Well I went out this morning and here is what I found.
There is no measurable ac current flowing on any of the water, gas, GEC, or bonding wires. There is some current on the EGC going back to the main that I have isolated to 3 circuits. One is the office plugs circuit and is only a few miliamps. Another is the entertainment circuit and is also only a few miliamps. The third is an exterior 125A sub that I took an AC, a couple of general lighting circuits and the well off off.
Actually, I temporarily back fed the old existing house from this panel and it is providing power to the well for now. This circuit was good for about an amp flowing on the main EGC when energized. I expect that to go away when we install the permanent well feeders.
I measure about 5 milivolts DC between the disconnected water bonding wire and the clamp. It goes down to 2.5 when I plug in the water heater ignitor.
The water softener guys ran a low volt wire for their xformer and poked it through the stucco of the (BRAND NEW) house and plugged in their xformer. I forgot to unplug it when testing for voltage between the bond and the pipe but I wonder if it could be the source of the DC. Next time out I'll check. Why they did this when their softener is sitting right next to a surface mount sub panel with lots of room in it is beyond me. I'll fix that when I run the permanent well feeders.
The only dissimilar metals I noticed were at the softener and looked cast nickel. Bright and shiny. And at the water heaters that looked like stainless going to stainless hoses.
No isolating fittings on either.
She's going to get the water tested both pre and post softener.
I ask you: In the absence of any chemical explanation, is 5 milivolts enough to cause the blue water?
Oh yeah, the 5 mili was only measured with the main on.
Main off was 0.
Last edited by ChicoC10; 11/17/07 04:09 PM.
