Great Message
So she never felt the slightest shock?there stood my 2 1/2 year old daughter, dripping wet, trying to pull the plug of the fan out of the extension cord.
but before I took a step, I heard 'click' as the GFCI tripped.
She giggled
The fan only has a two prong outlet so it must be double insulated. I don't know if she was grounded or not, but I assume so, soaking wet standing on the concrete floor of the garage. She didn't give any indication she was shocked in any way. Just 'click' and the fan stopped.So she never felt the slightest shock?
Was she grounded?
The fan plug had a ground pin?
I wonder if the water from her hands, and not her hands, provided the leakage path to ground.
<20mA gives a 1 second trip time, <100 mA does 0.1 sec and dumps less energy into the leakage path.
I just finished installing power out to my pole light. I am putting a GFCI on the outlet portion of it.
My garage has none, but based on this thread, I'll go ahead and upgrade those circuit(s) too.
I have a 3yr old boy and a 1 year old...i can see it now.....
I share your happiness from far away! This just shows how important it is to follow Rules and Regulations ALL the time! The NEC is here for our own protection! Sometimes, certain details in the National Electrical Code night seem trivial, or petty. But they are all based on experience and experiences. Some of them that had a happy ending and some tragic! Same wtih Traffic Regs. So let's resolve to stick to the rules all of the time!:thumbup::yes::no::drinkI was outside this afternoon with the kids. They were playing in the pool, and I had a box fan running in the garage to cool off while I puttered around gassing up the lawn mower and preparing to do some yard work. I looked up and there stood my 2 1/2 year old daughter, dripping wet, trying to pull the plug of the fan out of the extension cord. She had it gripped tight and was pulling as hard as she could. I started to go to her as quickly as I could but before I took a step, I heard 'click' as the GFCI tripped.
She giggled because the fan stopped, daddy about had a effing heart attack, and I took the cord away from her (it was partially pulled out). I rerouted the cord and moved the fan so she couldn't get to it again, then reset the breaker. I can't tell you how thankful I am I had this in my garage. If you have a plug outdoors or in a garage that isn't GFCI protected, replace it NOW.
Same goes for AFCIs! They're here to perform an important safety task. But they're not perfect, yet! But, they're getting better. The early versions were a joke. Today, the Combination AFCIs are much improved. So it goes with technology. If we look at computers (that itself is an outdated term) from a mere 20 years ago, we'd think the technology is at least Two centuries old!!!:laughing::no::drinkGuy at work had the exact same thing happen to him. Only it was 277 and luckily the apprentice had the presence of mind to mule kick him off of it.
Good to hear a positive testimonial for the GFCI. I'm still waiting for the AFCI ones to come trickling in.
And yet, look at the graph, fig. 6.7, in this linkThe fan only has a two prong outlet so it must be double insulated. I don't know if she was grounded or not, but I assume so, soaking wet standing on the concrete floor of the garage. She didn't give any indication she was shocked in any way. Just 'click' and the fan stopped.
According to this link, a Class A GFCI (the one that has a 6 milamp threshold) will trip in 6/1000 of a second with a greater than 6ma leak to ground.
http://www.2d2c.com/gfci.php
Whatever the technical aspects may be of trip curves and response times, the bottom line is it reacted fast enough to limit her exposure to apparently an undetectable level. Considering she was a dripping wet, 36 pound toddler with probably close to zero resistance to current flowing to ground, that is breathtakingly impressive performance from a safety device.And yet, look at the graph, fig. 6.7, in this link
http://books.google.com/books?id=NK...puHdCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1
The lower graph line shows 15 to 30 milliseconds reaction time for an unloaded and loaded electromechanical relay, the longer time due to the arc being quenched. This is plausible.
It also shows that typical GFCIs do not meet the UL reaction time/current spec's at these times; the next generation GFCIs may somehow respond faster.
For sure, she was grounded.
I have to think that some current passed through her, through her heart, to ground for a minimum of 15 mS. Probably the contact skin surface was very small, which limited the current.
It's scary.
That GFCI was in the right place at the right time.
GFCI, 1. Death, 0.
Let's hope Death doesn't ask for a rematch. He can go elsewhere, and pick on someone more deserving.
Re: The Guardian Angel, 35 out of ~100,000 2 yr. old girls in the US don't live to see their 3rd birthday, so this Angel is mostly on duty. Mostly.
Yes, and unlike an air bag which cancels out one deadly force with another deadly force (and so a balance must be maintained) all this does is open relay contacts faster than humans can react.. . .breathtakingly impressive performance from a safety device.
I'll remember that moment and that 'click' for the rest of my life..