Non-welder wiring question

[JolietJames]

I don't know where to post this but I figure there are some electic-savvy people in this area who may be able to help me. I have a huge blast cabinet with a seperate vacuum unit that sits next to it. The cabinet has two overhead lights inside and each has its own plug. They are plugged into different outlets (did I mention it was BIG lol). The vacuum is plugged into one of the light fixtures which accepts one plug and has an on off switch which then controls everything. The other day I was blasting and noticed the machine was trying to ground through me? I was getting little shocks between the metal glove rings and my arms. This has never happened before so I don't know what happened. Does this mean there is a short in the cabinet (lights)? Can there be something wrong with the vac or can it not affect me by only being plugged in to the blast cabinet? Any help would be appreciated. If a mod needs to move this into a better catagory, that's fine. I just figured I'd get the most knowledgable responses here. Thanks everyone.
-James

[Gadget]

Unplug the vacuum and see if you still get a poke, if so it's probably in the lights, if not it's probably the vacuum. Sounds like you definitely have a ground fault somewhere though.

[INSANITY]

It's not a ground fault or a short. Do you live in Joliet, IL.? I'm in Oak Lawn, IL. If so, then we are practically neighbors and we share the same weather!
The problem is that as the weather gets colder and the air becomes drier, the friction of the sand against the workpiece creates tons of static electricity and you become the ground! YAY!

[KHK]

INSANITY has a good idea. But before assuming that it is static electricity I would make sure that the entire setup is grounded. Check and double check, you could have a fatal electrical problem.

[INSANITY]

INSANITY has a good idea. But before assuming that it is static electricity I would make sure that the entire setup is grounded. Check and double check, you could have a fatal electrical problem.

Before assuming it's a Fatal Electrical Problem, unplug all electrical connections and see if you still get zapped!

-Aaron

[tigqk]

Ever sandblast into a metal pipe, you'll get a zap.I have seen this this last summer with some freezers I have, a number were overloading a line and when I would touch one of them I woulf get a shock, mild but still worrysome, so I replaced the cord and electrical buss bar and everything is good.May be a similiar problem.I'd speak with an electrician.

[JolietJames]

Thanks guys. I will try what you suggested asap. I thought it was weird that it hasn't happened in the past and then I was getting shocked every couple seconds. I'll try without the vac and then with the vac plugged into a wall outlet rather than the cabinet.
Yes, Joliet IL Insanity. Not far at all. Thanks for the advice. I'll post what I find.
-James

[JolietJames]

OK not sure what I've found as to the cause of the problem other than Insanity's static theory. I went out to the garage this afternoon while it was raining to try some blasting. I hooked everything up as it was before to confirm I was in fact still having the problem. No shocks whatsoever. Could static have been the ONLY problem or is there still an underlying fault, short, whatever?
I remember using some machine in the past where I had to put on a grounding bracelet to operate the thing. I'm now wandering if that was a blast cabinet. It was at least 15 years ago so I don't recall what it was. This sound familiar to anyone?
Thanks! -James

[arandall]

I don't know if static is your only problem, but I can confirm from my blast cabinet that blasting does create quite a bit of static. It has never been enough to really scare me though.

[JolietJames]

Thanks Art. It's not really scary but rather just a small nearly constant shock when it was happening. I'll try the suggestions above next time it happens. Hopefully there won't be a next time but I'll be paying close attention.