I imagine many of us working with electricity have had the odd shock - and maybe even the odd electric shock.:wink:
A couple of incidents stick in my mind.
The first was when I was probably about 14. I grew up on a farm and sometimes we would put up a bit temporary electric fencing if we needed to isolate a few cattle. Electric fences produce high voltages in much the same way as car engine ignition systems. It's unpleasant but non-leathal. Well, I suppose it is a bit of a macho thing, but we used to see who could hold on to the fence for longest. So, I was holding on to it with one hand, and standing it wet grass. Then my dog came and sniffed my other hand as dogs do. I was wearing rubber boots - he wasn't. I, and the poor dog, got an almighty belt. Understandably, he was a bit nervous for a few days after that......
The other incident was far more serious. An old friend of mine went to change a fuse on a DC fed variable speed drive. The fuse was of the bolted in type. The drive also had an auxiliary AC feed. Unfortunately, he isolated only the AC supply. He had partly loosened the fuse when his wrench shorted between the fuse and ground. I wasn't there but I'm told that the wrench evaporated. He suffered serious burns to his face, chest, and arms. And he was off work for several months and had to have a number of skin grafts.
He did return to work, but he was a shadow of his former self. He had turned from being a man in robust good health with a wicked sense of humour to being like a frail old man.
A couple of incidents stick in my mind.
The first was when I was probably about 14. I grew up on a farm and sometimes we would put up a bit temporary electric fencing if we needed to isolate a few cattle. Electric fences produce high voltages in much the same way as car engine ignition systems. It's unpleasant but non-leathal. Well, I suppose it is a bit of a macho thing, but we used to see who could hold on to the fence for longest. So, I was holding on to it with one hand, and standing it wet grass. Then my dog came and sniffed my other hand as dogs do. I was wearing rubber boots - he wasn't. I, and the poor dog, got an almighty belt. Understandably, he was a bit nervous for a few days after that......
The other incident was far more serious. An old friend of mine went to change a fuse on a DC fed variable speed drive. The fuse was of the bolted in type. The drive also had an auxiliary AC feed. Unfortunately, he isolated only the AC supply. He had partly loosened the fuse when his wrench shorted between the fuse and ground. I wasn't there but I'm told that the wrench evaporated. He suffered serious burns to his face, chest, and arms. And he was off work for several months and had to have a number of skin grafts.
He did return to work, but he was a shadow of his former self. He had turned from being a man in robust good health with a wicked sense of humour to being like a frail old man.
