may be difficult) or failing that turn ring into 2 radials at 20amps. Its only 4 bedrooms, very little plugged in really, should be sufficient.

Any ideas on how I can measure the voltage using just a multimeter? get nothing to earth at the moment, but then unlikely to given its all interconnected. Disconnect the main bond at the board and run a wander lead to the bathroom - will that work?

cheers

Iain

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Nylon underpants.

 

[Giovanni]

Took earth from the adjoining cupboard? Why? For Supp bonding if the cupboard is 'seperated' from the bathroom (even if the pipes run in from there) the supplementary connections only want to be IN the bathroom itself, From and to pipework in that specific room, and terminated to an earth in an electrical point, as in the lighting. That's why I don't understand why you are taking an earth from another earth 'point', as you are then cross connecting.

 

[IQ Electrical]

Supplementary bonding can be carried out 'in close proximity to the location or within'

Close proximity can mean an adjoining roof void or airing cupboard opening into or adjoining the room containing the bath or shower.

 

[telectrix]

Nylon underpants.

or fit plastic taps.

 

[Giovanni]

Supplementary bonding can be carried out 'in close proximity to the location or within'

Close proximity can mean an adjoining roof void or airing cupboard opening into or adjoining the room containing the bath or shower.

Granted, however, from what is being described is more a case of cross connection, that's potentially the issue, because the earth has been introduced from a different area, which inturn must be earthed in all probability in to a different circuit. If the Supp bonding was purely in that room and terminated likewise, then there would be no abiguity as to where the fault lay, which is surely the point of supplementary bonding.

 

[tommy76it]

Check the main earth at the db.Its either loose or its not connected.