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05-20-2009, 09:35 PM
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#1
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Learning by Doing
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Easton, Maryland
Posts: 3,156
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
No burns, no harm, no foul? While trying to force a rec box back into its opening I touched the contacts of the single pole switch.
ZZZZZZZZap.
Tonight I am forcing myself to write on the whiteboard fifty times:
DO NOT DO ANY WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS
__________________
If I could only remember to THINK about what I was doing before I did it.
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05-20-2009, 09:42 PM
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#2
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Electrical Contractor
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Newnan GA
Posts: 5,010
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
Did you forget to put the note up in front of the panel?
Glad to hear you are ok.
__________________
Yes I am a Pirate, 200 years too late. "Jimmy Buffett"
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05-20-2009, 09:55 PM
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#3
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You talking to me?
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: sw mi
Posts: 5,407
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
did you just add your sig line or was it a prophetic statement from before?
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05-20-2009, 10:25 PM
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#4
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Learning by Doing
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Easton, Maryland
Posts: 3,156
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
Sig line's been there for months - since the last time I did something stupid.
I DO have my panel box tagged out. I even cut the power when I drilled a hole in wall that I thought some wires might run through (and they did).
Low blood sugar moment? I need some excuse.
__________________
If I could only remember to THINK about what I was doing before I did it.
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05-20-2009, 11:08 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 93
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
Repetition can do that too. I was doing dielectric test on a series of big line capacitors. Like 24" long by 12" high and rated at 1,200 V. Megger tested with 500 V. The process was a) remove bus bars, b) test capacitor, c) discharge 500 V charge with a resistor, d) reinstall bus bars.
a, b, c, d
a, b, c, d
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a, b, c, d
a, b, d
All I remember is that one moment I was hunched over inside the big piece of equipment getting ready to re-install the bus bar, the next thing I knew I was halfway across the factory going, "What happened?" There was no passage of time between those two points. It definitely got my attention. 
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05-21-2009, 09:44 AM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 265
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
Experience is a tough teacher, you get the test first, then the lesson.
Glad you're OK.
__________________
If you don't stand behind our troops, please feel free to stand in front of them.
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05-21-2009, 10:52 AM
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#7
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the Musigician
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: I'm right here!
Posts: 10,404
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwpiper
c) discharge 500 V charge with a resistor
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yup, i think c) would be a REAL important thing to not forget! *yeowch*
glad yer still with us!
DM
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Click
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to see some of my original magic tricks and trick boxes!
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05-21-2009, 07:02 PM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: north east
Posts: 728
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
not to encourage you, but I've seen and done myself, run electrical tape around the recepticle before placeing in the box, of course turning off the power first is best.
__________________
LIVING THE DREAM
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05-21-2009, 09:39 PM
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#9
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Learning by Doing
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Easton, Maryland
Posts: 3,156
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
I've been on the fence about wrapping contacts on recs and switches with electrical tape. I have been known to use it if I was really cramming things in a gang box to make sure nothing shorted side to side. But I don't do it as a rule with a singleton because, well, I HATE it when I open up an old box with a switch wrapped in some gummy tape.
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
I WILL NOT WORK ON ENERGIZED CIRCUITS...
__________________
If I could only remember to THINK about what I was doing before I did it.
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05-28-2009, 11:00 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 1,108
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
I have been wrapping all receptacles and switches with tape since forever. I am always leary of the screws holding the recep into the box coming loose. Of course using non-metallic boxes would solve that problem, but not the problem of a misplaced finger.
BTW, how do you "tag out" a residential panel? Do you mean just placing a note on the panel, or a piece of tape over the breaker or what?
I know these cannot be locked out.
FW
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05-29-2009, 10:20 AM
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#11
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: WV
Posts: 2,120
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
My goodness, I got my first shock when I was maybe 12 years old (and many more in the intervening 50 years).
I see you are in Easton. So was I until recently. I still own my house there.
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05-29-2009, 10:33 AM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 1,108
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
I've gotten amazingly few shocks, considering my history of working and playing with electricity.
I am 53 years old and can probably haven't received more than a dozen shocks, most of them on the light side.
The worst ones we used to get as kids were from a defective refrigerator, right across the chest when we touched a steam pipe at the same time as the fridge handle.
Not knowing anything about electricity, my parents didn't realize there was anything wrong with the fridge, so they just taped the handle with electrical tape.
This was no leakage current. It was the full 115V. I recall once having to push a friend off when she got hung. We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt or died!
If there had been GFCI in those days, none of that would have happened. We would have understood that there was a problem because the GFCI would have kept tripping, and called an electrician, who would have told us to get a new refrigerator.
I guess my mom or dad should have called an electrician anyway.
We learn from our mistakes, as long as our mistakes don't kill us!
FW
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Last edited by KE2KB; 05-29-2009 at 10:36 AM.
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05-29-2009, 11:24 AM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: WV
Posts: 2,120
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
It's actually been quite a while since my last shocking experience (well, with electricity anyway). I've been doing everything from electronics to house wiring since I was a kid so I guess I'm getting better at working hot.
The worst shock I ever got was when I was in the Navy. While troubleshooting a transmitter problem I got my hand across 2300 volts. Made a nice little hole going in and going out.
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05-29-2009, 12:09 PM
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#14
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Newbie Bill
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 1,030
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
I learned to be scared of electricity as a kid. I got my first shock when I was plugging in something and the prongs were bent. So I took my finger and squeezed the prongs to fit in the outlet and inserted the plug. Zzzaaapp! I remember that lesson everytime I plug something into an outlet.
__________________
Bill
A DIY Noob that knows just enough to be dangerous.
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05-30-2009, 10:29 AM
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#15
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Old School
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: So. Florida
Posts: 133
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My first electrical shock - MAN, am I dumb.
I've welded screw drivers to panels, got zapped by 110V, 220V and 3PH. The worst shock I ever got was when I was a kid and got the juice off a running lawnmower from the little shutoff lever to the sparkplug. Oh wait, there was a time I got whammed by a coil wire off my car, and an AC capacitor. I guess it's a toss up. My arm is just tingling thinking about it.
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