Was he pulling my chain?

[NLOVNIT]

Can the extremely dry ground make my camper frame more electrified? That's what I was told by an electrician this past weekend. Here's the story...
We pulled into a CG & hooked up as usual. I noticed the caution light lit on our surge supressor panel. Dave opened the bay & checked the other lights on the actual supressor & nothing was amiss. A while later, I went to open the twist locks on one of our bay doors & got a buzz through my fingers. Nothing really bad, but enough to make it uncomfortable. Hadn't noticed this when we were hooking up when I was constantly in & out of different bay doors. I realized that what was different this time was I was barefoot - before I had shoes on & those twist locks come in contact with the frame. We couldn't locate our circuit tester, so I went to the CG office to report the issue. They stated other units had reported the same & that they were checking into it. An electrician came out, tested the box we were hooked into, & tested our camper circuit. All was fine - no shorts showing up. He said that because the ground was extrememly dry, it was conducting electricity more than normal. He also told me there is some current that runs through the frame since the 12v is grounded to the frame (didn't say anthing about 120v, though) & that it's more noticeable since we've had so little rain & the ground is so dry, plus that the ground rod with the electric might not be long enough (must be 8') to conduct any current down deep enough. He didn't seem to think it was anything to be concerned about - just told me to be sure I had shoes on when I came in contact with anything touching the frame. All electronic equipment was ok - no damage.

Was this guy giving me a valid explaination? Is this something that can happen?
Signed-Shocked in OH
L-

[NLOVNIT]

Can the extremely dry ground make my camper frame more electrified? That's what I was told by an electrician this past weekend. Here's the story...
We pulled into a CG & hooked up as usual. I noticed the caution light lit on our surge supressor panel. Dave opened the bay & checked the other lights on the actual supressor & nothing was amiss. A while later, I went to open the twist locks on one of our bay doors & got a buzz through my fingers. Nothing really bad, but enough to make it uncomfortable. Hadn't noticed this when we were hooking up when I was constantly in & out of different bay doors. I realized that what was different this time was I was barefoot - before I had shoes on & those twist locks come in contact with the frame. We couldn't locate our circuit tester, so I went to the CG office to report the issue. They stated other units had reported the same & that they were checking into it. An electrician came out, tested the box we were hooked into, & tested our camper circuit. All was fine - no shorts showing up. He said that because the ground was extrememly dry, it was conducting electricity more than normal. He also told me there is some current that runs through the frame since the 12v is grounded to the frame (didn't say anthing about 120v, though) & that it's more noticeable since we've had so little rain & the ground is so dry, plus that the ground rod with the electric might not be long enough (must be 8') to conduct any current down deep enough. He didn't seem to think it was anything to be concerned about - just told me to be sure I had shoes on when I came in contact with anything touching the frame. All electronic equipment was ok - no damage.

Was this guy giving me a valid explaination? Is this something that can happen?
Signed-Shocked in OH
L-

[BigPackFan]

Doesn't water conduct electricity better than the Earth? (Get out of the lake during a thunderstorm.) That being the case, wet dirt would conduct electricity better than dry dirt, not the other way around.

At least that makes sense to me

[RustyJC]

For optimum grounding, the earth around the ground rod that should have been located at the shore power breaker box should be moist. Dry earth can create high resistance between the grounding rod and the earth. This can create some voltage potential (aka a "ground loop") between the RV frame and the ground where you were standing. If your feet are a lower resistance path to earth than the grounding circuit, then you can get shocked!

Rusty

[ruppr]

No, he was 100 % wrong, and I can't beleive he said "just to have shoes on"!!!!!!!

Wonder where he got hislearner's permit???

Best,

[Two Bit]

The electrician was on the right track but he was backwards in what he said. The ground rods are not able to ground as well in dry ground. Dry dirt is not a good conductor. They either need to be deeper(longer)or the earth around them needs to be watered so it soaks down deep. What happened when you got the tingle was that you were a better ground than the ground rod. They need to fix the problem before someone gets a fatal shock (the risk is not severe but possible) or it messes up someone's pacemaker since it seems to be happening at more than one sight. Your 12 volt DC was not the cause. It was the park AC. No good electrician would dismiss a poorly grounded system as just a comfort issue. It needs shut off till fixed (and they need another electrician).

[DavidMc]

To my ears also, it sounds like that campground needs to spend some more money -
a. on an equipment renovation/replacement/repair process, and
b. on a better electrician.

However, some of the RVs themselves may be contributing to the problem.
RVs are supposed to be "appliances" -- the neutral and the (safety) ground are not to be interconnected inside the RV when it is receiving 120-volt AC from outside (ie the campground service). I have seen instances where someone has wired the RV internal circuit breaker panel like a house (where the neutral and ground are bonded - inter-connected).
If an RV has the neutral connected to the ground internally -- some of the potential current will attempt to flow back to the service entrance via the ground wire (current that normally flows back only via the neutral wire). The ground wire is probably connected to the frame of the RV and your body can supply a yet shorter path to the ground.

Regarding inverters and generators -- most of these should be forcing the inter-connect of the neutral and ground only when they are supplying the power.

You might want to check your RV to be certain it is acting like an 'appliance' when plugged in to outside power.

[NLOVNIT]

Thank you, for your quick responses. I've e-mailed the campground the information & asked them to remedy the situation before someone gets seriously hurt. I will keep you posted if/when I hear back from them.
L-
P.S. to DavidMc: I will have my husband check the camper circuit breaker. Thanks!