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Registered Member #1412
Joined: Thu Mar 27 2008, 04:07PM
Location: Taipei Taiwan
Posts: 278
When testing my SSTC,I connected my coil to mains ground for grounding.But I got electric shock when I touch the topload of my coil.
Then I attempted measured the voltage of mains ground by holding one probe of digital multimeter by hand and use another probe to touch the mains ground.Then I get 50V reading.When using the same method to measure another line,I get 110V reading.(In the place I live the mains voltage is 110V)
Is the way I measure correct?and is it normal for me to get 50V reading on mains ground? Thanks
Registered Member #89
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145
è¬æ˜•å“² wrote ...
When testing my SSTC,I connected my coil to mains ground for grounding.But I got electric shock when I touch the topload of my coil.
Then I attempted measured the voltage of mains ground by holding one probe of digital multimeter by hand and use another probe to touch the mains ground.Then I get 50V reading.When using the same method to measure another line,I get 110V reading.(In the place I live the mains voltage is 110V)
Is the way I measure correct?and is it normal for me to get 50V reading on mains ground? Thanks
Hello,
If you have a 3-wire grounding system, do you still get 50V when you measure between the neutral wire and ground wire? Also try connecting a light bulb in parallel with your voltmeter and see if the voltage drops to 0V. If it drops to 0V, then it's likely that your house ground got disconnected and you are getting half of your mains voltage on it (divided by caps on RFI filters!) which is a serious problem and needs to be fixed quickly. If the bolb lights at 50V, even dimly, then that's a far more serious problem that indicates a fault and/or high grounding impedance. In any case a shocking voltage on mains ground would worry me very much.
This is assuming ofcourse that the coil and no coils around it are operating at the time!
Registered Member #27
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058
Some countries do not have a neutral at all, step one would be to look that up for your country/region.
You are not supposed to touch the probe when measuring the mains because you are going to leave the multimeter on the wrong setting and shock yourself. The result you get will not be reliable anyway.
Grounding problems are very common so it would be no surprise if you got a problem.
Registered Member #1412
Joined: Thu Mar 27 2008, 04:07PM
Location: Taipei Taiwan
Posts: 278
Marko wrote ...
Hello,
If you have a 3-wire grounding system, do you still get 50V when you measure between the neutral wire and ground wire? Also try connecting a light bulb in parallel with your voltmeter and see if the voltage drops to 0V. If it drops to 0V, then it's likely that your house ground got disconnected and you are getting half of your mains voltage on it (divided by caps on RFI filters!) which is a serious problem and needs to be fixed quickly. If the bolb lights at 50V, even dimly, then that's a far more serious problem that indicates a fault and/or high grounding impedance. In any case a shocking voltage on mains ground would worry me very much.
This is assuming ofcourse that the coil and no coils around it are operating at the time!
Marko
I don't have a 3 wire system here.And the wiring here in Taiwan is sometimes a mess.In example,the long pin in the outlet is supposed to be neutral(according to regulations here),but in my home and many buildings it is hot.
Registered Member #89
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145
Hi,
I don't know what the long pin in your outlet is, but if it's the only one exposed I'd guess with pretty high certainty that it's a protection pin and is supposed to be connected to ground or neutral. Have you measured the voltage between your neutral and the ground pin? My bet is that you have the third wire around several outlets, but it either came disconnected or was never connected at all in first place, and you get 50V on it from any RFI filters in power supplies that might be connected to some of outlets.
This would probably be a good time to fix your wiring - if you have no grounding system (I don't have either), you can at least assure that all your safety prongs are well connected to the neutral.
Registered Member #3610
Joined: Thu Jan 13 2011, 03:29AM
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 506
è¬æ˜•å“² wrote ...
Marko wrote ...
Hello,
If you have a 3-wire grounding system, do you still get 50V when you measure between the neutral wire and ground wire? Also try connecting a light bulb in parallel with your voltmeter and see if the voltage drops to 0V. If it drops to 0V, then it's likely that your house ground got disconnected and you are getting half of your mains voltage on it (divided by caps on RFI filters!) which is a serious problem and needs to be fixed quickly. If the bolb lights at 50V, even dimly, then that's a far more serious problem that indicates a fault and/or high grounding impedance. In any case a shocking voltage on mains ground would worry me very much.
This is assuming ofcourse that the coil and no coils around it are operating at the time!
Marko
I don't have a 3 wire system here.And the wiring here in Taiwan is sometimes a mess.In example,the long pin in the outlet is supposed to be neutral(according to regulations here),but in my home and many buildings it is hot.
This sort of thing is all too common even in areas that are fairly well regulated. Over the years homeowners with just enough knowledge to be dangerous add/change parts of the system and you can have a dangerous situation. When I bought my house, the whole basement had been wired and finished by the original owner. I found that every switch he installed was on the neutral rather than hot, there was at least one receptacle wired backwards, and the wires had been trimmed back so short that they ripped out of the back of many of the receptacles when I removed them and I had to splice in pigtails to connect the new ones.
If you are playing with high voltage, I strongly recommend you properly wire the receptacle you use for these things, if only that one. If there is no earth ground available, put a clamp on a nearby cold water pipe or drive a rod into the ground and bring that in somewhere to ground your HV apparatus. Whatever you ground to, *verify* that it is actually earthed. The fun stuff is dangerous enough already without needlessly adding further risk.
Registered Member #1412
Joined: Thu Mar 27 2008, 04:07PM
Location: Taipei Taiwan
Posts: 278
James wrote ...
[This sort of thing is all too common even in areas that are fairly well regulated. Over the years homeowners with just enough knowledge to be dangerous add/change parts of the system and you can have a dangerous situation. When I bought my house, the whole basement had been wired and finished by the original owner. I found that every switch he installed was on the neutral rather than hot, there was at least one receptacle wired backwards, and the wires had been trimmed back so short that they ripped out of the back of many of the receptacles when I removed them and I had to splice in pigtails to connect the new ones.
If you are playing with high voltage, I strongly recommend you properly wire the receptacle you use for these things, if only that one. If there is no earth ground available, put a clamp on a nearby cold water pipe or drive a rod into the ground and bring that in somewhere to ground your HV apparatus. Whatever you ground to, *verify* that it is actually earthed. The fun stuff is dangerous enough already without needlessly adding further risk.
I live in a tall building so putting a rod to ground is impossible for me. Why cold water pipe can work?Will this work in a tall buildings?
Registered Member #3610
Joined: Thu Jan 13 2011, 03:29AM
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 506
è¬æ˜•å“² wrote ...
James wrote ...
[This sort of thing is all too common even in areas that are fairly well regulated. Over the years homeowners with just enough knowledge to be dangerous add/change parts of the system and you can have a dangerous situation. When I bought my house, the whole basement had been wired and finished by the original owner. I found that every switch he installed was on the neutral rather than hot, there was at least one receptacle wired backwards, and the wires had been trimmed back so short that they ripped out of the back of many of the receptacles when I removed them and I had to splice in pigtails to connect the new ones.
If you are playing with high voltage, I strongly recommend you properly wire the receptacle you use for these things, if only that one. If there is no earth ground available, put a clamp on a nearby cold water pipe or drive a rod into the ground and bring that in somewhere to ground your HV apparatus. Whatever you ground to, *verify* that it is actually earthed. The fun stuff is dangerous enough already without needlessly adding further risk.
I live in a tall building so putting a rod to ground is impossible for me. Why cold water pipe can work?Will this work in a tall buildings?
Traditionally water pipes feeding homes were metal and ran through the ground, so early grounding systems used the cold water pipe as a ground rod. The hot water pipe runs through the water heater and may be isolated there. Of course now plastic is often used for water mains so this may not work, and in Taiwan I have NO idea how things are done, so I can't say whether this will work. If in doubt, test it. A light bulb connected between hot and a good ground connection should light to normal brightness.
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Mains ground
