I almost blew up today.

[shh!]

I can't believe your employer doesn't provide insurance, Frasbee.

[IndiReloaded]

That's a weird fixture, Fras. Why isn't the voltage a multiple of 110/120?

Amps is what kills you, tho you know this. That's why Lipps comment about 4000V isn't necessarily a big deal. Its the current that matters. 100mA will kill you dead.

We had our electrical service upgraded to 200 A. The hydro guy that came to restart our service somehow connected across the main power line at the pole (20000V or so). I was outside watching him work from the cherry picker. Damn huge flash & a good puff of smoke, it was impressive. Dude was well insulated, so he was okay, but he got a good scare (his buddy too).

I have installed new electrical outlets in our house (only a couple) & I am *very* careful. That is the extent of my forays into the scary world of electricity, tho. Anything more & we call an electrician.

[Mish]

Things like that make you think about life and how much of it is left

[1averagejoe]

I'm sorry but you're a dumbass.

As someone who gets paid to work with electricity you should have known better. Even if it was standard 110V you shouldn't have done that. Not only the fact that you can electrocute yourself but you can start fires. You get hurt half assing stuff by not using the right tools.

You really need yourself some insurance or to get a new job with insurance. Isn't this the second close call of you almost getting pretty badly injured? Also Indireloaded is right about the voltage and amperage. You can have a 50,000V taser shock the shit out of you, and you'll live. The reason is the amperage is what kills you.

Glad you're ok though.
Talk about a V8 moment.

[Gribble]

When I was a kid my dad decided to alter the electricity meter because he's a thief and an asshole. Anyway, apparently there's quite a bit of power running through those things. He handed me a 2X4 and told me to hit him if he started getting electrocuted.

What a lovely childhood I had. I should have taken a swing at him for the hell of it now that I think about it.

[Junket]

Let me just say that it's different when you're actually doing this day in day out.

I'm sure the majority of you would pause a second if I asked you to pull out a live receptacle or switch while it was still hot. I do this almost every day multiple times a day. Though I've not frequented with voltage this high. And trust me when I say the amps are high, this is commercial work, not residential.

Lilwing: They have rubber gloves like that for working with HIGH voltage shit, like inside the panels with "500" wire. That's wire at least an inch in diameter, heavy shit. Trying to use those hefty gloves on 12 gauge wire is barely possible.

[1averagejoe]

Ok, if the stuff we mentioned already was enough motivation maybe this will be.

You're not putting yourself just yourself at risk. Think about what Ames is going to have to go through if you seriously injure or kill yourself? What if you get seriously injured and you need to see a doctor or have some expensive procedure? How are you going to pay for something like that? Not only is it going to be a financial burden on yourself if you pay out of pocket, but Ames as well if she decides to stay with you through this.

I'm sorry but it's time to move on from this job and find some healthcare. Your health is not worth the amount of money you're making, that is if it's even decent money. At the very least work at a grocery store part time just for the insurance benefits.

[IndiReloaded]

Fras, call me naive, but why are you having to deal with live circuits? Don't you shut the power off when you are working with stuff this hot?

The young apprentice of our electrician was telling me stories about working up north on the big power transformer rigs they got up there. Tens of thousands of volts. The sort that hum when you walk under them. Said that guys die from stupid shit, but that more often than not its b/c someone else you depend on has f-cked up somehow.

As for risk. Lots of jobs have risk. I worked with radioactivity every day for several years. Enough that if I screwed up & ingested any by mistake I would have been very, very sick. One just has to know the rules and be absolutely diligent about them. Never, ever cut corners or be in a hurry. Just not worth it.

Oh and check this out. I found this very interesting:

[ame="http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=gdWGuVXlPgs&feature=related"]YouTube - Helicopter High Voltage Powerline Worker[/ame]

[1averagejoe]

Aww those helicopter power line workers. That is very cool how they do that stuff.

They basically fly up in a helicopter and since the helicopter isn't grounded they need to equalize the charge differences between the helicopter and the power lines (don't know the exact terms). So basically they use a metal rod attached to the helicopter and bring it to the wires, you get a crazy arc and it eventually equalizes it out so that you can touch the wires without killing yourself. Also they wear some special suit that is like a metal woven or something that creates like a barrier.

I don't know how exactly it works. I saw it on Discovery HD a show about helicopters. It was very interesting.

[Lipp]

True, I only knew that we were measuring the lines based on their voltage to detect where it seeped into the ground or was weakening for some other reasons (damn inquisitive elephants drop twigs on it), so no idea what the ampere would be. All I know is that from getting hit twice before I certainly wouldn't want it to happen with multiple lines and lying on the ground, probably would take 6-7 seconds to get up and away.

And the helicopter-carried repairs sure are cool, has to take a lot of concentration to maintain a hover and compensate for the gusts of wind up where the tree line wont cover as much.

[Junket]

If your boots are properly insulated, and nothing you're touching is grounded, yes you can hold a hot wire without feeling so much as a tingle. Electricity just wants a path to the ground.

[Illusional]

ahhh...welder's flash... i get that on a weekly basis. lucky me.

raverboy

[1averagejoe]

ahhh...welder's flash... i get that on a weekly basis. lucky me.

raverboy

From welding or being under the influence?


Or both?

[Illusional]

from welding actually... when i'm intoxicated... i have a harder time seeing clearly. damn beer goggles.

raverboy

[lesa]

As for risk. Lots of jobs have risk. I worked with radioactivity every day for several years. Enough that if I screwed up & ingested any by mistake I would have been very, very sick. One just has to know the rules and be absolutely diligent about them. Never, ever cut corners or be in a hurry. Just not worth it.

Indeed I should be a mad scientist superhero with all the radiation and radioactive material I've been exposed to.

Any why did the Russian postdoc not tell me where the stuff were located so that I can avoid them. Oh, that's right...no need for them because they are immune. jk