One of this old house had a similar problem. Apparently a so called electrician had installed a new geyser and the owner of the house said, a couple of days after he couldn't touch taps, sink and geyser pipes because he was getting shocked. He isolated the circuit.
I checked geyser connections and they seemed to be fine, earth leakage connected and it wasn't tripping . I suggested that he must get a bonding conductor as the was none.
Could it be the elements insulation had failed as you say even if the geyser is new? If so can it be replaced? Or could it be another circuit leaking current to the pipes?
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