Thread: Vacuum Shock

Hi ,
Either get an Electrician or Wireman or yourself & check your Earthing Point for the House & Shed.
Regards,
issatree

So is an earthing point something they have in the outback? You mean my grouding wire?

If it's series of shocks while you are actually vacuuming stuff up, it's static electricity generated by (generally) very dry materials such as plaster dust being sucked up.

If you have a metal shaft on the vacuum cleaner nozzle you could try running a ground wire to it; if it's plastic....ummmm....try vacuuming up other sort of stuff to see if the problem remains? wrap in foil and earth the foil? wear really thick soled boots to stop you being the earth path?

Or it could be some sort of wiring problem with the cleaner - in which case either buy a new one or get an appliance service centre to look at it.

it sounds like its static electricity if you are getting it from your car aswell . i get the same thing a lot , more so in dry and or windy weather .
caused by a static charge build up from friction on synthetic materials , plastics , nylon carpet and so on are the worst .
dont know that there is much you can do about it but if you do find out i would be keen to hear the fix for it .
for some reason it affects some people more than others ( i get it a lot and the wife hardly ever gets its it )
when you are vacuuming you are rubbing the vac back and forth across the floor the friction builds up a charge and then crack just like a spark plug it discharges using you as a way out.
we had a problem with one of our hay bail accumulators building up a static charge with the bales rubbing on it and it was affecting the onboard computers the fix for that was a short bit of chain fixed to the back of the machine so it dragged on the ground when in the paddock , this got rid of the static build up and fixed that problem .
johno

Static electricity. Some brands of vacuum cleaner now supply an antistatic hose and some of the more expensive (commercial) ones come with a complete antistatic system complete with a wrist strap for the operator.
The Vacuum cleaner is building up a static charge and the only way it can discharge to ground is via you when you touch it. You can try attaching an antistatic strap, like on a car, to the cleaner so the chrge has a direct path to ground rather than through you.

Unlike texx it's my wife who is more susceptible.
I remember a carpet at Heathrow airport that created lots of static. Children would run around and then creep up behind someone and earth themselves via a finger into an ear.
Cheers,
Jim

I work in electronics manufacture, you can also get ESD (Electro Static Dissipative) Heel straps. They earth you, but through a resistor so the discharge is a trickle rather than a zap. Just pop one on every time you vacuum. Your local electronics store may be able to help you source one.

Originally Posted by sussertown

I have a concrete floor. I've always had a shock issue in the house and in my car. When I try to vaccum in the shop, I get discouraged becuase of the strong shocks I absorb.

I notice the temperatures in Colorado Springs are ranging from -5C to +5C at the present time. I assume your shop & house are both heated. The absolute humidity in the air will be extremely low and conducive to production of static electricity. Apart from the various grounding solutions already provided, you could also use a humidifier to bring the humidity up prior to vacuuming.

I used to get zapped all the time when I worked in NY. I feel for you, mate. It hurts.

Mick

Our work one was doing the same thing. Purchased an electrostatic wrist strap from dickies and screwed it to the tube, Good as.

I was told by an engineer who researched this issue that the static shock people receive is often dependant on the type of shoes they wear. ie certain shoes are better conductors than others.

If experimenting with different footwear doesn't help, an anti-static vacuum hose would do the trick

I agree with the others as far as remedies I often put on a pair of rubber gloves That seems to help as long as You keep from the hose.