Static electric

[laneside]

Anyone any ideas why a combined sink and hob produces static.
Almost every time Lynda touches the cooker she gets a static shock and jumps back
It does not matter even if the van has been stood for days she still gets them, we have no carpets down in the van so it isn't that.
I have threatened to fasten one of those earthing straps that cars used to have on to her bum but she is not impressed.

 

[icantremember]

She is kidding you so she doesn't have to cook!

 

[Clarky]

Nylon knickers.

Good excuse for their removal......nudge, nudge......

Richard.

 

[Chipster]

Guess the cooker will be earth boned as its a gas appliance. Wifey and surrounding areas will not be tied to earth in anyway. More prevalent on hook up?

 

[funflair]

As suggested above its the person that carries the static the cooker/sink only gets the blame as it sends it to ground.

Martin

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[funflair]

We used to mould a lot of carbon fibre and glass fibre parts and when you "crack them out" that's removing them from the mould tool it produced a lot of "static" if you were working at a steel framed bench at waist height it could give you quite a shock to the nether regions. I used to put a strand of carbon fibre inside my shoe and let it trail on the floor, carbon fibre being a good conductor of course.

Martin

 

[laneside]

As suggested above its the person that carries the static the cooker/sink only gets the blame as it sends it to ground.

Martin

Thanks, that makes sense, I thought it was the other way around.
She sits on the long seat and shuffles to get off and so charging herself.

Hey will a pair of hob nailed boots help her?

 

[funflair]

Thanks, that makes sense, I thought it was the other way around.
She sits on the long seat and shuffles to get off and so charging herself.

Hey will a pair of hob nailed boots help her?

Only if the nails go right through

 

[Khizzie]

Sounds as if the appliance is being used as the main earthing point , which if it is , its dangerous and wrong .

 

[Mickey1]

Interesting, because I get a shock in my horsebox now and then.
Mickey.

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[Khizzie]

Interesting, because I get a shock in my horsebox now and then.
Mickey.

That's because there's a horse in there maybe. Lol

 

[andy63]

Sounds as if the appliance is being used as the main earthing point , which if it is , its dangerous and wrong .

No... what was said is that the hob is likely bonded to the earth which is quite normal both at home and in mh.
Whether it was or not it would still be possible for a static discharge I imagine..
Andy

 

[two]

If it's a non (mains) electric hob you could break the earth bond, else get wifey to discharge herself first though a metal instrument.

 

[icantremember]

If it's a non (mains) electric hob you could break the earth bond, else get wifey to discharge herself first though a metal instrument.

What you mean like @Tootles ....

 

[maz]

Dry skin allows static to build up so moisturising hand cream is a good idea. I also find that allowing the charge to disperse slowly by touching the van interior wall first before touching metal stops the crackly shocks.

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[Tea Bag]

Only if the nails go right through

Hi.
First wife used to complain that i had her running around in circles,so i nailed her other foot to the floor as well....
Tea Bag

 

[Khizzie]

Thanks, that makes sense, I thought it was the other way around.
She sits on the long seat and shuffles to get off and so charging herself.

Hey will a pair of hob nailed boots help her?

Hob nail boots may help. But really depends on whose wearing them . Lol.

 

[Don Quixote]

Anyone any ideas why a combined sink and hob produces static.
Almost every time Lynda touches the cooker she gets a static shock and jumps back
It does not matter even if the van has been stood for days she still gets them, we have no carpets down in the van so it isn't that.
I have threatened to fasten one of those earthing straps that cars used to have on to her bum but she is not impressed.

Reducing static shocks
You need to look to the sources of static electricity to reduce your penchant or inclination for getting shocks. Since it is difficult to know the exact source of the static electric charges, you need to do some experimenting to reduce the problem as best you can.

Increase humidity
Static electricity is more active when the air and materials are dry. The humidity is normally lower in the winter, and heating the house further reduces the humidity. Also, locations with a desert climate usually have very low relative humidity.

One thing you can do is to use a humidifier to raise the humidity in the MH. That may help a little. Also, having a plant or plants in the MH (just remember to water!) helps increase the humidity level.

Moisturize skin
Some people have very dry skin that may cause the buildup of static charges, especially in the winter. One thing to try is to use moisturizers or lotions on your skin. The only problem with that, of course, is that you might have to put it all over your body...........................

You can experiment with different types of moisturizers and in different locations...... Perhaps just putting lotion on you hands may be sufficient, since shocks and sparks usually come from touching objects with your hands..........

Clothes on skin
Some clothing materials, such as polyester materials, cause more static electricity than others when they rub against your skin. If you have a problem with static electric shocks, you might try wear 100% cotton or wool clothing.

Since women often wear undergarments made of nylon or other synthetic material, they should try cotton items to see if it gives them relief from the shocks........

Clothes on other materials
When you slide out of a car/MH or off furniture in the MH, you can create static electricity if the combination of materials is right. Try putting a cover on the seat and changing the materials or your clothes.

You could try spraying things with an anti-static spray, such as is used to prevent static cling. However, I'm not sure how long the anti-static spray lasts or if continued use can discolor things so be careful.

Pajamas and sheets
If your pajamas and bed sheets are the type of materials that create static electricity when rubbed together, you can be bothered with shocks all night long on a dry winter night. If you have dry skin, the problem can be amplified.

Try using pajamas and/or sheets made of different materials. Cotton does not seem to develop as much static electricity as some artificial fibers.

Soles of shoes
People get shocks from walking on the rug in the MH ( I know you said no rugs in your MH ) Certain synthetic rubber soles on shoes create a lot of static electricity. Experiment with different shoes.

The reason you build up static electricity usually comes from walking on a rug with certain types of shoes, when the weather is very dry. Static electricity is more common in the winter, because the air is often dry.

On a day that you get a lot of sparks, you can experiment walking on the rug with different shoes to see what type of soles create the most (or least) static electricity. This could be a shocking experience.....

Body chemistry
Individual body chemistry has a significant impact on how electric current affects an individual. Some people are highly sensitive to current, experiencing involuntary muscle contraction with shocks from static electricity. Others can draw large sparks from discharging static electricity and hardly feel it, much less experience a muscle spasm.

Also, some people see to have a tendency to build up static electric charges in their bodies. The problem may be due to their body chemistry, such that their blood has an excess of ions. One theory is that too much salt in your system causes that problem. Another theory is that your system is too acidic.

Preventing shocks
The only way to prevent getting a painful static electric shock when you touch a metal object or other electrical conductor is to ground yourself to drain off those excess static charges.

Use a static shock eliminator
There are devices on the market that can be used to drain off static electric charges from your body. They have simple electronics that slow the discharge of electrons and prevent a spark.

Static shock eliminator fits on key chain

Discipline needed
You really need discipline to remember to ground yourself before touching metal objects of conductors. However, if static electricity shocks are a major problem with you, the extra effort should be worth the trouble.

Now after this shockingly long read, go boil the kettle and see what happens

 

[pappajohn]

Easy......unearth the sink.

 

[Minxy]

@laneside are we right to assume that you don't get shocks? If so then it must be just down to something specific to your wife, but if you BOTH get it and your hob has an electronic ignition etc I'd get it checked out!

My hubby used to be really bad with 'shocks' one day he bent down to stroke the dog and a massive spark jumped from his hand to the dog's nose ... poor thing ran a mile as it hadn't a clue what had happened and wouldn't go near him for days!

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[Clarky]

Since women often wear undergarments made of nylon or other synthetic material, they should try cotton items to see if it gives them relief from the shocks........

See, I told you it was those knickers.
Ger em orf, quick.

 

[DavidG58]

no help to you, but you have just reminded me how we used to turn the lights off to take off our jumpers when I was a lad (in my case early 60's) I guess they were nylon jumpers or similar, but we got a real firework display inside the jumpers when removing them

simple pleasures in those days

 

[PeteH]

Couple of pages of reading which might give a clue to which materials are at Issue:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_electricity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triboelectric_effect#Triboelectric_serie

 

[Kingham]

Totally of no help whatsoever to the OP, but someone may find this more extreme example of static build up interesting.

Way back in the early 90s when I lived at the coast, I volunteered with the RNLI and as part of our lifeboat crew training, we carried out regular offshore winching exercises with colleagues from Air Sea Rescue.
We were warned very early on that as the winchman was lowered to our boat, never to make a grab for them to assist them aboard, until they had first "earthed" on the water.

I never saw it go wrong, but helicopter rotors can generate high levels of static electricity around the aircraft and which apparently could physically blow a person out of the boat if the winch cable was not earthed before anyone coming in to contact with it !!

 

[Viennese]

Years ago we had a teletext machine at work on hire from Radio Rentals (remember them??) It had an attached keypad which I kept blowing up because I had lots of static. RR rep got fed up of coming to replace it and as I was the main user instructed me, before using it, to "discharge myself against the wall", which I always thought sounded quite rude!

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[K9Brian]

I suspect it's all Alans fault.

Stop winding her up so much!

 

[tonyidle]

Earthed or not is a red herring - a large metal object has sufficient capacitive connection to ground (without a physical connection) to discharge static.