Voltage

[GoldDigger]

A really big hazard from a 12V DC battery system like a car or truck is the amount of current that can be delivered into a short circuit.
If you are wearing a ring and it bridges between + and - you will not be electrocuted, but you might burn your ring finger off.

 

[kwired]

A really big hazard from a 12V DC battery system like a car or truck is the amount of current that can be delivered into a short circuit.
If you are wearing a ring and it bridges between + and - you will not be electrocuted, but you might burn your ring finger off.

And adding more batteries in parallel increases how much current might be available even though the operating volts remains the same.

 

[paulengr]

A really big hazard from a 12V DC battery system like a car or truck is the amount of current that can be delivered into a short circuit.
If you are wearing a ring and it bridges between + and - you will not be electrocuted, but you might burn your ring finger off.

Please explain,

12 V / 1000 ohms = 12 mA. Enough to feel it but not nearly enough for organ damage.

Shock us shock. 1 micro amp is a shock. You won’t even feel it but it is technically a shock.

 

[drcampbell]

Please explain,
12 V / 1000 ohms = 12 mA. Enough to feel it but not nearly enough for organ damage. ...

The impedance of a ring is a whole lot less than 1000Ω. Less than one ohm, in fact.

 

[kwired]

Please explain,

12 V / 1000 ohms = 12 mA. Enough to feel it but not nearly enough for organ damage.

Shock us shock. 1 micro amp is a shock. You won’t even feel it but it is technically a shock.

A really big hazard from a 12V DC battery system like a car or truck is the amount of current that can be delivered into a short circuit.
If you are wearing a ring and it bridges between + and - you will not be electrocuted, but you might burn your ring finger off.

Think you missed some information in there? This should be a very low resistance between the supply terminals, it should get very hot very quickly and will burn you.

 

[paulengr]

The impedance of a ring is a whole lot less than 1000Ω. Less than one ohm, in fact.

How does this cause organ damage?


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[paulengr]

After all of that, yes, 3 12v batteries in parallel is still 12v.

You would have to work very hard to feel anything from 12v. Not really an issue in normal circumstances.

Yes, DC can injure or kill you. The threshold is generally considered to be a bit higher than with AC.

Yes, DC can cause dysrhythmias in the heart. That’s how it kills you, along with burns and other organ damage.

How can it cause arrhythmia? Point to a scientific study. IEC got this totally wrong. See below:

https://www.premierpowerinc.com/docs/Effects_of_Electric_Shock_on_Man.pdf

The “DC” referred to is PWM DC. Straight DC doesn’t do it. It has to be pulsed or it won’t interfere with the P wave if the heart.

 

[kwired]

How does this cause organ damage?


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You brought up the "organ damage", in a reply to situation where it was said "might burn your finger off" Burn it off might been a little extreme but at same time not impossible. Severe burns is still pretty very likely in that scenario though.

 

[drcampbell]

... "burn your finger off" ... might been a little extreme but at same time not impossible. Severe burns is still pretty very likely ...

Doesn't sound "extreme" to me at all.

I once saw a wrench get hot enough to turn cherry red. It took a lot of force to loosen the ground terminal clamp, I wasn't thinking about where the other end of the wrench would go, and when it broke free, it landed on the other terminal. After the fact, the chrome plating was greenish-yellowish and matte/dusty.

It's not difficult to envision the same thing happening to a ring if, say, you were reaching into a confined space to remove the starter motor's battery terminal and your ring got jammed between the wrench and a good ground.

 

[kwired]

Doesn't sound "extreme" to me at all.

I once saw a wrench get hot enough to turn cherry red. It took a lot of force to loosen the ground terminal clamp, I wasn't thinking about where the other end of the wrench would go, and when it broke free, it landed on the other terminal. After the fact, the chrome plating was greenish-yellowish and matte/dusty.

It's not difficult to envision the same thing happening to a ring if, say, you were reaching into a confined space to remove the starter motor's battery terminal and your ring got jammed between the wrench and a good ground.

Well, "burn your finger off" may not happen, but getting burned severe enough you eventually end up losing the finger certainly is fairly high risk.

 

[4x4dually]

Some ranchers have up to 15 kV fence chargers that are intended to energize many miles of fence.

Both my Gallagher solar chargers (B200 & B100 typically read around 10 kV when I test them if they are weed free. I did have to apologize to the kids one day and tell them that "daddy shouldn't talk like that" when it got me through my thought-to-be insulated pliers. LOL I got a buddy that has one that charges closer to 18 kVa nd it will make you throw a damn weed eater across the yard and quit for he day.

I just came to tell a story and throw this up for the OP. I keep it on my desktop.

Remember, kids, DEATH comes before BREATHING STOPS. Not sure how to explain that one.

 

[kwired]

Both my Gallagher solar chargers (B200 & B100 typically read around 10 kV when I test them if they are weed free. I did have to apologize to the kids one day and tell them that "daddy shouldn't talk like that" when it got me through my thought-to-be insulated pliers. LOL I got a buddy that has one that charges closer to 18 kVa nd it will make you throw a damn weed eater across the yard and quit for he day.

I just came to tell a story and throw this up for the OP. I keep it on my desktop.

Remember, kids, DEATH comes before BREATHING STOPS. Not sure how to explain that one.

View attachment 2560726

If you get hit with the higher current from the start you maybe just have everything lower on the chart all at once.

Burns likely can occur at lower current levels but need to have time factored into determine how severe it will be.

 

[Russs57]

GoldDigger speaks the truth! I know from first hand experience.

I was changing a starter on a generator. Five huge 6 volt batteries in series. Put my hand between the ratchet and block to break a connection loose. Wedding ring managed to chip through paint and make contact with the block. Oh did it get hot very fast

Yes I know I should have disconnected the battery. But generator had dual starters, and being a hospital, I wanted it to start in the required time frame.

Needless to say I haven't worn a wedding ring at work in a long time (or watch either which is another good story).

 

[kwired]

GoldDigger speaks the truth! I know from first hand experience.

I was changing a starter on a generator. Five huge 6 volt batteries in series. Put my hand between the ratchet and block to break a connection loose. Wedding ring managed to chip through paint and make contact with the block. Oh did it get hot very fast

Yes I know I should have disconnected the battery. But generator had dual starters, and being a hospital, I wanted it to start in the required time frame.

Needless to say I haven't worn a wedding ring at work in a long time (or watch either which is another good story).

Good idea even if not doing electrical work, those can get caught on things and really mess up your finger. A good spouse should understand and not want you to lose a finger either.

 

[retirede]

Good idea even if not doing electrical work, those can get caught on things and really mess up your finger. A good spouse should understand and not want you to lose a finger either.

When I was younger, I was wearing my wedding ring while splitting wood. When I removed my glove, it had cut the skin on the entire circumference of my finger. I didn’t even realize it until I saw it. Needless to say, that was last time I wore a ring unless I knew I wasn’t going to be doing anything physical.