Please refrain from any harassment or negative comments, I already know how lucky I just got.
This is a public service announcement. Don't let your excitement get the best of you. I got caught up in the excitement with my new equipment for upgrading my controller to 240v. I plugged in the cord and measured out the length I needed to run into my bedroom so I could cut it to the right length. You can probably guess what happened...
Boom!
Yupp, like I said, I'm a fucking moron...
I'm done building for a bit...
And I need a drink... A big one...
Uncle Jesse wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 2:26 pm
I'm glad you're ok.
Enjoy the adrenaline rush.
Thanks. Got a nice little lightning burn on my thigh to remember it by...
You are very lucky that's all you got.
We all do stupid things from time to time. Like pick up a slab of dry ice with your bare fingers. Yeah, I just did that. Fortunately, I realized how stupid that was and very quickly set it back down.
Fear and ridicule are the tactics of weak-minded cowards and tyrants who have no other leadership talent from which to draw in order to persuade.
That's called an arc flash explosion in the trade. I've lost a couple of screwdrivers in similar fashion.
We're your ears ringing? Some people need to put in ear plugs when doing electrical work! All depends on the size of the breaker. I used to work with stuff fed from a 2000 kva transformer. Here's the garb we wore for working inside the main panel:
And yes I'm wearing earplugs inside there.
Luckily residential feeds are small enough it's fairly hard to kill yourself at home even though it's possible and you can definitely need to change your skivvies if you aren't careful.
I bet you make sure the breaker is off from now on.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
Uncle Jesse wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 2:26 pm
I'm glad you're ok.
Enjoy the adrenaline rush.
Thanks. Got a nice little lightning burn on my thigh to remember it by...
You are very lucky that's all you got.
We all do stupid things from time to time. Like pick up a slab of dry ice with your bare fingers. Yeah, I just did that. Fortunately, I realized how stupid that was and very quickly set it back down.
Yeah, I set the cord down pretty quickly too. Unfortunately it didn't make a damn bit of difference
elbono wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 3:00 pm
That's called an arc flash explosion in the trade. I've lost a couple of screwdrivers in similar fashion.
We're your ears ringing? Some people need to put in ear plugs when doing electrical work! All depends on the size of the breaker. I used to work with stuff fed from a 2000 kva transformer. Here's the garb we wore for working inside the main panel:
16701943879171.jpg
And yes I'm wearing earplugs inside there.
Luckily residential feeds are small enough it's fairly hard to kill yourself at home even though it's possible and you can definitely need to change your skivvies if you aren't careful.
I bet you make sure the breaker is off from now on.
LOL if I'm doing anything like this again it'll be in the garage on the opposite wall from ANY outlets.. Just to be safe...
bcook608 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 2:25 pm
Please refrain from any harassment or negative comments, I already know how lucky I just got.
Well now that just takes all the fun out of it!
Close call. Glad you’re ok
Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
-Thomas Paine
heh heh. i often use a new pair of line pliers to "test" a breaker. always leaves a nice little burned hole in the cutting blade that is perfect for stripping wire.
Never done it on a 240 line though. i'll bet that was bright! (the resulting light, not the action itself) LOL
glad you survived, shorting them is one thing.... coulda been really nasty/deadly if you got hooked into a line direct with a ground on the other end of your body.
HDNB wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:09 pm
heh heh. i often use a new pair of line pliers to "test" a breaker. always leaves a nice little burned hole in the cutting blade that is perfect for stripping wire.
Never done it on a 240 line though. i'll bet that was bright! (the resulting light, not the action itself) LOL
glad you survived, shorting them is one thing.... coulda been really nasty/deadly if you got hooked into a line direct with a ground on the other end of your body.
gotta know though. did the breaker work?
It sure did! Lit up like a firework and sounded like a gun went off!
Breaker tripped immediately, thank the electrical gods.
Dougmatt wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:57 pm
I always say, anything like that you walk way from with all your human parts working can be chalked up to a learning experience.
Very glad you are ok and all your parts still work. Looks like you were cutting across your knee…. Bet you’re glad it wasn’t your lap!
It arced about 6-8" to my thigh. I was using both hands cutting ABOVE my lap. Just glad it landed on the 2nd leg instead of the third
I've been knocked off a ladder more than a few times retrofitting live 277V fixtures. Takes a good 1/2hr to get your legs back. I blame that for my bald spots, not my age.
If you ever find yourself being chased by a pack of wild taxidermists, do not play dead.
IAmPistolPete wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:00 pm
I've been knocked off a ladder more than a few times retrofitting live 277V fixtures.
They have changed the NEC rules.
Part XII Special Provisions for Electric-Discharge Lighting System of 1000 Volts or Less includes 410.130(G) Disconnecting Means.
Now each light has a small connector you can unplug.
NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:27 pm
A mate of mine made himself a new 240V extension lead and put male plugs on both ends, he discovered his mistake when he grabbed the plug
If I had a friend that did things like that I wouldn't tell anybody.
NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:27 pm
A mate of mine made himself a new 240V extension lead and put male plugs on both ends, he discovered his mistake when he grabbed the plug
The house electrician at the university venue I used to work at, told us the story of a touring lighting tech who had a set of "tails" made up. At one end was a 63A 3-phase CEEForm connector. At the other, a set of 13A (UK) plugs, all wired in parallel. In venues without a genuine 63A 3-phase supply, he would simply run each of the plugs into a different wall socket in order to spread the load from his lighting rig. He also had the matching female version (a board with three lines of 13A sockets connected to a male 63A 3-phase CEEForm, into which he plugged the "tails" when the house supply was available!). The in-house sparky, listened politely to the proud explanation and without saying word, took out a pair of wire cutters and cut off all the 13A plugs.
To the OP: Lesson learnt then? The problem with electricity is there's no warning until it's too late. If something is hot you can feel the heat before you touch it. On my one or two occasions of being shocked, I found a good run while swearing lots helped to run off the adrenaline.
"I have a potstill that smears like a fresh plowed coon on the highway" - Jimbo
NZChris wrote: ↑Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:27 pm
A mate of mine made himself a new 240V extension lead and put male plugs on both ends, he discovered his mistake when he grabbed the plug
The house electrician at the university venue I used to work at, told us the story of a touring lighting tech who had a set of "tails" made up. At one end was a 63A 3-phase CEEForm connector. At the other, a set of 13A (UK) plugs, all wired in parallel. In venues without a genuine 63A 3-phase supply, he would simply run each of the plugs into a different wall socket in order to spread the load from his lighting rig. He also had the matching female version (a board with three lines of 13A sockets connected to a male 63A 3-phase CEEForm, into which he plugged the "tails" when the house supply was available!). The in-house sparky, listened politely to the proud explanation and without saying word, took out a pair of wire cutters and cut off all the 13A plugs.
To the OP: Lesson learnt then? The problem with electricity is there's no warning until it's too late. If something is hot you can feel the heat before you touch it. On my one or two occasions of being shocked, I found a good run while swearing lots helped to run off the adrenaline.
Lesson DEFINITELY learned! I didn't go for a run because I'm fat and lazy, but I paced the house for a good 30 minutes just repeating "what the fuck! That was sooo stupid! Holy shit!" all while listening to my wife ask if I needed the short bus for the special kids because that was fucking retarded.
*no offense intended, we reserve the R word for when we REALLY need to drive home a point and I definitely deserved that one
Dude! You’re so lucky. That’s some serious power you just harnessed! We’ve all been there in some way. Brain farts happen.
I’ve definitely gotten a little thrill from working with 110V, being cocky and not turning off the breaker. I installed new power outlets in my basement and the previous owners did not install them up to code. There was not enough slack in the wire and I arced it with a screwdriver while fussing with the old outlet. Gave me some nice flash burn in my eye. Lesson learned.
