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What's the worst shock you've received so far in your life? (electrical)

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LAN_403

Inducktion

Thu Jul 14 2011, 12:23AM

Registered Member #3637 Joined: Fri Jan 21 2011, 11:07PM
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 1068

I was playing with my IH I've recently made, (runs on 120 vAC) and in my errors I managed to touch the aluminum bus bar connecting the tank caps together...

I got a nasty shock, but I'm okay. I feel shaky, but other than that I'm okay...

Is there anything that I should do?

Alex M

Thu Jul 14 2011, 01:02AM

Registered Member #3943 Joined: Sun Jun 12 2011, 05:24PM
Location: The Shire, UK
Posts: 552

Yes, I got a shock from a fully charged photoflash 330V 160uF capacitor. The current travelled across my chest as well as I managed to touch each capacitor leg with one finger of each hand.

It hurt like a b*tch and I got burn marks on my fingers!

Ash Small

Thu Jul 14 2011, 01:29AM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

I got a 240 volt shock after I earthed my 'home made' TIG welder, the one time I didn't unplug the 'kettle lead' from the front (while I was doing final adjustments.

One finger dropped down onto the input side of the on/off switch, while my other hand was on the recently earthed case. (It went right across my chest)

I was stuck to it until my finger started to melt, and I was thrown clear....fortunately there was an armchair behind me, or I would have been hurt.

I ran my finger under the tap for about an hour, and was in shock for ages......that was only 240 volts, I was lucky.

I still have the scar on my finger, ten years later.

in answer to your question "is there anything I should do?".....yes there is, be more careful next time

Bjørn

Thu Jul 14 2011, 03:49AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

The proper thing to do is to have a doctor check you out but usually people don't, if you feel ok then you probably are ok unless you got burns or something that says you absorbed a lot of energy.

Luckily most events are unpleasant but not very dangerous, if you just touch something then the muscles contract so fast that the event is usually very short and does not give a low resistance contact. Getting stuck like Ash Small describes is very very dangerous because you have a current going through you for some time and usually the contact is of lower resistance.

We have some information in the Wiki that shows how both time and current affects the risk

Mads Barnkob

Thu Jul 14 2011, 07:10AM

Registered Member #1403 Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968

3x400 VAC with a 16A fuse, happend when I was 10 and found a cable hanging from a tree.

As a professional its only been two trips to the hospital from 230 VAC across the heart.

Cardio diagrams says my heart is strong and healthy :)

Ash Small

Thu Jul 14 2011, 11:44AM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

Getting stuck was one of the scariest moments of my life.

I was fully concious, aware of everything, but couldn't move. As the muscles went into spasm, I emitted a high pitched 'shriek' that seemed to get higher and higher until it went out of audible range, as all the air was expelled from my lungs.

I was just stuck, and couldn't breath, I thought I was going to asphyxiate. It seemed to go on for quite some time.

When I was finally 'thrown clear' the force was HUGE (like being kicked in the chest by Jean Claude Van Dam). Had the armchair not been behind me I would have been hurt, probably knocked unconcious. I could also have easily suffered other injuries and could have ended up lying there unconcious and bled to death. (this kind of injury is very common in these situations)

My heart could also have stopped (or failed to start again, I'm not sure if it stopped for the duration of the shock, I assume it did)

This was all because I was exited at finishing my project and was still doing the final tinkering at 3 am. I'd taken care to design it with a kettle lead going into the FRONT for easy disconnection/isolation, but on this one occasion had not disconnected it.

My finger just happened to fall onto the only part that was live, the input side of the on/off switch. I subsequently wrapped it in insulating tape (after pulling the lead).

This demonstrates why you should always keep one hand in your pocket, or behind your back, while tinkering with anything which isn't completely isolated/disconnected.

I was lucky.

(EDIT: I didn't mention the pain. Time helps to forget that, so does the shock. It was probably the most painful experience I've ever had)

GluD

Thu Jul 14 2011, 02:51PM

Registered Member #1221 Joined: Wed Jan 09 2008, 06:17PM
Location: Odense, Denmark
Posts: 196

I took at hit from my 100kV marx gen. once, although it was only at about 1/4 of its full power, so around 25kv. Definitely the worst schock I've had.
It 'only' went through my right hand so I dont figure it to have been particularly dangerous as compared to the chest.

Dr. Drone

Thu Jul 14 2011, 07:33PM

Registered Member #290 Joined: Mon Mar 06 2006, 08:24PM
Location:
Posts: 1673

Nah

Thu Jul 14 2011, 07:45PM

Registered Member #3567 Joined: Mon Jan 03 2011, 10:49PM
Location: USA, 1960s
Posts: 260

2kv B+, thankfully, it was low current and through the hand

Martin King

Thu Jul 14 2011, 08:09PM

Registered Member #3040 Joined: Tue Jul 27 2010, 03:15PM
Location: South of London. UK
Posts: 237

Not sure about the worst, they've all been around the same. First was when I was quite young, was playing with an old diswasher motor I found in the garage I jerry riged it up to the mains and was holding it in my hand the shock made me drop it onto my foot, double ouch! Had several mains shocks since then but none across the heart. I'm pretty carefull about the one hand rule when working with mains. Had an RF burn from a Marine HF transmitter once, they really hurt.

Martin.

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