Re: electrical deaths

"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote in message news:f1ru1lxdqh.ln2@Telcontar.valinor...

On 2024-12-01 18:29, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Thu, 28 Nov 2024 17:58:18 -0800, john larkin wrote:
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On Fri, 29 Nov 2024 01:30:40 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
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On 2024-11-28 15:39, Clive Arthur wrote:

On 28/11/2024 13:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2024-11-28 13:14, Martin Brown wrote:
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...
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One of my friends at university (at a top level institution) found
himself holding a live plug a on Jesus lead left behind by a
previous graduate student. The burns from that were horrific. Once
attached you can't let go or move and burning human flesh doesn't
smell good. He was probably only on for 30s before someone realised
and disconnected him.

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What's a "Jesus lead"? I tried to google, but what I find are songs.

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A mains cable with a plug at both ends. It means your home-made disco
console can use a readily obtainable mains socket for power input and
it doesn't matter which way round you unwind the cable. Another
advantage is that you can unplug the console end and use it to fend
off violent drunks.
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I don't understand why they're not used more often.

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Jesus!
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Yes, I have seen them. On 220 volts. They were used for transformers,
those that had 120 on one side, 220 on the other, both being female
sockets, so you needed a cable with two male plugs to connect them to
the wall.
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We don't see such transformers anymore, but when I was a kid they were
common, because although most houses were 220 volts, some were 125, so
we had gadgets of both voltages.

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I've seen them used between two houses, when one had the power shut off.

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There are thousands of 240VAC to 110VAC transformers in the UK. You can
buy or hire them. They are mandatory for site work. IOW, builders who need
mains power for their drills and saws etc have to use these transformers
for safety reasons.

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Huh? Why would they want to use their power tools at half the voltage and at least half the power? Running a 240 volt drill at
110?

No, the power tools will be designed for 115V
Building sites require nothing above 60V (the exact number may be 55, not sure) between you and ground.
So 240V to 120V isolation transformer with secondary centre tapped to ground.
Public display christmas tree lights may require the same. Nothing above 60V so you can't get your hand on the open circuit end end
of a string which has 240V on the other end.

It would make sense to use a 240:240 isolation transformer, though.
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They're not really practical for me, though, since
they're industrial jobs and weigh about 30lb each. Hence I'd use my variac
for anything up to 1hp load. It only handles up to 3.15A max but at least
I can move it around with ease.

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Cheers, Carlos.