ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Violation Photo Forum Auto Shop #2 - more Horrors ....

why do I get the feeling that all of this tomfoolerly is outside for the weather to wreak more havoc on than already exists.... Some people just shouldn't be allowed contact with more than 12V!

PS. nice pics John..

-Randy

ironically, NJ passed a law that a license is required for anything over 10v.

not sure if it's being enforced though.

That would be a good idea in some cases, 12v from a car/truck battery can do a lot of damage, but that would cover phones too (Unless there's a specific exclusion). The phone companies however might think that was a good idea

Yep, 12V is "safe" but when you have a few hundred amps availible and ya' short across it, things kind of get a bit hot let alone all the 'pirty sparks.. Very easy way to say start your car---> on fire. ( seen it)
Telephone?? Get your buddy to work on it.. If they don't feel the 50V D.C present, CALL THEM... See if they feel the 90V A.C "ring"

"why do I get the feeling that all of this tomfoolerly is outside for the weather to wreak more havoc on than already exists.... Some people just shouldn't be allowed contact with more than 12V!"

If you ask me, some people shouldn't be allowed to touch a "AA" battery!

Ian A.

Definitely. So many times I've heard comments like "Oh, it's only a low voltage, it can't do any harm."

In the communications facility where I worked years ago we had the usual DC busbars running around above the racks for power. There were the usual 50V telephone equipment supplies, and we had a separate 28V distribution system for some of the satellite equipment. Some folk wouold scoff at the fuses and protection on that 28V system, but those busbars were fed from one heck of a big battery bank. The short-circuit current would have been well into the four-digit range, possibly even five.

At one point on the floor underneath the busbars was a patch where you could still see the burn marks from a slip made some years earlier. Apparently somebody accidentally dropped a wrench while working above on the cable trays and it bridged the bars as it fell. Needles to say, it was no longer usable for its intended purpose!

I've heard stories about wedding rings and car batteries. That one needs to remove the ring before working with such batteries. Else you could literally burn your finger off from the heat of the fault current thru the ring from +12V to ground....

Once had a boss who had an ivory wedding ring (non-conductive material) to avoid this hazard, as well as any wayward smaller hot wires accidently getting under the ring to make a "good" connection to his body for a shocking experience.

Well, that looks much more respectable