Skin Buzzing When Standing On New Ufh

[holly6]

Hi,
 
I'm hoping someone can help me with this strange sensation...
 
About 3 months ago I installed electric underfloor heating in my bedroom. I laid the mats and tiled, the electrician connected everything up for me. He also re-wired the whole house as we were renovating a very old property.
 
This morning I noticed that when I touched my wife's face or body, there was a strange buzzing sensation, like an electric charge was going through our bodies (and not in a good way!). I was standing bare foot on the underfloor heating, she was lying in a cast iron bath in the same room. When I turned off the UFH, it stopped. As soon as I turned it back on, the charge returned. 
 
The same thing happens to my wife whenever she uses her laptop anywhere in the house whilst it's on charge. Her fingers tingle and when she touches me we can both feel it. If she touches close to my ear I can hear the buzzing too.
 
Does anyone know what could be causing this and if it's dangerous? I'm particularly worried about having a bath with the UFH on in case we get electrocuted.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks

 

[Andy™]

is it dangerous? are people really that stupid these days? didnt anyone teach you that electricity can kill. consider that little tingle your warning. next time you may not be so lucky.

turn it off, leave it off and call someone who can fault find the problem ASAP, preferably before someone is killed

 

[Blue Duck]

what's your earthing and bonding like? last time I had something like what you describe with the laptop I was on an island in Thailand.

 

[ProDave]

Interesting. there's a cast iron bath in your bedroom.  I hope the electrician who rewired it ensured there are no sockets less than 3 metres from the bath.

As others get someone in to check it, something does not sound right.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Get someone in ASAP !!!!!

 

[Evans Electric]

I don't like the sound of that Holly  , is it always when the floor heating is on ?    And as above , don't use it anymore. 

This cast iron bath ...... is it screwed to the floor ?

And as Dave says ,  why is there a bath in your bedroom ?  What other electric outlets are there in there ?  

Can you tell by looking at your new consumer unit if there are any RCD or RCBO devices fitted ?  I'm wondering why they havn't tripped out to be honest .

Do not pizz about ....get the installation checked out  ASAP !

And stop touching your wife up in the bath

 

[binky]

mats aren't suitable for wet areas from what I have seen, not that I do much UFH. Get it checked out, also check spec of UFH, but it sounds more like ducks' suggestion to me.

 

[Essex1]

Isolate the UFH circuit immediately and call an electrician before you use it again. Despite the fact this forum encourages DIY electrical work you absolutely cannot get this repaired by receiving forum advice. The fact that anyone thinks joining and posting on a forum is a natural first response to such a dangerous issue just proves to me what little respect electrics is given by the general public and only enforced by advising unskilled persons on how to do things.

 

[Doc Hudson]

Hi,
 
I'm hoping someone can help me with this strange sensation...
 
About 3 months ago I installed electric underfloor heating in my bedroom. I laid the mats and tiled, the electrician connected everything up for me. He also re-wired the whole house as we were renovating a very old property.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks

Did this electrician of three months ago issue you with any electrical test certificates for this work and why have you not just passed this back to him to resolve FOC. I would assume he/she would not have energised anything that they have not fully tested and proved to be safe. Unless of course they have been negligent, in which case you will want them to rectify the work you have already paid them to do. Or if this was a cheap cash in hand no certificate job then probably best to rip up the floor and start again from the beginning. If it is a genuine manufactures defect, contact your mat manufacture to do a warranty repair.  You did follow all the manufactures instructions for laying the element  and you didn't shorten any of the element wires did you.

Doc H  

 

[davie garden]

I am a Senior Lecturer in the electrical section of a Technical College.

' Despite the fact this forum encourages DIY electrical work',

There's a line I wouldn't expect to see in a forum like this. I became a member of this forum years ago and only today logged back in due to a few emails asking me to.

The reason I stopped posting was my thoughts were that the forum should be about giving advice to electricians and apprentices in the industry, not to Tom, Dick and Harry who get a box of screwdriver for Christmas from an irate partner sick of no DIY being carried out in the home. That to me is asking for trouble.

 

[binky]

That's not quite the way it works, we don't encourage DIY, we just take the view that they will do it anyway and it would be better if they didn't kill friends and family. So we encourage them to get professional advice, and quite often we find out that once armed with the right info and loaded questions to ask an electrician, they quite happily call one in. You have to remember all the Rogue Trader programmes don't exactly give the public confidence.

 

[Andy™]

I am a Senior Lecturer in the electrical section of a Technical College.

' Despite the fact this forum encourages DIY electrical work',

There's a line I wouldn't expect to see in a forum like this. I became a member of this forum years ago and only today logged back in due to a few emails asking me to.

The reason I stopped posting was my thoughts were that the forum should be about giving advice to electricians and apprentices in the industry, not to Tom, Dick and Harry who get a box of screwdriver for Christmas from an irate partner sick of no DIY being carried out in the home. That to me is asking for trouble.

why not? DIY is perfectly legal. if someone asks a question and its clear that they cannot safely do the job then the best advice they will get would be call a sparky, but for basic stuff then why shouldnt they

 

[OnOff]

There is an argument that any DIY'er asking for help would have  gone ahead and done some electrical work anyway. If they can glean some sensible advice from a forum like this they might just make the work they do, even if it leaves a lot to be desired that little bit safer. 

The majority of the comments above anyway have told the OP to turn the system off and get it checked professionally.

Batting on about this forum encouraging DIY'ers in post #11 isn't bringing anything to this thread really is it, should have opened with SWITCH IT OFF rather than blowing your own trumpet.  The OP asked reasonable questions of a forum that advertises as the friendliest. Maybe it's not the forum for some. 

De-scoobs the red one!

 

[Evans Electric]

I agree with Andy ..... DIY work will always be there and most of our answers encourage getting in a sparks .   My own post  #7  urges him to get it checked out properly.

I've read many answers on here like "  You are out of your depth & should get an electrician in ASAP "      ( Some to electricians )

How about staying on board now you're here Davie ? 

 

[Essex1]

As I have said before. Just because it may be legal to carry out DIY electrical work. I say may because it is a grey area does not make it right. Us as competent electricians should simply advice to get a suitably competent person in and leave it there.

The encouragement of DIY work on here, and I do believe this forum encourages it (having got a 7 day ban for saying that I think call an electrician is sensible advice), goes against every health and safety law in the land. The minute you advise someone. On a forum with no possibility of understanding the ability of said person over a text leaves you wide open as a competent person for prosecution in my opinion.

 

[Tony S]

This sounds interesting “I get a tingle when I touch the wife’s face”, last time that happened we were connected to a Tesla coil.

What this is pointing at is spheres of influence within a multiple high resistance earth fault.

Time to rip the floor up or it’s RIP.

 

[Murdoch]

I am a Senior Lecturer in the electrical section of a Technical College.

' Despite the fact this forum encourages DIY electrical work',

Hum... not everybody does - yet some are happy to spoon feed numpties who haven't got a clue. Madness

 

[Blue Duck]

I'm not even sure why this thread has been picked out as its not encouraging do it yourself!?

I don't see the harm in some things like changing a switch or a light fitting or replacing a broken socket.

other things like sheds we can only really guess and that is reflected in the replies.

remember you can purchase everything in your local buy & queue.

If you don't like it.......

 

[Essex1]

I don't know what B&Q have to do with anything. All wholesalers will sell to DIY Dave also.

 

[Blue Duck]

buy and queue widely advertise their products to all and sundry and offer no advice just buy and queue.

a wholesaler will offer limited advice and some also will have a "satuday" price structure to deter the DIY'er's.