electric!

MaineGirl

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Jun 23, 2002
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I have never had this issue in my life. Here are the details. I wake up, Saturday morning, peel a green plantain and put it on the stove top to boil. Actually to be honest I used a steamer to steam it, one of those double pans. Anyway I own a small two burner electric stovetop. Before you laugh at the stupidity of an electric stovetop, I live in an area where 24/7 power is the norm. I believe some people call it the Independent Republic of the East. Anyway after a good 30 minute steam or so my plantain looked about done. I went to move it off the burner and received quite a shock. This made me jump back--I waited a few minutes then touched it one more time, this time a much smaller shock. I unplugged the darn thing and started googling. I think it is an electric discharge. Can someone enlighten me? What to do? I just touched the pan and it did not shock me. However I am leery of plugging it back in to make lunch.

Help, please.
 

AJL6767

New member
Apr 14, 2011
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One cause could be static electricity..when you walk energy is created and then grounds to what you touch. Other could be a faulty ground on the appliance or within the wiring. You may want to have an electrician check out the wiring.
 

CaptnGlenn

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Mar 29, 2010
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Besides the cook top being defective or broken ... there is definitely a fault in the electrical grounding. Based on some of the building practices I've seen, it's not exactly surprising. I'm already having nightmares over seeing how the toilet flanges are installed in our new condo. When I visited in June, took a quick look at the construction progress, and the "creative" plumbing was still visible since the commodes hadn't been installed yet. And this by one of the reputable developers. I shudder to think about what could be going on with the electricity. I used to think the whole process of endless inspections and building codes in the U.S. were way out of control... some of what I've seen in the D.R. is the other end of the spectrum.

BE VERY CAREFUL.
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,503
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To me it sounds like a faulty ground. Have both your plug on the stove checked and the plug on the wall checked. Do not do it yourself, those electrons are invisible but can kill you just the same.
 

gonzo two

Banned
Jan 13, 2010
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im guessing you arent grounded- some places just hammer a stake in the ground and attach a wire outside in the elements, this eventually fails
 

MaineGirl

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Jun 23, 2002
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I called maintenance and they will be here monday at ten. Until then no more cooking for me. Luckily my neighbor is nice and is letting me use her stove :) Thank you everyone for the responses.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Luisito's number is available if you need it, however, what has been said here is probably the truth: Improper/No grounding.

As I pontificated some time ago, this is why Dominicans will not go near refrigerators...

HB
 

MaineGirl

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Jun 23, 2002
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Thank you HB. If maintenance doesn;t sort it out I will call Luisito for sure. Can you pm me his cell? Thanks. If it is not the ground it is the cheap stove and what I will do is go someplace more reputable and buy a name brand.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"Maine" You may have electricity 24/7, but is it "FREE"?
If not,get a 4 burner gas stove top,and a small tank of "Propano". Cost should be less than you will spend on electric in a month of cooking!
You can us your electric untill then.
Wear rubber soled shoes,use plastic spoons.Don't touch anything but the pan with a plastic spoon.You are the "ground" for your stove now!"Ouch"
If you want a real "Charge",touch a 220 volt stove,or air conditioner with bare feet!!!!
"Been there,done that"!
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YUL514

New member
Aug 28, 2010
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I have never had this issue in my life. Here are the details. I wake up, Saturday morning, peel a green plantain and put it on the stove top to boil. Actually to be honest I used a steamer to steam it, one of those double pans. Anyway I own a small two burner electric stovetop. Before you laugh at the stupidity of an electric stovetop, I live in an area where 24/7 power is the norm. I believe some people call it the Independent Republic of the East. Anyway after a good 30 minute steam or so my plantain looked about done. I went to move it off the burner and received quite a shock. This made me jump back--I waited a few minutes then touched it one more time, this time a much smaller shock. I unplugged the darn thing and started googling. I think it is an electric discharge. Can someone enlighten me? What to do? I just touched the pan and it did not shock me. However I am leery of plugging it back in to make lunch.

Help, please.

Hi Maine Girl Your stove is probably defective.The electricity is leaking to the stove body.Most electrical installation in the DR don't have a ground wire like in the US.Even with a ground wire,if the plug on your stove have a 2 prongs plug,a grounded installation won't help.

When building a new house,you should ask your electrician to install a ground wire (3rd wire) to all outlets. In an existing installation,it would be difficult to install a 3rd wire.One way to correct this is to change te existing outlet for a GFI outlet like the ones you see in bathrooms in the US.This way,should you plug-in anything defective (ie your stove) the GFI outlet will detect it and cut the power off.

Hoping this was helpful.

Regards Mike
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Your "Tank" (Like a USA BBQ Grill uses),goes on the floor next to your cook top.Tank has a regulator,and a rubber hose to connect to a "nipple" on the back of your gas stove.
If you are paying for your own electric,go buy the "Top & Tank" if you cook a lot,like everyday,your electric bill will "SHOCK" you more than your stove!!!

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MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
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Cooking is my passion; I've logged a lot of time on the stove already. Not being the handiest, all this electric talk is mindnumbing to me. However at the risk of sounding like a complainer, I am going to try to figure all this out. I personally think that the stove may be defective. I've used it three meals a day every day since arriving and have cooked all kinds of things on it already. CC I will look into your suggestion as personally I prefer to cook with gas. Given the minute space available on the counter I would have to purchase a table to host the gas stove and tank beside it. I do pay for electric but it is taken out of the second monthly check and I haven't been here long enough to see what kind of change we are talking about. My company owns the electric company.
 

CaptnGlenn

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Mar 29, 2010
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yul, I don't thin a GFCI will work unless there is a grounding wire in the source line. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure. Otherwise the circuit would NEVER be grounded and the outlet would not be able to be reset to "on".

MaineGirl -- usually the tanks are placed in an empty lower cabinet/cupboard space, or a small closet, with the gas line run to the stove. Just about all the apts I looked at in Cortecito were like that. A very few have a gas supplied from a LARGE main tank in the complex. I think the idea would be to remove your electric unit and replace is with a similarly sized gas version. If you keep the electric unit, I agree you should have a QUALIFIED electrician look at it, and I think he'll find a loose wire touching the body of the stove, or maybe somewhere a wire where the insulation has finally melted through.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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yul, I don't thin a GFCI will work unless there is a grounding wire in the source line. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure. Otherwise the circuit would NEVER be grounded and the outlet would not be able to be reset to "on".

MaineGirl -- usually the tanks are placed in an empty lower cabinet/cupboard space, or a small closet, with the gas line run to the stove. Just about all the apts I looked at in Cortecito were like that. A very few have a gas supplied from a LARGE main tank in the complex. I think the idea would be to remove your electric unit and replace is with a similarly sized gas version. If you keep the electric unit, I agree you should have a QUALIFIED electrician look at it, and I think he'll find a loose wire touching the body of the stove, or maybe somewhere a wire where the insulation has finally melted through.
Keep in mind propane is heavier than air, unlike CNG, and if there is a leak the gas will collect in an enclosed space. Could go boom.

Always have as much of the propane system as possible in a well ventilated area. I'd never consider a propane tank in a below countertop cabinet. I'd put it outside and drill a hole for the pipe/tube through the wall.
 

LaTeacher

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May 2, 2008
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Usually apartment complexes have a place downstairs and a tube that runs up to your apartment, you would just buy a chain and padlock to secure it outside.
 

YUL514

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Aug 28, 2010
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Hi CaptnGlenn
The GFI outlet measure the current passing trough the live wire and the neutral on a 120V circuit regardless.If there is a difference of a few miliamps between the two,the power is shut down.

In Canada,this is an acceptable alternative when installing 3 prongs plugs in an old building without ground wire.You locate the first outlet of a circuit and replace it with a GFI outlet.This will protect the whole circuit so you can change the other outlets with regular 3 prongs outlets.If there is an existing problem on the circuit such as condensation,the GFI won't work so you will have to locate where the problem is.

I'll try finding some litterature on GFI outlet.

Regards Mike
 

MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
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I am thinking that I will go for the gas/tank combo. Thanks everyone for an educational conversation. In the meantime I bought supplies for sandwiches. Hey maybe I will lose weight after all.