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pamsrugs · Jul 30, 2008, 07:34 PM

When you are standing in my in ground swimming pool, and your hands are wet, and you touch the hand rail you feel a mild shock. When you stand in my swimming pool and put your tongue on the handrail it resembles putting your tongue on a nine volt battery. There is another handrail in the deep end of the pool that does not do it. Anything electrical near the pool is on a single box put in for the purpose of the pool. It has 4 breakers and I shut down all four for well over 1/2 and hour and the charge is still there. You can't always feel it with your hand but you can with your tongue. What are the possibilities and should we be swimming?

The pool is 7 years old. It was inspected when it was being built . It was inspected before the concrete was poured.
It reads 1 ac on the voltmeter on the handrail. So we shut down the entire house power and it still reads so I called the power company so now I wait for them. Thank you very much so far for your help

Update::::: PPL came and shut off all power to my home and it was still in the pool. First at the meter and then at the Pole at the end of the driveway.. Now they have to give it to a tech and they believe it may be coming from my neighbor. They think it will be difficult to find. My closest Neighbors house is 300 yards away, this is going to be interesting. It reads 1.4 on their meter. It only reads on the one in the lower end because that one doesn't touch the water. The ladder in the deep end goes into the water. What I wonder is, what if we didn't have a pool. Could this problem never be found? Would anybody even know there is a problem? A little bit scarry

Washington1 · Jul 30, 2008, 08:31 PM

Get out of the pool until this problem is solved. It could be a number of things. Seeing that you already turned off all the breakers, now call your utility company,and go from there.

stanfortyman · Jul 30, 2008, 08:46 PM

How old is the pool?
Was it bonded properly?
Was it inspected when it was installed?

ISneezeFunny · Jul 30, 2008, 08:50 PM

There's really no "safe" or "unsafe" distance from the electrical source when you're dealing with a body of water. Stay away from the pool until things get fixed.

KISS · Jul 30, 2008, 10:28 PM

There is a whole thread on this. Some things need to be ruled out, but ultimately you will probably find the pool wasn't installed by NEC rules nor electrically inspected BEFORE the CONCRETE was poured.

The wire grid placed within the concrete has to be placed correctly and bonded to a ground rod.

There are lots of variables, but the big ones are the type of soil and the distance from the power transformer to the main disconnect and where the pool lies in relation to this.

Not doing it on the deep end suggests that you don't have an equipotential grid installed properly within the concrete.

In that relatively recent thread there is a lot of stuff including being able to read the NEC code for free.

Knowing the voltage would be good, but it will likely vary with soil and moisture content.

Installing the ground rods below the water table is a good defense. That's 3 of them: 1) Your service entrance, 2) Pool equpotential grid and 3) Utility transformer.

Key question: Was the pool electrically inspected when it was built before the concrete was poured?

stanfortyman · Jul 31, 2008, 03:52 AM

Just a note.

There is absolutely NO requirement, nor need, for ground rods with regard to pool bonding.
This has been a code misinterpretation for many years, and has never been a requirement. Yet, folks (even seasoned electricians) still insist on installing ground rods in attempt to bond a pool.

KISS · Jul 31, 2008, 06:55 AM

Stanfortyman:

Please explani Article 680 and 682 of the NEC. Article 680 is named "Swimming Pools, Fountains and Other Installations.: See Particularly Article 680.26

You can read it free here after jumping through som non-obvious hoops.

NFPA 70: National Electrical Code®

KISS · Jul 31, 2008, 07:02 AM

And to make an interesting read: Grounding vs. Bonding

Grounding versus Bonding Part 1 of 12

tkrussell · Jul 31, 2008, 08:57 AM

Stan is absolutely correct with the statement:

Originally Posted by stanfortyman

Just a note.

There is absolutely NO requirement, nor need, for ground rods with regard to pool bonding. This has been a code misinterpretation for many years, and has never been a requirement. Yet, folks (even seasoned electricians) still insist on installing ground rods in attempt to bond a pool.

And never mind seasoned electricians, even some inspectors do not understand this.

Kiss, where are you going with this? Is it your interpretation that a pool needs a grounding electrode? If so, please cite the appropriate code section.

Section 680.26 (B) even states that the bonding conductor shall not be required to be attached to a grounding electrode.

I, for one, will sit back and wait for Stan to explain Articles 680 and 682 as requested.

Kiss, it may be easier for you to ask Stan specific questions about Articles 680 and 680, rather than Stan have to explain the entire Articles.

KISS · Jul 31, 2008, 11:48 AM

I read the code secton this morning and yes, now I do understand that "ground rods" will not fix the problem of stray voltages. Mike Holt's reference specifically states that and he also states that grounding and bonding are confusing to just about everyone, including the NEC.

It seems I agree with that.

I'm wrestling with the pool, particularly the equipotential grid reading the NEC Handbook and Mike's Forums on the subject.

What it appears, is that just about everything concerning the pool needs to be "tied together" and grounded. Whether that be the water (through a plate), the cement (Through a equipotential grid), the pump, and the handrails.

Right now, I'm stuck in a terminolgy headache and am apparently not alone.