To turn it off with a wooden spoon?

Stropalotopus83 · 2023-12-02T11:59:12+00:00

In our kitchen we don't have a normal hot water setup in that we don't have gas so the water is heated by an instant heat thing under the sink. This is plugged in at the mains and needs to be switched on to heat the water. Hot water then comes out of the tap as normal. I always turn it off at night at the mains on the wall before going to bed. It's insulated etc so I don't always turn it on immediately in the morning as we usually still have a full tank of hot water. It's not massive but enough for a a sink full of hot water. I've now used the hot water after cleaning up this morning and have just gone to turn it on at the mains and it's given me a rather nasty shock as I pressed the switch. OH is at work and I obviously don't want to leave it on if it is dangerous but it was such a nasty shock I'm a bit reluctant to touch it again. Can I use a wooden spoon to turn it off or will that not protect me? I'm useless with electrics so not sure how to isolate it on the mains as don't know which fuse it would be?

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 02/12/2023 12:02

It’s better to turn the power off at your fusebox first to be sure, and please get an electrician to look at it - don’t DIY this stuff it’s proper risky.

StBrides · 02/12/2023 12:03

A wooden spoon shouldn't conduct the electricity if its clean and dry.
I would want it turned off too!

StBrides · 02/12/2023 12:03

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 02/12/2023 12:02

It’s better to turn the power off at your fusebox first to be sure, and please get an electrician to look at it - don’t DIY this stuff it’s proper risky.

Actually what brrr said

Thighdentitycrisis · 02/12/2023 12:06

The fuses in the fuse box should be labelled, have a look

Original poster

Stropalotopus83 · 02/12/2023 12:07

Do you know what I didn't even think to just turn all the electricity off while I switch it off! I was too caught up in trying to figure which fuse was responsible for just that plug.

Obviously more shaken than I thought! Yes, I'll turn everything off at the mains and then unplug it before turning back on.

Thanks xx

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ScottBakula · 02/12/2023 12:15

I agree with pp, turn it off at the fuse box , if it isn't labelled turn on the lights and plug something in to the sockets in each room ( radio / kettle / lamp etc ) . Make sure everything is turned on.
Then as you flick each fuse the lights / sockets will go off.
By a process of elimination you will find out which is the water heater.
Then get a electrician out .

Original poster

Stropalotopus83 · 02/12/2023 12:20

I've sorted it now. Turned everything off at the fuse box. Flipped all the little black switches off and then flipped the big red "mains" switch at the end too. Everything went off - lights kettle internet (kids were thrilled by this let me tell you) and then unplugged the water heater with no probs. Everything else is back on now.

Thanks everyone - I was quite scared by it tbh - so glad it's safely unplugged now.

Will definitely be calling an electrician today and it will stay off until someone who knows what they're doing can look at it. We'll just have to boil the kettle for hot water til then. xx

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MolkosTeenageAngst · 02/12/2023 12:33

Were your hands wet? I had a shock from my bathroom light switch, called the electrician and he said all was fine and it must have just been because my hands were wet. I had just washed and dried them but assume maybe I hadn’t quite dried them properly, I’m more careful with drying now and it’s never happened again.

Original poster

Stropalotopus83 · 02/12/2023 12:38

MolkosTeenageAngst · 02/12/2023 12:33

Were your hands wet? I had a shock from my bathroom light switch, called the electrician and he said all was fine and it must have just been because my hands were wet. I had just washed and dried them but assume maybe I hadn’t quite dried them properly, I’m more careful with drying now and it’s never happened again.

Actually they may have been damp. I'd just finished putting washing from the washing machine into the tumble dryer and wanted to soak something in the sink which is why I went to switch the water heater on. The top wasn't wet as I wanted to soak it before putting it in the machine but I guess my hand may have still been a little damp but certainly not dripping wet or anything. So yeah that may be it. I'll still get it checked out just to be safe though as don't want to risk another shock if it's not that.

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Sothisiit · 02/12/2023 13:23

Since you used all the hot water the thermostat would be demanding that the heating element was on. Therefore it is likely that when you turned it on at the wall then it was 'onload' and demanded a high current and so there was arcing across the isolator contacts.
Normally if there was hot water retained in the tank then this 'onload' situation would not occur.
You could turn down the thermostat on the appliance and then turn up the thermostat setting back to the normal position to stop the high initial load requirement.
I have a similar unit under the sink, I have fitted a plug in time switch so that I don't need to turn it off overnight.
If there was an electrical fault with the appliance then the fuse would blow in the plug, fused spur (if no plug attached) or the RCD trip would go in the distribution box.
It's unlikely its an electrical fault.

Original poster

Stropalotopus83 · 02/12/2023 15:20

Sothisiit · 02/12/2023 13:23

Since you used all the hot water the thermostat would be demanding that the heating element was on. Therefore it is likely that when you turned it on at the wall then it was 'onload' and demanded a high current and so there was arcing across the isolator contacts.
Normally if there was hot water retained in the tank then this 'onload' situation would not occur.
You could turn down the thermostat on the appliance and then turn up the thermostat setting back to the normal position to stop the high initial load requirement.
I have a similar unit under the sink, I have fitted a plug in time switch so that I don't need to turn it off overnight.
If there was an electrical fault with the appliance then the fuse would blow in the plug, fused spur (if no plug attached) or the RCD trip would go in the distribution box.
It's unlikely its an electrical fault.

Thanks for this - a timer plug is a great idea so will definitely get one of those.

Have an electrician coming round on Monday so will leave it off until then to be safe. In the meantime OH has had a look now that he's home from work and was surprised the fuse didn't blow and that it stayed on after shocking me before I turned the mains power off. He has unscrewed the plug plate on the wall and looked inside and it's full of rust so it has obviously gotten damp in there somehow. He also wanted to check the fuse spur that is next to the plug socket but when he unscrewed this there was no fuse in there!

Tbf we probably should have checked this when we moved in but we've lived here five years and never had any cause I suppose.

He's put it all together again and we'll obviously just wait for the electricians opinion on Monday x

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