FWIW, I used to be an electrician in Australia where we have 240v mains.
Today I was changing some power outlets at home, had turned off all the power circuits in the house at the meter board and "assumed" (nuff said) that the power socket I was working on near our stove top would no longer be live.
Shoved an uninsulated screw driver into the screw terminal for the active wire and "zammo" got a boot in the right hand. (socket must take feed from the oven or a lighting circuit, don't know, I just killed the main switch and every other breaker in the place to make double sure)
I ought to know better!
Kids, no matter what your experience, CHECK with a meter before you touch anything at 100V or above.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!
A 4 year old should not have to grow up without a dad because he was dumb.
Today I was changing some power outlets at home, had turned off all the power circuits in the house at the meter board and "assumed" (nuff said) that the power socket I was working on near our stove top would no longer be live.
Shoved an uninsulated screw driver into the screw terminal for the active wire and "zammo" got a boot in the right hand. (socket must take feed from the oven or a lighting circuit, don't know, I just killed the main switch and every other breaker in the place to make double sure)
I ought to know better!
Kids, no matter what your experience, CHECK with a meter before you touch anything at 100V or above.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!
A 4 year old should not have to grow up without a dad because he was dumb.
WOW! Glad you are okay. Well, how do you feel?
It is a good idea to see a doctor anyway when poked with 240 VAC. In fact, I strongly urge that you do so.
This is because your heart can and may have sustained damaged by that impulse and you are at increased risk for cardiac arrest after the incident.
I say this because my girlfriend, whom I just consulted, is a paramedic and I have my share of premed studies under my belt. So I speak with some knowledge on the subject.
240 VAC is nothing to sneeze at. The good news is that it was your right hand, which gives you a little more protection, but not much.
Please see a doctor, particularly if you feel at all uneasy or exhibit any cardiac symptoms.
Glad you're OK! I think this is also a good reason not to use uninsulated tools. Reminds me of the time I jammed a metal tube extractor into the fins of a 4CX250 in a 1/4 KW transmitter. Unknown to me, the discharge stick was NG, and I got walloped with a 2,000V power supply charge. Threw me across the room. Measure first, measure first, measure first...
After 20 years playing with electricity this is boot number 3 I think. Fortunately all of them have been the "kick" type rather than the "grab on" type.
There's a lot to be said for rubber soled shoes and not earthing your other hand when working on stuff, but it's still not a pleasant experience.
There's a lot to be said for rubber soled shoes and not earthing your other hand when working on stuff, but it's still not a pleasant experience.
Yup, as opposed to the 110 that you guys are.
Makes a difference in how it feels I'm told. (and how well it jumps insulation)
Our domestic outlets are 10A limited for a full power draw of 2400W. Industrial and oven sockets can be 15 or 20A, but standard domestic wall outlets are 10A.
i once was messing with wires in a room where once a lamp hanged, but only (dead supposedly) wires remaining, twisted, and ends stripped to mount to such wire connection block, and since that was long ago (even old colorcoding, likely from mains came here first in the 1950s) those ends were oxidized already.
i grab a wire with each hand, to untwist, and feel a slight(!) tingling. i let go.
i pick a bulb somewhere and hold it to the wires and sure enough it shines full power.
i guess i picked well insulated bit of old oxidized copper or such, or otherwise that the wires had a break a bit up, which only fully connected when i already had let go,
or afterwards when i folded the plastic insulated bits of wire, so the ends would connect to the bare bulb correctly (which did not have trouble with the copper oxidation btw).
anyway now there is light in that room again happily after ;p
i grab a wire with each hand, to untwist, and feel a slight(!) tingling. i let go.
i pick a bulb somewhere and hold it to the wires and sure enough it shines full power.
i guess i picked well insulated bit of old oxidized copper or such, or otherwise that the wires had a break a bit up, which only fully connected when i already had let go,
or afterwards when i folded the plastic insulated bits of wire, so the ends would connect to the bare bulb correctly (which did not have trouble with the copper oxidation btw).
anyway now there is light in that room again happily after ;p
oh, good to here your sharing the word of caution
and while were sharing shocking stories,
my worst "boot" was when i was 10 years old, i was outside and plugged in a metal chassis hand drill, (with the earth ground removed, and plugged into a 50ft extension cord). well i plugged the drill in and my head clamped tight to the drill, i attempted to drop it but my arm clenched tight, i fell to the ground and with my knee i moved the drill from my hand. it was about 20-40 seconds of pure 120vac through my entire right side, it felt like 10 minutes. and perhaps it was the least of the extreme safety hazards my father subjected me to, exposure to the lead and heavy metals from my childhood passion of electronics, has caused permanent and irreversible brain damage to me.
and while were sharing shocking stories,
my worst "boot" was when i was 10 years old, i was outside and plugged in a metal chassis hand drill, (with the earth ground removed, and plugged into a 50ft extension cord). well i plugged the drill in and my head clamped tight to the drill, i attempted to drop it but my arm clenched tight, i fell to the ground and with my knee i moved the drill from my hand. it was about 20-40 seconds of pure 120vac through my entire right side, it felt like 10 minutes. and perhaps it was the least of the extreme safety hazards my father subjected me to, exposure to the lead and heavy metals from my childhood passion of electronics, has caused permanent and irreversible brain damage to me.
At my work we've got the lovely 440v 3-phase 20/30/50amp monsters for some of the equipment, complete with inch-thick cables and the giant plugs. I can most definitely say that I am extremely careful when washing walls around them, wouldn't take much for everything to go sideways. That sort of power always instills a sort of awe in me, I just love huge industrial equipment, always have.
Although not a shocking experience, I was getting some light flickering in some areas of my 32 year old house, so I decided to tighten all of the screws in the breaker panel. They get loose over time which leads to fried stuff (a few were indeed loose). I tried to tighten the big screws that hold the fat aluminum wires that come from the service drop outside, when the screwdriver slipped touching both the main input line and the back of the box. A big bang ensued leading to about 1/4 inch missing from the end of the screwdriver. Sears will NOT replace the "lifetime guaranteed" Craftsman screwdriver when you do this!
Later we decided to change all of the wall outlets in the house after the second one failed. I shut off the breaker for each circuit, and then dutifully tested each outlet for power with a cheap meter before removing it. Sherri was helping. You should have seen the look on her face when she tested a live outlet with the meter set on ohms!
Later we decided to change all of the wall outlets in the house after the second one failed. I shut off the breaker for each circuit, and then dutifully tested each outlet for power with a cheap meter before removing it. Sherri was helping. You should have seen the look on her face when she tested a live outlet with the meter set on ohms!
Maybe you're joking (and I don't mean to sidetrack the thread), but the original Sears warranty requires them to remedy a "Lifetime Warranted" tool for any reason that renders the tool disfunctional. It is an unlimited warranty, and by law Sears must refund the cost or replace/repair the tool without question. You can run over it with your car, set it on fire, bend it over double, or grind off the end. Under terms of the warranty, it's all the same as if it simply fell apart just sitting in your toolbox.
Many years ago when I was young and very stupid I was changing a breaker in a live 440V panel. I couldn't find the main disconnect for the panel so I went in live. I caught my tool across the line, full 440, not 277 to the ground. There was a giant blue flash, the whole building went dark and the person behind me was yelling, Are you OK? Fortunately I was not jolted but the hair was gone off my arm and my tool was half gone. I did find the main panel and reset the breaker. The guy behind told me later since it was dark in the room and he could not see me and he didn't know if I was still there. He said all he saw was a giant blue flash with my silhouette in the center of it.
I now check everything with a meter even if I know it is dead.
I now check everything with a meter even if I know it is dead.
Nope, I took back three Craftsman screwdrivers to a Sears store on the same day. The guy had no problem replacing the one where the end broke off prying open a paint can, and the phillips with the blades worn down, but they claimed that their guarantee did not apply to obvious abuse. The same Sears store refused to replace the second Die Hard battery that died in the same car within a year. They claimed that my "modified electrical system" in the car was killing batteries even though their tech could find no issue with it. They also cited "missapplication" (a 12 volt battery in a car originally designed for 6 volts, now equiped with a 12 V alternator) even they originally installed it.
There used to be a Sears parts and service depot (now closed) near where I work. They swapped the screwdriver and a 9/16 inch socket that I tried to fix with an arc welder without issue.
Couple years ago I was changing a light fixture. Had the light switch off. I was surprised to get a zap. I checked the switch, which was actually a dimmer and it was down low enough that I only thought it was clicked off. I didn't understand why a voltage too low to light an incandescent would be felt by me. Then I thought some more and remembered that if there is no current, there is no voltage drop. So all the volts were there until I providing some path for it to drop thru me. OOps.
Most dimmers don't drop the voltage. They vary the duty cycle of the pulse that the light bulb gets. The voltage is pulsed on and off by a Triac. With no load the Triac may never turn off leaving the full 120 volts across the unloaded wires. Even if the Triac never turns on the support circuitry requires a few milliamps to operate before the dimmer even functions, so again with no load, you will get 120 volts.
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