Re: electrical deaths

On Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:24:29 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

On 27/11/2024 17:17, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Tue, 26 Nov 2024 22:14:56 -0500, Edward Rawde wrote:
 

"john larkin" <JL@gct.com> wrote in message
news:iv1dkj1d8qa5cvm4r5b7mbehcot0lnd057@4ax.com...

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Age-adjusted-mortality-rates-

from-

electrical-injuries-per-1-million-population-European_fig1_221916189

>
The US (0.63 PPM) is probably low partly because we have mostly 120
volt gadgets. I usually wire boxes hot, and get tickled now and then,
no big deal.
>
Some countries are astounding.
>
>

240V AC never did me any harm.
>
I first remember it when I moved a lamp in the loft (attic) which my
father had left there with the base off with live contacts exposed.
It was unpleasant but not harmful. I only just manage to avoid putting
my foot through the ceiling.
>
Later I was moving out of a flat (apartment) and we couldn't find the
keys to turn the power off.
The removal guys refused to disconnect the cooker (stove) live so I
did it for them.

 
Same here. Having dry skin helps a lot. There are still two real
dangers though: wetness in whatever form and accidentally poking your
finger into a socket where there's a live strand sticking out which
punctures your skin. That's when you can *really* get a belt!

 
It can also get nasty when muscle goes into spasm and contracts a hand
or even just a finger round the conductor, so you can't get free easily.
 
My first unpleasant experience was with a 350V DC supply in a valve
radio which I was trying to fix. I was holding the DC+ wire ready to
resolder it to the smoothing capacitor. I had removed the capacitor from
its mount, but it was still connected to the rectifier on the negative
side. It wasn't in quite the right position for soldering, so I just
went to pick it up to move it. I had completely forgotten that the case
was connected to the -ve side, and got a hell of a belt from it. My hand
contracted around the capacitor, and I wouldn't have been able to let go
but my arm muscles also contracted and I involuntarily threw the
capacitor 15 feet across the room. That broke the connection, but to
this day I don't know why I hadn't turned off the power to the radio
before resoldering. It could have been a lot worse.

I find DC shocks are much worse than AC. With AC I sense the tingle
increasing over several seconds (at 240V) which gives me plenty of time to
react, but with DC it's an *instant* ZAP!