nominal voltage to ground.

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a dryer plug which uses a 240 volt + neutral circuit,
if u were to make contact with both legs plus the neutral
is it possible to get a 240 volt shock??

ive heard 120volt to ground is the most u can get hit by in a residential system. any input would be great. thanks
 

don_resqcapt19

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Staff member
Location
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retired electrician
a dryer plug which uses a 240 volt + neutral circuit,
if u were to make contact with both legs plus the neutral
is it possible to get a 240 volt shock??

ive heard 120volt to ground is the most u can get hit by in a residential system. any input would be great. thanks
It is correct that the most you can get to ground is 120 volts, but you can get a 240 volt shock if you touch both of the hot legs.
 

nakulak

Senior Member
if you plug a flourescent ballast onto the phase conductors you can even get a much higher voltage shock
 

jeremysterling

Senior Member
Location
Austin, TX
I'll admit to getting a 240V shock from a range recept.

I turned off the range for the apartment next door, pulled the energized device out with both hands and got lit up thumb to thumb across the line.

I use my tester more often, now.

I did not touch neutral or ground, just the two line terminals.
 
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PetrosA

Senior Member
Dumbest thing I ever did? I used to clamp one of the leads from my tester between my teeth to check with the other lead for voltage presence on my old RCC 350. All was fine and dandy here in the US - never even felt a tingle, but me, I had to try it in Europe on a 220 line while I was grounded. I will NEVER forget that lesson.
 
I caught a snoot-full of 277 volts once.

I was troubleshooting a steam-table heater circuit which used 44o 3 phase heaters, it was located under the buffet in the galley, so I was sweating like a pig, and just to make things interesting, it was an "evolved" rather than a "designed" circuit, (at this point, the CS Long Lines was over 30 years old, Lord only knows what kind of booger-eatin' morons had been in there prior to my heaving-to.).
I'm pretty sure that because of the perspiration I was soaked in, all I got was a "skin pop" phase to ground, but that was still no fun whatsoever.

I backed out, checked that my wristwatch was still ticking, checked that my pulse was still pulsing, and proceeded to awe and amuse my shipmates by cursing for 10 straight minutes without repeating myself.
 

ItsHot

Senior Member
Dumbest thing I ever did? I used to clamp one of the leads from my tester between my teeth to check with the other lead for voltage presence on my old RCC 350. All was fine and dandy here in the US - never even felt a tingle, but me, I had to try it in Europe on a 220 line while I was grounded. I will NEVER forget that lesson.
That'll work in Australia also! Be careful out there!!:grin:
 

mivey

Senior Member
Why so .707 is a multiplier in a 3? service and also a ƒ of √ (root) this is a 1?, Right ? :grin:

In A/C parallel you add amps not voltages, in D/C you add resistances not voltage...
You are thinking of sqrt(3), I believe. Sqrt(2) is the RMS to peak factor.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I think the human body would behave as a resistive load, and thus the nominal voltage would apply, being equivalent in heating power to DC of the same voltage.
 

Smart $

Esteemed Member
Location
Ohio
I think the human body would behave as a resistive load, and thus the nominal voltage would apply, being equivalent in heating power to DC of the same voltage.
Don't know myself, but I find it rather amazing that a certain type of shock can kill you, yet another type could possibly safe your life.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Don't know myself, but I find it rather amazing that a certain type of shock can kill you, yet another type could possibly safe your life.
Well, there's stopping the heart permanently, and there's stopping it for a moment.

The good kind of shock is for defibrillation, which is a rapid and useless heartbeat.

It is amazing, and a great discovery.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
The good kind of shock is for defibrillation, which is a rapid and useless heartbeat.

It is amazing, and a great discovery.

I went looking for defrib info and found this diagram ......... something you don't see everyday ....... the electrical symbol for heart.

400px-Defrib.svg.png
 

jeremysterling

Senior Member
Location
Austin, TX
I was troubleshooting a steam-table heater circuit which used 44o 3 phase heaters, it was located under the buffet in the galley, so I was sweating like a pig, and just to make things interesting, it was an "evolved" rather than a "designed" circuit, (at this point, the CS Long Lines was over 30 years old, Lord only knows what kind of booger-eatin' morons had been in there prior to my heaving-to.)

I think the same moron EM's worked on the range of the USS Henry Clay. The 3 phase circuitry had "evolved" over the years so that the cook worked around several dead spots. I found a manual, swapped some wires around, and made fast friends with the cook which is always good.
 
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