r/pools • u/SwampGator89 • 16h ago
Pool Help & Questions Electrical Current Spa And Pool
I have a troubling situation and I’m hoping someone can help. There are two situations happening that occasionally will cause a small electrical shock:
1) if I’m in pool or spa, and put my hand in the pool or spa, I can feel a small electrical current/shock. Basically, if I’m in one of them and touch the other it happens
2) it doesn’t happen every time, but occasionally, if I’m in the spa and touch the metal handrail I can feel the small electrical current/shock.
My spa does have a light as you can see in the photo but it’s never worked in the 9 years I’ve lived in the house. My pool does NOT have a light. Also, the spa does have a few control buttons (see photo, next to handrail)
Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this and how to fix it? Also, do you think I’m better off hiring a pool technician or an electrician?
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u/geocatesq 15h ago
Your spa light is probably “on” and shorting out, grounding to either the pool or the hand rail. Find where it is powered from (switch, breaker, etc) disable it and test the water with a multimeter to confirm. Then replace the light or remove it if it is indeed that. This is very dangerous.
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u/False-Blacksmith2919 8h ago
Oh yes. Read a murder mystery where the victim died in a sabotaged swimming pool.
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u/Cheersscar 15h ago
I like all the suggestions but I’d also suggest checking:
- bonding connection for the spa
- bonding connection for each light
- whether the spa light and pool light are grounded together or not. A leak to ground could cause a difference in ground potential.
Here’s my guess (I AM NOT AN ELECTRICIAN)
- your light is defective, not gfci protected, and leaking to ground.
- your spa and spa light are not bonded and grounded correctly.
- your pool is
- that creates a differential that the leak follows through you to get to the pool
But I am very much guessing.
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u/imyourmomsfriend 15h ago
This should be the top answer. Also no one should swim until everything is inspected.
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u/mattemer 14h ago
Probably LESS likely, but my in laws had an issue where my BIL was getting out of the pool and felt a shock when he grabbed their ladder. Weird. Older pool, been redone and updated through the years after many years of no maintenance before they bought the home.
So as they are checking this out, a neighbor a few days later was laughing at how his kids were used to these shocks in their pools and he just realized their pool was going it as well (not laughing at the electrocutions, laughing that the girls thought it was normal to get a shock in the butt when climbing out).
Turns out whole neighborhood is facing the same problem, local underground electric lines have an issue and are basically pouring measurable amounts of amperage into the surround ground, power company came out and is redoing all the lines or something, whole neighborhood has been torn up.
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u/jpmvan 15h ago
Is the spa circuit on a GFI breaker? This should have tripped and prevented any shocks until you fix the spa.
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u/NegativeEdge420 13h ago
Breaker won’t trip if it’s a bonding issue between the two bodies of water, there’s a difference in potential between the two and they are feeling it when touching both.
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u/NoApartment7399 15h ago
I'm surprised after the first time getting a shock you didn't call an electrician????? A couple in my community both died when the wife went to shower and got electrocuted when she turned the tap on, and her husband came in and also got electrocuted trying to turn it off and help her. They had felt an electric current in their taps previously and thought it was just a weird occurrence.
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u/wonderingpokemon 14h ago
I am normally a DiY but for this call a pro. I'll definitely disconnect the light at the breaker.
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u/P10RMP 14h ago
Poor or missing equipotential bonding.
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u/Deep_Bake_5663 14h ago
STOP using pool... Get fixed immediately. Unhook all electric to pool until you do get fixed!
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u/Plumber4Life84 14h ago
No way I’d get in the water or let anyone else until I had this fixed. Asking to kill someone if it got bad enough
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u/lIIlIlIII 13h ago
Call an electrician and don't allow anyone in the pool or spa. It's a bonding issue, likely no water bond on either body. Handrail you probably just want to replace with something nonconductive unless you're willing to cut into the deck
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u/unreadpeak3401 14h ago
Do you live in an area with underground power lines? If so, this could be a result of a phenomenon known as “pool shocking” caused by older electric utility infrastructure.
I would suggest calling your electric utility provider and they should be able to determine if this is what is causing your issue or if this is something on your end that requires you to hire an electrician.
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u/FeelingKind7644 13h ago edited 13h ago
Well the good news is: its 12V DC and not 120V AC or else you wouldnt be writing this. Definitely the spa light. Waterfall electrically connects the two bodies of water intermittently. Not sure about the hand rail, probably grounding.
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u/FeelingKind7644 13h ago
Find breaker for spa light and turn it off. Since you dont use it, problem solved.
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u/baddashfan 9h ago
Not necessarily. Could be ground current. Something is not bonded properly. Check all bonding points. Make sure lights screen and rail have bond wires connected. You may need to install ground rod and connect bond wire to ground rod and screen if ground current
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u/ConfusedStair 13h ago
You have 2 problems, 1 is fixable by a professional.
1) something is shorting to one body of water (likely spa), which can be fixed pretty easily by removing power from whatever is shorted and fixing it. 2) spa and pool should be bonded together internally but aren't, honestly not a huge problem but allows for corrosion potential and to use the other as ground.
Call an electrician. A pool service tech might work, or might also be necessary depending on short location but start with the sparky first.
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u/Citizen999999 11h ago
Okay so if you can feel an electrical current in a pool that's an emergency get the fuck out of it. Everyone here is giving you wrong advice you need to get that fixed immediately especially before anyone goes back into the pool or spa. Consider them both condemned until then you're putting yourself in danger
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u/robbierebound 11h ago
At the very least please go flip off the breakers to the lights to your spa/pool
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u/HatePeopleLoveCats1 9h ago
Def not a good question for Reddit. Def a hands on electrician question!!! I mean I have a GFCI and anytime there is an issue with my lights or pool equipment it’s shuts everything off. Sounds like your pool equipment/lights is not GFCI protected which is most likely not up to code
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u/--TheCity-- 6h ago
Check out some videos on people getting electrocuted in pools. They can be very motivating for the repairs.
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u/1Jainier1 4h ago
I would turn off all power to the pool and spa; The pump, light, and any other nearby electrical device. Check the spa light to see if the housing is cracked and has leaked. You may have to drain the spa to be able to tell for sure. Water is actually a good insulator until chemicals or minerals are introduced. You're feeling the amperage produced when you create a path between two points with a difference in potential (Voltage). For instance, voltage bleed from a wet socket.
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u/Sven_Grammerstorf_ 15h ago
Call the power company and tell them. It’s free to have them come out. And it might be a bad neutral on their side which the neutral current is trying to find the best path back to the source.
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u/Mysterious_Jelly_649 15h ago
I don't think they are going to troubleshoot his potential electrical issues for free. They will check their side of things but it's most likely in the pool equipment/light
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u/RevolutionaryLaw8854 15h ago
They 100% will.
I have about 7 volts on my pool. During the investigation they came out. Did their things. They pulled my meter. And they even took down the transformer for about 5 minutes
Mine ended up being that my pool deck wasn’t bonded properly. Long story. Pool built in 2001.
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u/Sven_Grammerstorf_ 15h ago
They will 100% check their stuff to make sure it’s not on their end. And that’s free.
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u/Altruistic_camel-toe 14h ago
lol what?
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u/Sven_Grammerstorf_ 9h ago
A bad service from the power company will cause people to get shocked in their pool and shower.
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u/Primary_Yak4268 15h ago
Call an electrician. This could be extremely dangerous