I am very confused. I have never owned a pool before and after talking with some friends decided to start with one of the Intex pools that you blow up the ring and then fill with water. This seemed to be an inexpensive way to start and see if a pool would work for my family. However, several times I have been shocked by sticking my hand in the water. I called Intex and they told me that the outlet that I plug the filter into must not be grounded. I contacted an electrician and he came out and checked the outlet and said it was fine. He said it might have just built up friction due to the filter sitting directly on the ground and not on a rubber mat. Last night I came home and stuck my hand in the water and got a tingle in my finger tips. The filter had not been on so I am very confused as to why I am getting shocked.

PLease help I am confused and concerned that one of my kids will get hurt because of this.

The pool I have is 12' by 36".

Thanks.

Holy %$&@ this is a serious problem! This could be so many different things or a combination of circumstances but MUST be solved right away. You did well in hiring an electrician to check your outlet grounding however I would think that the electrician should be solving th problem of your pool holding a potential voltage also.

The circuit that powers your pool equipment must be GFIC protected, which includes proper grounding. Commercial pools and some new residential pools require the use of a device called a current collector. This is a pipe that is lined with stainless steel plating on the inside. It has a connection point where you attach a bonding wire that connects to a main ground source for your house. The concept of this device is to eliminate the possibility of an electric charge forming in your pool.

If your pool were to be electrically isolated from the ground, it is possible that the motion of water passing through the plastic pipes can generate a minute static charge. If the pool is isolated it is possible that over time the pool can act as a giant capacitor and generate a charge strong enough to kill. These current collectors would be a pretty expensive addition to the pool that you have costing about $100 each, however it could potentially prevent an electricity related pool death.

Either way, your situation requires an experienced electrician or specifically capable pool company. If this were my pool I would not rest until the problem had been identified 100% for sure.

Good luck!

Steve Goodale
Serendipity Pools

Since you felt a tingle without the pump on, there may be a problem in the home. There may be current coming out on the ground wire into the water, and you complete the circuit to ground.

Have the electrician check for voltage on the ground wire at the pump outlet. Have him check the grounding system for the panelboard.

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Originally Posted by Fuzyturtle

I am very confused. I have never owned a pool before and after talking with some friends decided to start with one of the Intex pools that you blow up the ring and then fill with water. This seemed to be an inexpensive way to start and see if a pool would work for my family. However, several times I have been shocked by sticking my hand in the water. I called Intex and they told me that the outlet that I plug the filter into must not be grounded. I contacted an electrician and he came out and checked the outlet and said it was fine. He said it might have just built up friction due to the filter sitting directly on the ground and not on a rubber mat. Last night I came home and stuck my hand in the water and got a tingle in my finger tips. The filter had not been on so I am very confused as to why I am getting shocked.

PLease help I am confused and concerned that one of my kids will get hurt because of this.

The pool I have is 12' by 36".

Thanks.

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Thank you guys for your help... we where able to determine that it was a bad wire running under the ground that the pool sits on that was causing the zap... We have stopped using that light and will be having the wiring replaced this fall.

Thanks again.

It is wonderful that you solved this problem without anyone getting hurt. This should go out as a serious reminder to everyone how careful you must be when installing an above ground pool. You were lucky in this instance, but electricity and water is a deadly combination.

Steve Goodale
Serendipity Pools