• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Faraday Cage

Rod

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 4, 2001
Messages
10,332
Interesting job...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzga6qAaBA
 
I'm been shocked too many times to count. I'm used to it. I once completed a circuit between the kitchen sink (with water running) and an electric oven. I was tingling for hours.

One more good video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWbBdAeW1m8&feature=related
 
Electricity is f'ed.

A little DIY ECT probably do ya good. :whistling:

Doc
Doc you want to talk real construction?

stick to being a retired pecker checker man of many talents.

you got me on a lot- don't push anything to do with construction. I've built more buildings than than you've dreamed of-

I have a limit. TEST ME!
 
Wow, that went right over your head and maybe not. Hard to tell. Funny thing is you didn't have any problem pulling my chain when you first got here. If ya can't take it maybe you shouldn't have dished it out in the first place.

Doc
 
I have worked with electricity for over 40 years. I (knock on wood) have been zapped very few times. Proper planning saves a whole lot of anguish. :rolleyes:
 
I use to be responsible for the fiber optic system for a large electric company. A large portion of our cable was OPGW, (optical power ground wire) which is that single cable you see at the very top of those towers. These are the guys that install and helped us maintain our cable. Even though my guys did not do the work we had to go through the class safety training so that we understood the situation during a restoration. Extremely intense but very cool stuff. Those guys make it sound like no big deal, they get paid very very well.
 
I hope they get paid well, I wouldn't be able to do that type of work...I'm afraid of heights.
 
I don't think there are enough cigars in the store to get me to do that job. Very nice Rod. I believe Tesla had that concept first.
 
Not to throw a bad link in a cool thread which this thread is very cool. I have watched those line worker videos in the past and that is a very cool job. As most know I work as a commercial HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) service tech and one of the main points of my job is to be able to diagnose electrical problems with HVAC equipment. We work on voltages 24,120,203,240,277,480! Well I have been in the field for over ten years now and like any job you get comfortable at what you do and sometimes it bites you in the ass!

On February 16 2010 at 9:00 I made the simples but biggest mistake of my short career in this field. It was snowing very hard and I had to change a few normal parts one that included a flame sensor for the heat section on this roof top unit I was servicing. Now remember I work on commercial building roofs day in day out by myself with no one around. I got done changing the parts and the unit wasn’t staying lit for heat so I shut the heat section down to check the flame sensor that I had changed to see if I broke it while installing it. This flame sensor is a little metal rod that sits in front of the burner rack in the path of the flame. Well you can’t physically see the rod once it is installed so I pulled of my glove crouched down and reached in to give it a feel to see if I had broken it. Well to my surprise once my finger tips made contact with the sensor I realized I had made the simplest yet biggest mistake of my life. I was immediately stuck to the unit and could not let go. I could smell my flesh burning and was physically unable to move. All I remember doing was screaming for my life but I knew no one could hear me I was all alone up there it was snowing and in the snow there is no echo. I was stuck on the unit for approximately 10-30 seconds and my entire life flashed before my eyes. I remember thinking about what my wife would do without me and if anyone would find me up there. To my luck the 5amp fuse that protects the heat section blew and I fell back into the snow. I looked at my hand and knew it wasn’t the only issue because I could feel my heart rate which was really low and deep. I ran across the roof down the ladder hatch while calling 911 entered the first office I saw and handed the phone to the lady sitting there. She directed 911 then called my wife. I spent 3 days in the hospital with a very elevated enzyme level and a risk of kidney failure. They got my enzyme level down and sent me home. I had to go to the wound care for almost 2 months because as most know electrical burns burn you from the inside out and the wounds get worse before they get better. My middle finger suffered the brunt of it due to my finger tip being in contact with the rod and the base of my finger touching the burner rack (ground) luckily this kept the voltage from flowing up my arm and thru my heart which would have killed me! I suffered mostly second degree burns with a very little spot of third degree burn that still flakes and peals to this day. I had some PTSD for the first couple months after the accident. The voltage was 1 leg of 480 3 phase (277 volts to ground). That simple mistake I made was when hooking the senor to the control board I was one terminal off and hooked it on a bare live terminal. I will never forget that day as long as I live!

Now I know this is an extreme case for what I work on day to day but Rod made a comment about completing circuits thru his body in his house which is your standard 120v circuits. What most don’t know is it is not the volts that kill you it’s the amps and 0.065amps will stop the human heart and the standard breakers in your house are 10, 15, and 20 amps. These will not save your live and the 5 amp fuse that blew that allowed me to live another day was not meant to save me. These things are only made to protect the unit or the wire in the walls of your home from a fire!

Just be safe out there and triple check that the power is off and that you Lock Out the power source before you do anything even changing a light bulb. Don’t ever get comfortable in what you are doing with electricity like I did.

Paul
I tried adding photos with a drop down warning but couldn't figure it out so if you dont have a weak stomach feel free to click here! (pics are not in order of date sorry!)
 
Good videos. I've been doing power line construction since 1989. Been a Journeyman Lineman for 20 years. It's not a career for everyone, but I wouldn't trade it for any other job.
 
Top