ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Electrical Nostalgia 1913 American Electrician's Handbook

I just got ahold of a 1953 (7th) Edition on this book. One section details how to test for voltage using Fingers and Tongue.

I wonder how long that section stayed in the Book?

Bill

Bill:

Only the 13th Edition survived hurricane Sandy. I lost a few older ones back to mid60s

What section is that in?? Hope it's not still in there.

Funny, someone earlier in the week was talking about one of the 'older' inspectors that used to test with two fingers!!! They asked me if he was still around.

John,

It's in Division 1, Fundamentals, Measuring, Testing and Instruments.

Disclaimer - Not a Good idea!!

I didn't want to quote here, but others have.

Bill

When my wife and I bought our first house, and before I got into the trade, we had an electrician come over to move a ceiling outlet for a light fixture. He was a former school teacher and friend of my father-in-law. I watched him as he worked and offered any assistance. At some point he checked to see if the circuit was live and did exactly that - used two fingers! Never forgot that. Years later when I was apprenticing I told my journeyman this story and despite being in the trade for nearly 40 years he said he never seen anyone in the trade do that.

I have detected voltage with my fingers but never on purpose
I can say 400hz will wake you up. It is more of a ring than a buzz.

My old house which was wired in 1953 had wooden blocks behind all the switches and sockets except for the cooker control unit which was a big iron box fixed straight to the wall

Greg:

I remember having y hand thru a handhole in a pylon neon sign. Dumb move on my part was not confirming 120 volt was 'off''. Got to feel the sting of the 15Kv neon xfr.

Like I said, long ago, and DUMB.

In Austria I've seen panels partly made of wood well into the 1970s. My parents own a weekend home that received a new combo meter enclosure/consumer unit in 1976. The visible parts are all powder-coated metal but once you get behind the covers and frame it's a wooden box lined with asbestos. I suspect that might have been an ad-hoc solution on site because the wall is only barely thick enough to accommodate the unit, more commonly these enclosures were just open and you could see the plastered brick wall through them. I think completely enclosed meter cabinets only became a requirement in the mid-1990s so now there's usually a metal tub. Mind you, these things are large, most distribution network operators suggest three-meter enclosures for single-family domestic buildings, either for a night-rate meter and tariff switch or more recently for photovoltaic cells with a dedicated meter.