Electric shock from water tap? An electric shock can be extremely dangerous, or fatal depending on the amount of current and amount of time exposed to the shock. The stronger the electrical current, and the longer someone is exposed to the shock, the more dangerous it is likely to be. If you have been shocked by a water tap then this post aims to shed some light on why that might have happened and what you can do about it.
Why Would Someone Get An Electric Shock From A Water Tap
An electric shock occurs when someone makes contact with a live wire or conductive surface while also simultaneously having contact with the earth.
The severity of the shock can depend on where the electrical current enters and exits the body.
If you touched a water tap, the electrical current entry point would have been your hand or finger and the electrical exit point would have been your feet, assuming that you are standing up.
Injury from electric shocks occurs because current needs to pass through vital body parts before exiting.
How To Protect Yourself From Getting A Shock From A Water Tap
Legally, there are several protective measures that should be in place to protect anyone from getting an electric shock.
Most power and lighting circuits in a domestic situation are required to be on RCD or ‘residual current device’. An RCD is designed to shut off an electrical circuit before someone receives a fatal electric shock or goes into ‘fibrillation’. This is typically 0.3 seconds at 30mA of current.
If you received an electric shock from a water tap it tells you two potential things are at fault.
The conductive piping is not earthed, the circuit is not on RCD or potentially both.
The solution to protecting yourself from getting a shock is to earth the conductive piping and install RCD’s on circuits that should legally be protected.
The next few posts will go into more detail how to do that
Electric Shock From Water Tap – Reason #1
Live Wire In Contact With Conductive Piping
You are getting a shock because there is a live wire or component in contact with the water pipes. As the water pipes are conductive, electrical current travels up the pipe to the water tap. This is the part which gives you a shock. The live wire in contact with your water tap could be due to loose wires, broken wires, rat damage and a range of other reasons. An electrician will be able to find what is causing the electrical fault by running tests such as visual inspections of fittings and insulation resistance tests at your switchboard.
Electric Shock From Water Tap – Reason #2
Conductive Piping Not Earthed
Legally, all conductive metal piping must be earthed. This means bonding the metal pipes to your main earth system inside your switchboard. The bonding can be done with a 4 mm2 or 6 mm2 copper cable. If the water pipes are not earthed then hazardous voltages can appear on the pipes if an electrical fault were to occur, resulting in an electrical shock.
Electric Shock From Water Tap – Reason #3
No RCD
A standard domestic RCD will shut off power to a circuit if an electrical fault was to occur. If you got an electric shock from a water tap it means that either the piping wasn’t earthed or you don’t have an RCD correctly installed.
RCD’s are a relatively recent development (last 20+ years). Not all switchboards older than this will have them. If your switchboard doesn’t have an RCD, it is a very good idea (and legal idea) to get them installed to prevent people from getting shocks.
Electric Shock From Water Tap – Reason #4
Transposed Wires
If someone has been working on your electrical system it is possible that they have transposed wires such as phase and neutral resulting in your earthing system becoming live. This would result in getting a shock from a water tap. If this has happened, it is important to get in contact with whoever has been doing wiring to find out exactly what they have done.
Conclusion
Electric shock from water tap? Causes for this include unearthed water pipes, no RCD or transposed wires livening your earthing system. If you are unsure what to do, always get in touch with a registered electrician before attempting anything.
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