Community Forums

RodgerS · 12-23-2014, 10:33 AM

I decided to go around the house and check the electric sockets, in conjunction with what I have been learning from the rv electrical training series at the No Shock Zone. Just on a whim, I put my non-contact voltage tester on our 2 month old brushed aluminum cased waffle iron, after I plugged it in, and the voltage tester gave me a positive reading (which can be misleading by itself). I then took my Fluke 323 clamp meter that also has plug-ins for voltage testing with test leads and checked from the waffle iron to the facet on the sink - bingo, got a reading of 78 volts (the waffle iron draws 8 amps). Took it back to Kohl's, returned it as defective, purchased a different one at Best Buy that I also checked. The new one doesn't have a voltage reading off the cased when plugged in.

Merry Xmas.

Snap-On Man · 12-23-2014, 10:40 AM

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you.

nothermark · 12-23-2014, 11:02 AM

Nice catch! Glad you survived. Too bad more people do not check things.

RodgerS · 12-23-2014, 11:24 AM

The education I'm getting learning about RVs is coming in handy and has changed my RV purchase process considerably as well as how I view my house.

Scottybdivin · 12-23-2014, 12:16 PM

Good job. Mike at NSZ has helped a lot of people. I once had a hot skin issue that was "shocking". I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

RodgerS · 12-23-2014, 12:28 PM

I was also advised that the newer sinks may not be grounded and that a confirmed grounded outlet will be more reliable. Arguably, the waffle iron may actually have been even hotter, testing using a confirmed grounded outlet. Anyway its gone.

MSHappyCampers · 12-23-2014, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RodgerS

I decided to go around the house and check the electric sockets, in conjunction with what I have been learning from the rv electrical training series at the No Shock Zone. Just on a whim, I put my non-contact voltage tester on our 2 month old brushed aluminum cased waffle iron, after I plugged it in, and the voltage tester gave me a positive reading (which can be misleading by itself). I then took my Fluke 323 clamp meter that also has plug-ins for voltage testing with test leads and checked from the waffle iron to the facet on the sink - bingo, got a reading of 78 volts (the waffle iron draws 8 amps). Took it back to Kohl's, returned it as defective, purchased a different one at Best Buy that I also checked. The new one doesn't have a voltage reading off the cased when plugged in.

Merry Xmas.

WOW! You dodged a bullet on that one!

RodgerS · 12-23-2014, 04:09 PM

I don't know what would happen at 78 volts, how dangerous it really is since it isn't 120 V, but I figure that any voltage leakage means I'm gonna start with getting rid of the $30 waffle iron. The socket tested out ok.

https://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/q...4062851AApnzLB

"DO NOT TOUCH AN APPLIANCE AND THE SINK WITH YOUR HANDS AT THE SAME TIME. YOU COULD GET A SERIOUS SHOCK THAT COULD RESULT IN DEATH. That'd ruin your day, AND your Christmas.

GET A VOLT METER AND CHECK FOR VOLTAGE BETWEEN AN APPLIANCE AND THE SINK FAUCET. IF YOU READ 120 VOLTS CALL A PROFESSIONAL.

If you get less than 70 volts you still have a problem and need to call a professional, but the difference means something in the circuit is bleeding power to the surface of your appliances. It could be a faulty appliance AND bad grounds or it could be a bad neutral and bad ground. The problem doesn't need to be in complete failure, you can still have a connection but being weak (possibly due to corrosion or the mixing of different types of conductors OR just a loose connection somewhere) you can get voltage leakage, and it can be from many sources."

djbmsu · 12-23-2014, 04:50 PM

So when will the waffles be served ?

nothermark · 12-23-2014, 05:29 PM

I think you will find the voltage is a reflection of the resistance of the meter and the resistance of the leak as a series circuit. Chances are your meter is around 10 Megohm so the resistance of the leak was in that neighborhood. Anybody getting a complete path would definitely notice it. The point is that there should not be any leakage you can measure with that setup.

Interesting point about the sink. With all the plastic plumbing bits around it is quite possible to have a plastic trap and braided plastic to connect the faucets so no ground except the water itself. That would introduce another fairly high resistor in the string. ;-)

Tony Lee · 12-23-2014, 05:30 PM

As others have pointed out, a sink faucet or any water piping of fitting may not be grounded.

A hot skin may just be the result of capacitive or inductive coupling and only show up using a high impedance multimeter while its capacity to deliver dangerous current may be negligible.

Still, always worth checking to determine if something really does have a fault.