Electric sockets under sink in new kitchen!

Plasticman

If you are in a modern house then the kitchen sockets should be protected by an RCD which reduced the risk anyway. Generally the socket will not be directly under a pipe so will be immune to any minor leaks.

bengraves38

chez wrote:

That's simply not true.

THey mix very well..that's the problem. Water is a good conductor of electricity, which is where the problem comes in.

I wouldn't want power sockets under my sink...

Sorry Chez hate to be a pain but water is not a very good conductor of electricity at all.
I was unaware of this as well untill i met a very old electrical engineer on a job one day. He proceeded to strip a piece of flex with a plug top on the other end. He then plugged the lead into a live socket and dipped the bare wires into a pot of water. I don't suggest anybody does this but nothing happened?????? I was quite amused.
He informed me (right or wrong) tht as there was no load then the water is a poor conductor.
I have allways wanted to tell somebody else that story but have never had the chance till now. thanks for listening.
Ben:A

chez_2

Sorry mate, but that's not correct.

Dipping the bare wires into water wouldn't do anything.

Try then popping a finger into the water and see what happens, I suspect you'd find it conducted the electricity into your finger quite nicely

Mr_Grumpy_7

Pure water is in fact a very good insulator. What makes it a good conductor is the impurities it can contain, such as salt, etc. I can remember as a child placing 2 electrodes, connected to a 12V battery, into pure water. The result, no current flowed. Add some salt, and the water became a very good conductor, with bubbles of hydrogen be produced into the bargain.

Why electricity and water don't mix is when the water is on your skin. The resistance of the human body is dependant on many factors, one of which is how dry, how sweaty, and how wet, the contact points are. Wet hands will result in a much lower resistance when the resistance is measured hand to hand. This is why bathrooms, etc. need to be made into a "safe zone" to ensure all metal objects are at the same potential.

chez_2

Mr_Grumpy wrote:

Pure water is in fact a very good insulator. What makes it a good conductor is the impurities it can contain, such as salt, etc. I can remember as a child placing 2 electrodes, connected to a 12V battery, into pure water. The result, no current flowed. Add some salt, and the water became a very good conductor, with bubbles of hydrogen be produced into the bargain.

Why electricity and water don't mix is when the water is on your skin. The resistance of the human body is dependant on many factors, one of which is how dry, how sweaty, and how wet, the contact points are. Wet hands will result in a much lower resistance when the resistance is measured hand to hand. This is why bathrooms, etc. need to be made into a "safe zone" to ensure all metal objects are at the same potential.

Thanks for the explanation, I couldn't remember the exact scientific details.

As tap water is far from pure, I still maintain that bengraves38's example would result in electrocution if you put a finger into the water

rygon

Yeh pure water is a very good electrical insulator and is used on large electrical generators (medium generators use hydrogen).

So anyway, with regards to the plug socket. You could always hard wire the appliances in so there are no plugs just fuses to worry about (bit of sealant around the socket will stop any water from getting in). Or you can get waterproof sockets but these are made for outdoor use and cost approx £35.