Author -

Submitted By - A Kiss To Remember

While on the trouble truck one summer, I received a call concerning people getting shocked when touching a mobile home. Upon arriving at the location, I was met in the yard by the two occupants, a young married couple, with somewhat "sheepish" grins and an unusual story. The mobile home was raised off the ground by block underpinning and had a wooden deck surrounding the front door. The couple had decided to wash the windows. Since the home was somewhat raised from the ground, the man had to use an aluminum ladder to reach the outside of the windows while his wife was inside. Both were working on the same window. The ladder was one of those short extension ladders and had plastic covers over the ends so as to not scratch whatever it was leaned against. At some point, the man (outside on the ladder) suggested that his wife (inside the mobile home) give him a little kiss. That is when things got interesting. Remember now; he on the metal ladder; she inside, leaning against the metal window sill of the trailer. As the couple's lips met, apparently the old saying about seeing and feeling stars and that "tingly" sensation when a kiss is ggoooood came to pass. Both said that they actually saw sparks. Also, both of them had a small blister on their lips. My investigation found that the neutral connection in the meterbase had corroded and was not making good contact. The soil around the service ground rod was not substantial enough to take care of the neutral current. I measured the voltage from the window sill to the ladder and found out that the couple had just had an eighteen volt kiss!!! The condition had apparently been on-going for some time, judging by the amount of deteriation of the neutral connection. The condition would have normally been noticed when someone touched the mobile home while standing on the ground. But 1: it was somewhat raised from the earth by concrete blocks. 2: the water service and the sewer lines were all plastic. 3. the wooden porch acted to insulate anyone touching the home or door from the earth. 4. several of the appliances in the trailer had been connected by the machine ground to the trailer's metalic frame. The meterbase was replaced and the problem was gone. Also, this was in the days before NEC required the "fourth wire" and the second ground rod. It was a good learning experience for a new troubleman and the most memorable kiss for a newly married couple.