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[k0ua]

with things happening over such a broad area as you describe, I am inclined to think its a power co. issue also. There has to be a significant amount of power going into the ground. I would think alot more than a single water heater in someones house could do.

How far away do you have to go before voltage in the ground starts to drop down below 50? and how far do you have to go to get it down to 0?

Not sure what the cable companies use, but isnt the phone DC? Would be nice to know for sure if that 50v you are seeing is AC or DC?

The telephone central office puts out DC at about -50 volts.. Nominally -48 but usually around -50 BUT this is an extremely current limited supply. While the open circuit voltage is near the -50 even a high impedance load like an analog phone across it will lower the talk battery to less than -6 volts when off hook. The short circuit current would be in the realm of 25ma. And that is if you are fairly close to the Central office. In no way would I think this is a telephony related issue. The minus sign in front of the voltages are because the power supply is positive ground. so the voltages are negative with respect to ground. The ring voltages can be over 100 volts AC and superimposed over the talk battery, but the current levels are in the micro amp region. Of course no one is saying these voltage occur when someones land line phone is ringing.

 

[square1]

A movie that left an impression so strong it comes to mind 34 years later...

 

[LD1]

The telephone central office puts out DC at about -50 volts.. Nominally -48 but usually around -50 BUT this is an extremely current limited supply. While the open circuit voltage is near the -50 even a high impedance load like an analog phone across it will lower the talk battery to less than -6 volts when off hook. The short circuit current would be in the realm of 25ma. And that is if you are fairly close to the Central office. In no way would I think this is a telephony related issue. The minus sign in front of the voltages are because the power supply is positive ground. so the voltages are negative with respect to ground. The ring voltages can be over 100 volts AC and superimposed over the talk battery, but the current levels are in the micro amp region. Of course no one is saying these voltage occur when someones land line phone is ringing.

And idea what the cable companies use?

 

[k0ua]

And idea what the cable companies use?

No I don't really know. I kinda doubt there are any standing voltages on the cable at all. Just RF signals. But I could be wrong.

 

[LD1]

Well he said the power co was trying to pass the buck onto the utilities. Just seeing if there "could" be any truth to that.

Given the area he describes as being rather large, the power co is the only one capable of that I think

 

[3930dave]

You might want to consider posting a documentary video on Youtube. If you do, post the link here, and we'll pass it around.

Sometimes that will get companies get moving faster than a 20 second clip on the local news.

Given the scale of your problem, my money is on the electric utility as a source.

Rgds, D.

 

[k0ua]

Well he said the power co was trying to pass the buck onto the utilities. Just seeing if there "could" be any truth to that.

Given the area he describes as being rather large, the power co is the only one capable of that I think

Sometimes when a "person in authority" does not have an answer to a problem, they will just about say anything to shift the blame off of them. Or at least stir up doubt. Most people won't say "I don't have a clue" when they really don't have a clue.

 

[Ken]

No I don't really know. I kinda doubt there are any standing voltages on the cable at all. Just RF signals. But I could be wrong.

James there is 24 volts d.c. for amp. power supplies on the main transmission cables . should be none on the distribution cables.

This voltage is eating like a worm in a garbage dump. Soon "Boston" will begin to notice.
ken

 

[k0ua]

James there is 24 volts d.c. for amp. power supplies on the main transmission cables . should be none on the distribution cables.

This voltage is eating like a worm in a garbage dump. Soon "Boston" will begin to notice.
ken

thanks Ken.

 

[Redneck in training]

Something big electrical is leaking to the ground. In example neutral is broken and the current loop is closed through the ground. The zapping called "step" voltage from the fact that the longer step you make the stronger zap you get. Reason being that the ground has relatively large impedance so the current flowing through it causes higher voltage drop across longer distance. You can find approximate direction where the current is coming from. Take a let's say 30-40ft of wire and connect it to grounding rod by your house. Then connect Voltmeter between a metal stake that you stick in the ground and the wire at various angles from the grounding rod. The line between the grounding rod and location of the largest voltage is the direction to the source.

Ground doesn't mean zero potential. It means zero or low potential only in near vicinity the groung in question. So the potential (voltage) between two ground suficiently distant can be any immaginable voltage) In example lightning srike or solar flares can generate millions of amps flowing through the ground and thousands volts even between relatively close points. If the volatge zapping you is AC measure frequency. It will give you some idea what the source is. To take advantage of it find two points distant enough that would produce about 200-250V AC. Rectify it and use it as input voltage for an inverter. Use inverter in example that is designed for solar panels because they work with large range of input voltages. To get sufficient current use large plates placed perpendicular to the current. Well make sure that you don't get killed while doing it.
On serious note. You should get it fixed. It is potentially dangerous situation there. People got killed by voltages way lower than 50V.

I remember a case told by a friend of my father. He was working for a railroad taking care for the DC generators powering the electric locomotives. The generators were not connected directly to the rails but the rails and the generators were grounded to a large grounding plates. When the train was drawing large current from the facility the chicken in a yard by his house located between the geny and the rail were jumping up. Later on they connected the geny to the rails by a cable and the problem went away.

 

[buickanddeere]

A clip on ammeter makes a decent diagnostic tool. It will find the ground rods that have low resistance and are carrying the current the broken neutral is supposed to be carrying.
Any industry, shops, businesses or farms in the area?
As previously stated. Copper and aluminum thieves are highly suspect in this situation. Storm damage as well.

 

[aczlan]

A clip on ammeter makes a decent diagnostic tool. It will find the ground rods that have low resistance and are carrying the current the broken neutral is supposed to be carrying.
Any industry, shops, businesses or farms in the area?
As previously stated. Copper and aluminum thieves are highly suspect in this situation. Storm damage as well.

Good point. HF has a couple for cheap:
7 Function Clamp-On Digital Multimeter
Digital Clamp-On Multimeter

Aaron Z

 

[techman]

James there is 24 volts d.c. for amp. power supplies on the main transmission cables . should be none on the distribution cables.

This voltage is eating like a worm in a garbage dump. Soon "Boston" will begin to notice.
ken

Actually on cable distribution lines, they use 60-90 volts, sometimes AC sometimes DC, to power in-line amplifiers. Fed by the utility with battery backup. Prior to any brach tap to a home, or homes, they insert a power block module which only lets the RF through.

Paul

 

[rockinmywaypa]

A neighbour of mine had a bad dose of stray voltage once but they didn't know for a few years. They were dairy farmers and the cows kept getting mastitis and other ailments, they were jumpy when tied in their stalls. Finally they clued in and after a lot of pushing for a solution it was found that the hydro company had a bad neutral connection on a transformer down the road a piece. This basically put them out of business from all the money he lost and at times left him feeling like he was a bad manager of his cows which he wouldn't have been under normal circumstances.

 

[CobyRupert]

How far away do you have to go before voltage in the ground starts to drop down below 50? and how far do you have to go to get it down to 0?

As redneck in training said, the farther apart your meter leads are, the more voltage you should measure, as you're measuring across a greater resistance (length). That's why OP gets a shock when he reaches out and touches something conductive contacting the ground an arm's length away, because he is a better conductor between these 2 pieces of ground than the dirt is.

 

[Ken]

Actually on cable distribution lines, they use 60-90 volts, sometimes AC sometimes DC, to power in-line amplifiers. Fed by the utility with battery backup. Prior to any brach tap to a home, or homes, they insert a power block module which only lets the RF through.

Paul

Paul Your are correct in this. Consider it the same as a (12) volt battery and floats on a 14 to 16 volt circuit.
The amp. it self used the 24 V.D.C. voltage.
ken

 

[Tomtint]

A clip on ammeter makes a decent diagnostic tool. It will find the ground rods that have low resistance and are carrying the current the broken neutral is supposed to be carrying.
Any industry, shops, businesses or farms in the area?
As previously stated. Copper and aluminum thieves are highly suspect in this situation. Storm damage as well.

From what I can gather, this has been a issue in the neighborhood for 10+ years. My home is 4 years old and neighbor with pool has been here at least 15 years. Idk when the pool was installed but it's 10+ years old as well. There are no farms particularly close and vandalism is doubtful.

 

[3930dave]

A neighbour of mine had a bad dose of stray voltage once but they didn't know for a few years. They were dairy farmers and the cows kept getting mastitis and other ailments, they were jumpy when tied in their stalls. Finally they clued in and after a lot of pushing for a solution it was found that the hydro company had a bad neutral connection on a transformer down the road a piece. This basically put them out of business from all the money he lost and at times left him feeling like he was a bad manager of his cows which he wouldn't have been under normal circumstances.

This is a common enough rural problem that I've seen a detailed write-up put out by my local utility talking about what to watch for in animal behaviour. A seasoned rural power distribution engineer should be familiar with this possibility.

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

From what I can gather, this has been a issue in the neighborhood for 10+ years. My home is 4 years old and neighbor with pool has been here at least 15 years. Idk when the pool was installed but it's 10+ years old as well. There are no farms particularly close and vandalism is doubtful.

Sounds like you live in a decent neighbourhood :thumbsup:.

That said.... metal theft is happening everywhere, including at power sub-stations.

Rgds, D.

 

[Tomtint]

View attachment 372405

To give you a idea of the distances. My home is in the center of the pic. The home at about 9:00 with the pool is my neighbor.