24 votls / Low voltage death??!!

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brother said:
I always thought it was next to impossible to get hurt using low voltage (24 volts etc) . From what I understand this why alot of motor controls are going to this standard.

I recently heard of a 24 volt death, I will have get more details, but has anyone else heard of this before??
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It would have to be a burn related death, arc flash not shock.
 
arc flash , burn from 24v ? you've got to be kidding.

since it only takes 15 ma to kill you, having wet hands and a bad heart could kill you with low voltage, so yes, you can be killed with 24v under the right circumstances. unusual, but very possible. the key to this would be low skin resistance (wet hands, standing with bare feet on wet ground, etc)
 
Without penetration of the skin it is not likely that 24 volts can cause death by shock. There is some literature that says only a few volts in water can incapacitate a person to the point that he can't swim or get out of the water.
 
Talk to the people who do DC systems for telecom plants. I don't think that 24V can maintain an arc through the air on an extended basis like 480V can, but a 24V high current source can certainly cause _lots_ of thermal damage, say if a tool is dropped across the bus bars.

-Jon
 
winnie said:
Talk to the people who do DC systems for telecom plants. I don't think that 24V can maintain an arc through the air on an extended basis like 480V can, but a 24V high current source can certainly cause _lots_ of thermal damage, say if a tool is dropped across the bus bars.

-Jon
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This is what I was thinking.
 
nakulak said:
arc flash , burn from 24v ? you've got to be kidding.
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No it is not a joke. Take it from someone in the telecom sector, even a 12 VDC battery system can vaporize your tool if dropped across the buss.

I have some 12,000 AH battery banks @ 24 volts, and countless 28,000 AH plants @ 48 VDC.

I have seen the 2-inch solid steel side rail of cable rack with a 4 inch section burned away in an instant from contact. Makes one heck of an arc flash and fire ball.

Besides there is also a welders trick when in a pinch. You can weld with a car battery.
 
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dereckbc said:
No it is not a joke. Take it from someone in the telecom sector, even a 12 VDC battery system can vaporize your tool if dropped across the buss.

I have some 12,000 AH battery banks @ 24 volts, and countless 28,000 AH plants @ 48 VDC.

I have seen the 2-inch solid steel side rail of cable rack with a 4 inch section burned away in an instant from contact. Makes one heck of an arc flash and fire ball.

Besides there is also a welders trick when in a pinch. You can weld with a car battery.
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So this has to due more with the 'amps' here right?? not the voltage. and as someone has said, Ive heard of situations in marinas/boats water that only a few volts (ie 20 v) caused parallysis and a person died/drowned.
 
brother said:
So this has to due more with the 'amps' here right?? not the voltage. and as someone has said, Ive heard of situations in marinas/boats water that only a few volts (ie 20 v) caused parallysis and a person died/drowned.
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amps? You bet. How many folks have accidently touched both posts of a 12v battery with a metal tool ?
 
augie47 said:
amps? You bet. How many folks have accidentally touched both posts of a 12v battery with a metal tool ?
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I have done some "accidental" tack welding as a teenager working under the hood without disconnecting the battery. If the voltage were an issue at 24v we would here about a lot more injury's because almost every large diesel truck runs a 24v battery set in them.
 
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