Got lots of hits on a survey a few years back on ‘surviving falls’, now need some info on experiences with electrical shock.
Need some survey data, especially if anyone has ever fallen or even backed into something because you were startled by an electrical shock. Who knows, this could make a good FHB article.
Some recent safety publications have called out that voltages well under 1 volt are hazardous, which is hard to believe for various reasons, and am doing a study to refute some of the super conservative opinions that took worst case scenarios and mixed ‘apples and oranges” .
Spent about 10 hours last week with my feet in buckets of 14% salt water turning the dial on a variac doing experiments on myself untill my feet were shaking, but that is only a cross section of 1 person. DW agreed to some tests also, she is at the far end of sensitivity from me, she quit at about 2 mA, whereas 20 mA was about my pain limit.
Please describe any direct experiences, even anecdotal or 2nd hand.
Thanks.
Own case as a starter: earliest recollection is the 1 mA shocks one used to get from old tube phonographs – sitting on warm air duct, touching phono arm which was tied to 120 VBac via 0.02 uF cap (normal back inthose days to reduce hum).
Lot of shocks at 500 v from tube TVs in the 50s, 15 and 25 kV from CRTs, still check 120 vac with fingers often. Got across a 3 kV 10A xfmr once when in 20’s and still careless, sat in stunned shock for about 5 minutes deceiding I was still alive. Have been startled by 270 vdc troubleshooting power systems, nasty jolts that, but pretty harmless if you are sure you are dry with no cuts on the hand doing the work (one-handed of course).
Replies
For years literature recorded that the lowest known voltage to electrocute someone (outside of a medical setting or a contrived setting) was about 50V AC. One such incident occurred around 1900 with someone working on the generator for an arc lamp.
I recall recently seeing, though, a claim that an electrocution at a lower voltage (below 25, I believe) had been recorded in the past 15-25 years. Don't know anything about the incident, though.
I got jolted dozens of times as a kid, when I was fooling with tube electronics and other assorted stuff. Haven't had a shock for a few years, though (and not planning on standing in any buckets of salt water to "advance science" either).
As a practical matter, I think if you're dry (change those Depends!) you're safe to 50-75V, unless you're one of those odd folks who have abnormal skin (you know who you are!). Which means that with safety margin 50V is a logical cutoff.
However, it's important to remember that currents tend to be higher at lower voltages (especially in commercial/industrial equipment) and burns due especially to jewelry coming between poles is a significant hazard. I know that a number of injuries have occurred due to the high-current DC supplies in large computers.
"Spent about 10 hours last week with my feet in buckets of 14% salt water turning the dial on a variac doing experiments on myself untill my feet were shaking"
you need to collect stamps,
butterflies,
hummel figurines,
anything . . .
ye gods, man
Draftguy,Don't make a bad assumption.He's a rocket scientist.Empirical testing comes with the territory.He's willing to do the testing to get the data he needs. He's not nuts, he's doing the job the way he knows how. And he wouldn't do anything "dangerous" without all kinds of safeguards in place.
A good heart embiggens even the smallest person.
i know, the response was meant to be partially tongue-in-cheek. I've read junkman's threads before and i would trust his methods. If anyone were to stick his feet in pails of water and grab on to a live wire, i'm glad it was him. <g>OTOH, my father teaches graduate level electrical engineering and used to be a professional witness in court cases involving electrical accidents. i grew up with hearing stories of the family dying in a trailer park fire, the guy shocked to death from a loose cover on a train generator, the worker who lost an arm from a die press, the child's body found dangling on a power line because he was trying to get to the pretty insulator, etc.. As enjoyable as the stories in this thread are to read, i'd hate for anyone to not take it seriously. And a lot of these responses are focusing on skin resistance to electricity. What scares me is the heart. It doesn't take that much put someone with a bad ticker into arrhythmia. Or worse.no offense to anyone . . . now all of you put your goggles and lead-lined underwear back on (you can't be too careful . . .)
=0)
A good heart embiggens even the smallest person.
I have two forgettable experiences,
the first was when I was an apprentice and was troubleshooting a motor in class, I was using a continuity tester that was also a penlight, my partner was runni his mouth and I was not paying attention to the task, I stuck the tester into the disco .....across tthe line side....
and got my bell rung by 480vac.
The batteries inside exploded and the whole penlight got very hot, very fast....I ended up on the floor with burns on one hand and felt like crap the rest of the day....
The second incident..
A 208 3 ph 225a panel that was fed with Al blew itself apart, it was the Friday before Memorial Day in 1977....
the panel was fed from the adjacent service and only C phase was still energized even though the panel was literally a smoking piece of junk.
I went back to the shop grabbed a new panel and headed back ....the customer was STILL using the circuits that were hot.I told the shop foreman that power was going off in five minutes, then shut off the feed started to rip the last wire out, when somebody yelled to turn the power back on.
I was pizzed off, but jammed the wire back in, tightened the lug using a T handle hex wrench reached over and.using my free hand.....turned it on...... the sreaming started and then
nothing
......when I came to, the paramedics were there with the paddles...I was stretched out on the floor the wrench was still in my hand the lug was on the end of it. and I had managed to pull the panel off the wall , it was laying on my legs
ended up ripping the skin off of both hands, and bashing my head against the floor.
I was taken to the hospital ,and then things got weird......and I was pretty sore all over
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As a kid, playing with the electric wood burning set, I discovered that not only would water hiss and make steam when you put it in, but your fingers would feel like they were vibrating if you stuck them in to or were holding the metal can as you dipped it in.
At my grade school, there was a thermostat with a broken cover in the bathroom. We would make a chain of kids, holding hands, with one end holding onto the urinal water feed and the other grabbing the bare braided wire inside the thermostat. Great fun!
Hey, did I tell you about dropping out of trees onto my head on purpose?
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I was about twelve or thirteen, changing a light bulb in an old lamp that had a pot metal base, the wiring had apparently shorted to the base and the bulb went out. I grabbed it and couldn't let go. Had the presence of mind to yell something, my mother came downstairs and also had presence of mind to unplug the lamp. I was a hurtin' kid for a while. I dunno why it didn't kill me.
Didn't feel a thing
cool......
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Boats, thanks for that link, one of the best 'startle' videos in existence!
Was it an electrified barbed wire and yu touched a barb or was it plain wire - if you recall. Thanks.
When I watched your post, I laughed so hard my wife had to get out of bed and make sure I was alright (and see what was so dang funny). Was that you? It coulda been me on more than one occasion, but I don't recall owning a coat quite like that!
Edited 8/24/2006 12:05 am by luckymudster
Lets see.....
there is a reason I dont like electricity....
I started small. licking the occassional 9 Volt battery to see if it had juice.
Then as a teenager I was "trying to fix" the stove hood for my mother and me and my screwdriver became part of a circuit.... did a little thrashing about..... fell down broke the circuit and then ok...
Later I tried to electrify a doorknob with a stripped extension cord. (that one is probably tops of my really dumb decision list) big zap, fried outlet.
I have one or two other near misses (replacing a live ballast on a flourescent light... ) and now, I know the number of a great electrician, and it is a big victory for me to even change out light bulbs.
"Later I tried to electrify a doorknob with a stripped extension cord. (that one is probably tops of my really dumb decision list) big zap, fried outlet. "
Which of course begs the question, why would you want to electrify the doorknob. Who were you trying to suprise?
I had a roomate who had a herion problem (well he didnt have the problem, he consumed lots of it just fine, along with other assorted illegal drugs) and would come back from all night benders sans clothes at 3am tbe morning of a big exam. He would make quite an entrance, scare the heck out of me, trash the room and pass out.
The idea of having him just out in the hall and stepping over him on the way to class was too tempting.
Locking the door led to him pounding on it and waking the entire wing of the dorm or his trying to crawl through the window. which only worked about 50% of the time.
That was funny
Guy stoned out of his mind stuck in a window.
LOL that is a funny image. I had a feeling there was a funny story behind that one.
Some of the electric fence chargers nowdays are brutal. I have accidently gotten into them and it is like getting hit with a baseball bat. You are jumping backwards before you know what happened.
There used to be an old farmer around here that would grab someones fence and tell them it wasn't working. When they would go stand beside him, he would hold his finger about a half inch from their earlobe. A spark would hit em and knock them flying.
I don't think it is a matter of pain tolerence because I think there is involuntary muscle movement involved. This guy apparently had no special shoes that would keep him from being grounded. These fencers are made to shock thousand pound animals with thick hair and dry hooves on dry ground.
I think different nervous systems react differently to the same current.
When I lived in Western Washington, there was a old farmer who'd do the same thing.Do ya think it's something about "Western?" (Yea, I peeked at your profile) ;)
It would be a good study to see if strange old geezers are evenly distributed over a state or if they congregate in the western parts.
Whatever, they're probably magnetized and point north-south.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I watched a journeyman electrician wrestle an extension ladder up through a t-bar ceiling grid, climb up to make up some wires, and after a minute or two he dropped his wire strippers. Instead of coming down or asking for an apprentice toss he finishes stripping what was evidently the last wire with his teeth. It was a 277 volt lighting system and hot. He managed to bite through his tongue and proceed to cauterize it with the electricity. Only after the emt's arrived did they also realise he had grounded himself with a nipple ring through a sweaty t-shirt, and there was more damage in that area also.
OK, my question is if they are magnatized to point north-south (which, by the way, I have no issue with, it's as likely as anything), why were they in the western parts of two states. That is, two that we know of! LOL
Right hand rule. Since the North Pole is actually a South, you have to point your thumb towards the South Pole. The magnetized folks tend to migrate in the direction of the curled fingers -- west.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
They only point to the north if they have been taking iron pills and viagra at the same time......
makes it difficult to drive......cant turn the wheel right or left....
Is that personal experience speaking? Myself, I don't know how to drive! ;)
Got shocked in an electrical box one time with a screwdriver in hand - planted it just over eyebrow.
Got several "zaps" with 120 - nothing sustained. Could always get away.
Got zapped putting in flourescent tubes - don't put your finger over the two prongs on the end when installing.
Dad almost died when using a stainless steel fogger for bug spray - grabbed the furnace room steel door. Got loose on the third kick in an empty building.
There was a certain principle illustrated on grandpa's farm when a kid, that a electric fence will conduct through liquid.
My Mom told me that when I was 2-3 years old, I grabbed an electrified fence and couldn't let go of it. Dad ran over and knocked me away from it and I was fine.
When I've told people about that over the years, they often give me a funny look and say that that may explain quite a bit - lol.
someone has already done a lot of the testing - googled human skin resistance in ohms and got this
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html
from what I remember from college (about 30 yrs ago)
human skin dry - 50k ohms resistance, wet - 5k ohms
current is more dangerous than voltage - voltage burns, current shocks (like when we say "CLEAR" - SHOCKING")
on a practical note, since a Verizon guy just died from 7200v jumping from the main line to him working on a phone line in a bucket on a miserable hot day, 2nd/3rd degree burns on about 60%, arm amputated before passing - what the H*** are you doing?
do some on-line research, unless you want the DW to collect the insurance early
do some on-line research---- well, that and more ---
Thanks for the concern, but not to worry for my safety -- my test setup has 4 levels of fail-safe to keep currents below 20 mA.
Lot of what is on the open web is just regurgitation of 40 year old data and a little more recent data.
That is what this thread is about, requests for first hand experience.
I have read all of Dalziel's papers, most of Freiberger's, Biegelmeister's, Osypka's, Freisleben's and Fitzgerald's papers on the subject. Also have Reilly's book, "Applied Bioelectricity" which summarizes much of the present knowledge. Also have UL and BS and IEEE and IEC specification, etc, etc.
What I am most interested in are stories of "startle" reactions, of which Reilly's book devotes all of 1-1/2 pages out of 600. As much info on that reaction is already in this thead as anything else, except for the 1968 Smoot papers on experiments done on women for UL consumer appliance specification derivations.
FWIW, my feet to the ankles in salt water along with my hands are about 414 ohms, pretty constant from DC to 1 kHz, currents under 20 mA. 20 mA I canstart to feel tightening of forearm and hand muscles. All previous data says about 15 mA max, but that is only for hand to hand, so you can start to get an idea how limited real data is.
Dalziel electrocuted over 10,000 sheep and pigs form the 1930's thru the 1960's to get his fibrillation (electrocution data). Biggest samples to date for startle reactions are about 20 people, so you can see how the responses to this question on BT actually DO add alot to the overall knowledge base.
Should have gone to the fest with my test apparatus <G>
Edited 8/22/2006 11:27 pm ET by junkhound
Edited 8/22/2006 11:29 pm ET by junkhound
Seriously, I'll send you some beer if you promise to stop experimenting on yourself.
Maybe you should ask around here for a better waste/use of your time?
Once got 700VDC by leaving tip of my finger on metal of probe. One second testing fuse, next sitting on my butt 5 feet away. Don't know if it was me jumping back, collapsing, or the voltage. Had an irregular heartbeat for two days, generally felt like crap for three more, and a burn on my fingertip that lasted for about five years.
Recently client had an Invisible Fence installed to corral six mini pinschers, complained to me that dogs were now afraid to go outside. Strapped a collar on my forearm right below the elbow, and stuck it over the line. Man, what a jolt, it locked my hand into a fist and had me moving backwards without even thinking about it.
Apparently, there are settings for small, medium, and large dogs. That was medium. After a month she was able to remove the batteries from the collars, the dogs were so afraid of it.
Art, I always surprised when the sparks fly. I never burn a second notch in my old dikes, it's always a fresh pair or strippers that has the new notch.
Back in the early 60s Disneyland had these gizmos with two knobs you held onto & got an electrical charge.
It would eventually straighten out my arms and as I recall left me feeling kinda sore after a few goes.
They took them out at some point, I know when I took my kids to Disneyland they were gone. They were a lot of fun, any idea what they were?
Joe H
Here's a kind nobody has mentioned yet, I've been shocked many times by static electricity. Don't laugh, if you you have to hook up helicopter longlines in dry air, it's a heck of a shock. The 125' cable builds up a lot of static charge as the helicopter flies around for a few miles before you grab the hook at the bottom. I think this is in the category of very high voltage, low current.
Other than that, i've had a shock while taking out a zinsco breaker, just enough to scare me. I don't know what conducted elctricity to me in that situation, but I know that it did.
zak
"so it goes"
junkhound,
I took a 220 volt 30 amp hit that bit me and wouldn't let go.
I was standing on a cast iron drain at the time..
It took about three decades (or so it seemed ) for me to buckle my knee and fall off the line. (co-worker claimed only about 30 seconds for some strange reason)
What actually saved me was it was pouring down rain and I was fully soaked thus it was just as easy for the electricity to travel around me as thru me and I was saved from damage..
Just a week or so ago I touched a 220 main line but I had rubber soled shoes on and the "bite" was a mere tingle..
Back in the early 70's I got zapped by 13.2 (13,200 volts). I was in a bucket truck, touched the 7mm strand supporting the local telephone cable and must have jumped out of the bucket from a standing position. I awoke and saw a beautiful green kaleidoscope which was the grass and shrubs below me - I was slowing spinning, I was hanging by my bodybelt and lanyard. I had a weird side affect for two or three weeks; my body temperature would swing from 94 to 103 degrees and I passed out a few times. I finally returned to normal. I had no burns and saw no flash.
The local power, phone, and CATV companies all investigated the incident. Here's what had happened:
I had backed my truck over an anthill, grounding the truck
Someone had shot one of the power company's insulators and the wire was resting against a bracket that was bonded to the CATV strand, the telephone cable strand and ran down to a ground rod. The wire at the ground rod was disconnected or broken.
The local power company was in the area looking for the fault. They pulled up about 20 minutes after I was zapped. I told them of my getting shocked and they expressed thanks for helping them find the fault! And these were guys I had shared coffee with!
Don't assume anything. Don't trust anything. Be careful. Wear all safety equipment. Make sure someone knows where you are working in case you get hurt and can't summon help. Believe in God.
You're nuts.
Many years ago, working for a gc in an office job, decided that we needed to move a light fixture in the office we were occupying. So I turned off the switch and stood on top of a desk to reach as high as I could to undo the wirenut. Turns out it was a 277 circuit and the hot was still hot. Knocked me off the desk.
Several years ago, helping fix up a house for old folks, the only had a 2-prong outlet available so I used an adaptor for my mitersaw. The saw was on the ground, which was damp, and evertime I toucherd the metal fence I got a tingle.
I remember my first electric razor. I unplugged the cord from the razor, the other end still in the wall outlet, and I had to do something with the cord while I cleaned out the razor, so I stuck the cord in my mouth. Hello tongue!
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Edited 8/23/2006 10:26 am ET by FastEddie
Have you checked with the Health and Safety dept. at the local electrical union? If no local, try the national union in Washington.
Thanks for the suggestion, have essentially done just that a while back. A good link of all industrial accidents is on:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
Unfortunately, in more than one way, most of the NIOSH reports deal with fatalities, there are very few reports of minor injuries, low level injuries or startle are the type of reactions I am trying to find case histories about.
edit: here are an example of info on the NIOSH site, literally hundereds of case histories, this set poingant in the need for you and your co-workers to be CPR trained and to know where disconnects are.
Case #1--SUCCESSFUL RESUSCITATION
A 30-year-old construction worker was working on a fire escape in a building being renovated. Another worker handed the victim a metal pipe, and he was holding it with both hands when it contacted a nearby high voltage line, completing a path-to-ground. The worker instantly collapsed from this contact with electrical energy. Approximately 4 minutes after he collapsed, the fire department rescue squad arrived and began CPR. Within 6 minutes, a paramedic unit was on the scene providing defibrillation and other ACLS measures. They were able to establish a heartbeat and pulse, but the individual continued to require respiratory support during transport to the hospital. He regained consciousness and was discharged within two weeks. He did have to return for further medical care for burns he received on his hands (current entrance) and buttocks (current exit) [6].
Case #2--UNSUCCESSFUL RESUSCITATION
An 18-year-old male restaurant worker contacted electrical energy when he kneeled to plug a portable electric toaster into a 100-120 V/20 amp floor outlet. After a scream was heard, the victim was found convulsing on the damp floor, with one hand on the plug and the other on the receptacle box. The assistant manager went to the electrical panel, but was unable to locate the appropriate circuit breaker. A coworker attempting to take the victim's pulse received an electrical shock, but was not injured. After telephoning the emergency medical service, the assistant manager returned to the panel and de-energized all of the circuits (3 to 8 minutes after the worker contacted electrical energy). The injured worker was covered with a coat to "keep him warm." After about 5 minutes, another call was placed to the emergency squad, and the assistant manager "yelled" for an off-duty employee who lived in an apartment across the lot, who came and began CPR. The emergency service was on the scene 10 minutes after receiving the first call. ACLS measures were available but the resuscitation was unsuccessful and the worker was pronounced "dead on arrival" at the local hospital. The exact time span between the worker contacting electrical energy and the beginning of CPR is unknown, but it is reasonable to assume that it was longer than 4 to 6 minutes. Paramedics with ACLS capability arrived 10 minutes after receiving the call, but more than 10 minutes after the accident occurred [7].
CONCLUSIONS
In Case #1, basic life support was begun within 4 minutes by the fire department rescue squad who happened to be stationed nearby. They were experienced and had up-to-date knowledge in CPR techniques. In this case, CPR was begun within the 4-minute recommendation. An ambulance, equipped and staffed to provide ACLS, arrived within 6 minutes. The standards and guidelines [5] for CPR within 4 minutes, and ACLS within 8 minutes, were met and the worker did survive.
In Case #2, the worker's contact with electrical energy was prolonged and a coworker who aided him received an electrical shock, because coworkers did not know how to de-energize the circuit. The optimal times for CPR and ACLS were exceeded, and the resuscitation was unsuccessful. Providing appropriate medical care after an electrical energy incident will not guarantee success. However, it has been reported elsewhere [5] and supported in the NIOSH case reports, the chance for successful resuscitation after cardiopulmonary arrest is best when the criteria for providing emergency medical care are met.
Edited 8/23/2006 11:14 am ET by junkhound
I was popped while hooking a 208v flourecent fixture back up.
I needed to rehang the fixture in a utilities vault at the airport. I had several insulators in there doing what they do on 6 & 8 inch pipe. I didn't want to slow them down (even for the 60 seconds needed) by flipping the light switch OFF for a moment.
I'd seen real electricians put a wire nut on a live circuit before, looked easy as pie. So I started with the blacks. Grabbed one, then the other to put them together and the white wire contacted the back side of my hand. It was like the voltaged came through the still lamped fixture.
It was a momentary jolt, but sure did elevate my heart rate for a little while. I stepped back , folded my arms across my chest, and just stared at the box. Somebody on the grating level above me asked after several seconds "Bill, you OK?" - Thankfully I was.
I don't play real electrician anymore. The circuits are deenergized, checked and rechecked.
TFB (Bill)
Several years ago when I lived in a tract of pre-built houses, one of the neighbors decided to put up one of those large ham antenna. When it fell on the high voltage line, he could not let go. His son came to his rescue and got locked on also. Then the father-in-law decided to join the party. That poor woman lost her husband, her only son and her father in one sad moment.
Since then, I have insisted on buying houses that have underground wiring service and no lines in the air. Be safe.
Kind of hearsay but I had a highschool physics teacher whos friend also a physics teacher took apart a microwave and got zapped by the capacator. His arm went dead for an hour. Next he had his wife hold the ground wire to the ground or some metal frame but apparently she didn't hold it correctly. This time his arm went dead for the rest of the day. I think he tried again but this time he secured the wire to a ground and was sucessful.
Long before I was born (in the 30s, I think), my grandfather operated (among other businesses) a auto repair business. He had 3 sons who worked with him. One day they hooked up the battery charger to the battery in the wrecker.
The battery chargers of this era were often no more than a rectifier (selenium or mercury vapor) and a resistor in series with the battery on the 120V line. Proper procedure was to remove the battery from the vehicle before attaching this charger, but someone was in a hurry.
Anyway, one son grabbed hold of the winch cable on the wrecker and was frozen in place. Second son grabbed hold of first son to try to pull him loose and also froze. Father then knocked the charger cables loose with a coke bottle. One son survived, the other didn't.
Only slightly related: A coworker was biking with a group in Wisconsin. As he pulled into a rest stop his heart stopped. (He was in good physical condition but has a family history of such things.) Someone had a cell and called 911, and a crew was dispatched from a fire hall only two blocks away. They got there in 3 minutes, got him started, wisked him to an ER 10 blocks away, and then he was airlifted to a larger hospital. After emergency surgery for angioplasty and a pacemaker he was out of the hospital in two days.
Sometimes you're stupid, sometimes you're unlucky, sometimes you're lucky.
Many years ago when I was living in upstate NY, I was learning to service oil fired home heating units. My partner and I were rummaging in a box at the shop and found an old tester for testing the secondary on oil burner transformers. It looked like a glorified ice pick with a pig tail coming off the handle end and there was a knob that you turned to make the test. So at the next service call, we thought it would be a good idea to test the tester. So I hooked it up, turned on the burner switch, and, turned the knob. The next thing I knew, there was a big flash, and I was sitting on my rear end about five or six feet away, with a dazed look. Later on, I found the cracked insulator on the tester and made sure it wasn't used again.
when i was about 15... and CB radios where big... some friends & I thought put'n up base station towers would be a fun thing to do (like better than earn'n money cut'n grass) we all had base stations and had done our own... guy wired towers, free standing towers, and push ups....
after replace'n a push up for a guy with a 50ft free standing tower he gave us his old pushup (40ft) it was kinda rusted and didn't slide like it should but... a friend that helped us wanted it for his yard...
on a rainy sat morning with a post hole digger (hand) we soon had a 5ft deep hole to set it in (his old drunk uncle dug the whole thing for a pack of Camels) since the pole wouldn't push up like it should we pulled it out locked it in place and attached the antenna... with me, my friend, his drunk uncle and a kid from down the street.., we proceeded to lift all 50ft (the antenna was 9ft) with the hopes of get'n the end in the hole and then guywire'n it off.... we just about had it in the hole when it swung to one side made contact with the upper most powerlines....
what i saw
red... lots of red... i was closest to the hole on the bottom of the pole...i was looking down...
next... i knew i was alright... i could see me lay'n aprox 40 ft from the hole... mark (the kid who was to own the pole) was run'n around like a chicken... dale (the drunk uncle) was a dark shade of blue not far from the hole... and Jeff (the kid from down the street) was about 30ft on the far side of the hole from me... he also was blue but not as dark as dale.... I looked fine... i could see me lay'n there like i was on the roof look'n down.... there were 4-5 people look'n over the fence from the west... and i was yell'n (in an unheard voice help dale & jeff)... I don't know a time frame but the paramedics got there and i was closest to the gate so they came to me first... I knew i was alright and thought i was tell'n em so and that dale & jeff needed them NOW... they tell me they used the electric shock paddles to bring be back... but i don't remember that part... after that i remember seeing jeff brought too... and them working very hard and long on dale.... i was ok enough that i rode in the front seat of the ambulance while jeff and dale were in the back... i remember hear'n them cussing over "lose'n" dale several times on the way to the hospital...
it blew the tennis shoes off my feet... we never found them... and i looked.... it burnt my feet and my right knee (you get burned where the current leaves your body not where it goes in) i only stayed the nite in the hospital, jeff a few days and dale many weeks... dale was never exacly "right" after that... they told me he died at least 7 times that day... if i remember right... several years later he died for the final time... I'm not sure if he lived to 40....
it took 3-4 years before i'd screw in a light bulb... I'm still not fond of deal'n with electricty but... do what you have to do...
but for the grace of god
p
i forgot/left out...
it seems the alum antenna part was the part the landed on the upper most power wires... where it laid until it burnt through... once it burnt in half i guess thats when it disconnected as it was able to go ahead and fall... they did say had it landed/contacted on the steel part we'd have been subject to alot longer shock, they told me that mark (the guy run'n around after) must have been touching me & jeff and it just passed thru him... I'm more inclinded to believe known'n mark... he wasn't do'n anything but watch us work.... this is the same cat that dialed a wrong number and won a trip for being the correct caller....
Edited 8/23/2006 9:14 pm ET by ponytl
Edited 8/24/2006 6:46 pm ET by ponytl
Edited 8/24/2006 6:54 pm ET by ponytl
dang pony, what a story!
be how come you weren't at the fest?
We can imagine something that only exists in our heads, in a form that has no measureable, tangible reality, and make it actually occur in the real world. Where there was nothing, now there is something.Forrest - makin' magic every day
lucky ain't the word huh? I now wear gloves for almost everything I do, I don't know if it is because of my accident or just some other screwy phobia, but I keep about 400 pair of gloves on hand ......almost of them are leather.
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.Wer ist jetzt der Idiot
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I assume kids in Europe get hit with 220V all the time by accident. The Polish fellow I work with swears he's been shocked a number of times by it.
I can still remember my fourth grade friend telling us about his father swearing that if he pees on the electric fence, it'll make sparks. Jason was a smart kid, but he never trusted his father again.
I once shocked myself with 12VDC, tightening a battery terminal under the hood of a car. 1/4" 10mm ratchet went too far and hit an A/C hard line (?), pulled my hand back but left the wrench. I kicked it off but it was pretty hot for a while.
I've been zapped a few times with 120VAC at outlets, just not being careful. Zap, and pull my hand away. The one serious shock I've had was a few months ago. Late one Friday night at work by myself, raising my car on the 4 post lift (240V) to fix an exhaust leak. My right index finger's on the metal button and the car is going up. I look over at the door next to me and wonder if it's locked (leads to closet then outside, building guys forget to lock it often). I reach over with my left hand to turn the knob (of the steel door) and can't let go. It felt like mintues, although I'm sure it was only about 10 or 12 seconds (I think). It was long enough for me to tell myself to let go over and over and over. I was finally able to get my finger off the button. I was quite scared, heart racing, my right finger hurt the worst. My left arm was sore for a while, but fine the next day. I called my wife and then a friend just to let them know if they didn't hear from me in a bit to come find me, but I was OK and got the exhaust leak fixed.
Monday morning I had our building manager check out the wiring at the lift, turns out the extension cable my co- worker made wasn't so great. The ground wire slipped off the terminal inside the box. Nice. I still make sure not to touch anything when lifting a car...
Well can't hold a candle to the 13k story, but I have only had three times that are memorable,,,First was a ham transmitter that had 800v on the plate, and the meter that measured the plate current,,,stuck my hand inside for some obscure reason and touched the meter lead and got a nice whack...
Other time was many more years than I care to acknowledge,,,was working for a tv rental/repair place..boss sez go by and look at this guys tv...I did and while not paying attention (they were tube type tv's) I pulled an arc off of the flyback hv supply tube lead, probably 20kv. Burned a hole in the end of my finger and hand was numb for two days....
Worst one was last year...I was changing the filter on the fan on my hood over the grill and made really good contact with the grill with one hand and the hood with the other. the grill was grounded thru the gas line and the hot lead on the hood (120v) was shorted to the hood, that was floating. Like being hit with a 2x4...
It was probably the worst because I was well connected to the ground of the grill...Other times I was floating (so to speak).BudEdit to add, one of the rules of fooling around with hv stuff is always keep one hand in your pocket so you don't complete the circuit thru your body....
Edited 8/23/2006 11:59 pm ET by seb
Well, not a "real" shock, but...
as a kid I was climbing through a horsefence that had a wire along the bottom wooden slat. Brushed it with my belly and it arched my back to the upper slat about a foot or more away. Had scars on my back for years where it hit the wood (could still - I'm not limber enough to look anymore). Nothing on the front where I brushed the wire. My family never believed me that it happened - those wires don't have that much of a charge.
A long time ago arcades use to have this electrical 'game'. It had 2 metal handles you held to see how much voltage you could take. I remember the more power you took on, the more your muscles tensed, making it almost impossible to let go. Paying to be electrocuted. Can't imagine why they don't have those machines any more.....
I used to be a radio announcer....AM radio....engineer comes back to the studio after a visit out to the transmitter/tower site. He showed me a deep burn down his right index finger, nearly to the bone.
He had been up close to one of the towers, clearing weeds, I think, and inadvertently touched the tower. The arc lasted a few seconds...enough for him to HEAR MY VOICE in the arc, as I was doing station ID at the time.
He said it was more like a micro-wave burn than one you would get from a flame.