Electric shock from water pump? Potential causes include the pump not being bonded to earth, a bad earth at the power socket or switchboard, a transposed wire, or no/faulty RCD.
An electric shock from a water pump is a serious matter. This post aims to shed some light on why an electric shock from a water pump occurred and what you can do to make your electrical system safer to avoid this.
Why Get An Electric Shock From A Water Pump
An electric shock occurs when you make contact with a live wire or a conductive surface while also having a good electrical connection with the ground. When this happens, electrical current passes through your body from the point of contact (your finger or hand) to the point of exit (your foot in contact with the ground). The main danger of an electric shock is the size of the current passing through your body and the amount of time that you are exposed to it.
The higher the current and longer that you are exposed to it, the more dangerous that the electric shock is likely to be. The path of the electric current is also important. If the electric shock passes through your heart, for example, you can imagine how that is not a good thing.
In this case, you may have touched the conductive surface of the water pump or any conductive fittings and piping then received an electric shock. If you feel tired for any reason you should seek qualified advice as soon as possible.
Protection From An Electric Shock From A Water Pump
There are specific rules and regulations to protect people from hazardous electric shocks. This means that your home has protective measures such as RCD’s and a good earthing system to ensure that electric shocks don’t happen.
The fact that you are reading this blog means that you might not have the electrical protection I am talking about. The next rest of this blog aims to talk about what might be missing in your electrical system that caused this to happen.
Electric Shock From Water Pump – Reason #1
Live Wire In Contact With Metal Surface
If you are getting a shock, there will be a live wire somewhere which is in contact with a conductive surface. This is called an electrical fault.
It is worth pointing out that this electrical fault might not be in the water pump itself.
The electrical fault might be somewhere else (another conductive surface) and the water pump may simply be the ‘earth’ (you only get a shock when you make contact with earth).
If the water pump has an electrical ground fault it can be caused by many things such as a loose wire, broken wire, water intrusion, burnt out motor windings, burnt out connections, rodent damage (common in pump sheds) among many other reasons.
Electric Shock From Water Pump – Reason #2
Metal Surface Not Earthed
Legally all metal surfaces need to be connected to your earthing system. This prevents hazardous voltages appearing on those surfaces. This means that the water pump and any conductive piping, roofing iron and concrete foundation need to be connected to earth. If one is earthed and the other isn’t then an electric shock can occur.
Electric Shock From Water Pump – Reason #3
Bad Earthing
Your pump and conductive surfaces may be bonded to your earthing system, but what if your electrical system itself has a bad earth or high resistance to earth?
This will mean that your pump is effectively NOT connected to earth, resulting in hazardous voltages and shock hazard. A bad earth can occur because of natural ground phenomenon, tampering with the earth or a wrongly sized earth.
Electric Shock From Water Pump – Reason #4
Transposed Wire
A transposed wire (swapping live for neutral) can result in your earthing system becoming live. This means that someone touching something earthed actually gets a shock. This often happens as a result of careless electrical work and not testing electrical work before livening it. If you suspect this has happened, get in touch with whoever has done wiring at your place recently.
Electric Shock From Water Pump – Reason #5
No RCD
Legally, water pumps should be on RCD. A residual current device is designed to protect people and property from electric shocks. It does this by sensing current imbalances and current leaking to earth. They have a range of different sensitivities. In domestic situations they must trip within 300 milliseconds at 30 milliamps of current. This means that the RCD will shut off power to the circuit as soon as the electrical fault occurs, preventing a (severe) electric shock.
If you’ve had an electric shock it is important to check whether or not your switchboard has an RCD. An RCD must be labelled at the switchboard.
Conclusion
Electric shock from water pump? There are many potential reasons for why this might have occurred. If you are unsure about what has happened it’s always important to get in touch with a qualified electrician who might be able to help you. In our experience possible causes for this include No or faulty RCD, transposed wires, bad earthing system, or no bonding on conductive surfaces.
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