Ever been "thrown" by electricity? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Marc M.
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 01:10:24 pm
content: All my life I've heard/read stories and seen (in media) people getting thrown across the room when coming in contact with an electrical source. I'm almost 50 and been playing with electricity since I was 8. Thru the years I've been zapped more times than I can count with everything from 110 - 480 VAC and up to 35 kV DC. In all those experiences at various voltages, I've never been thrown 3 feet, let alone across the room. Mostly I just get cuts (a few pretty bad ones) and bruises on the afflicted arm from the natural reaction to jerk away from the source. I can say by far the worst voltage I tied up with was +600 VDC on the plates of old tube (valve for you over the pond) based TV's. Those B+ supplies typically had plenty of mA's available to do a bit of damage. My entire arm (especially the joints) would ache for a week or so the few times I bumped into that. It was far worse than either the 480 VAC or the 35 kV DC (anodes on larger color CRT's) that I've fondled now and again. Probing around those old tube TV's with everything exposed just sucked and the occasional incidental contact was just part of the tech. game back then. Makes me laugh when I see all the extreme measures they take nowadays to cover line voltages on theinsideof modern equipment. Fortunately, coming up in that era taught me to always try to follow the golden rule: Keep 1 hand in your pocket while working around dangerous voltages. If you do tie into something, at least the path won't be thru your heart if 1 hand is in your back pocket.Anyhow, because this getting thrown myth is so prevalent, I'm curious what some of your experiences have been during self inflicted electrocution. Has anybody been actually thrown across the room?

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 01:59:04 pm
content: Here's #5 on my 'times I nearly died' list. This one was when I was around 12 I think.5. The 'I conduct electricity well' incident. I'd extracted a mains transformer from an old valve TV set. It had a HV secondary, of a few hundred V. Also the 240V primary, and a couple of high current 6.3V filament windings. I also had an arc welder, which has a current limited output of about 20V under 150A load. I wanted to make big HV arcs.So I wired all the HV windings of the transformer in series, with one end going to the grounded metal ice cream tin (remember those?) I put the transformer in. Put the two filament windings in parallel, and connected them to the welder output. The HV output had a length of HV wiring, with a bare end. I filled the tin holding the transformer with oil, and let it sit a few days. Then fired it up.The HV would begin an arc at (I recall) about two inches, and would draw out to several inches before quenching. A very respectable high current arc. I had a lot of fun playing with Jacob's Ladders and stuff with this.Till one day I happened to accidentally drop the wire (was holding it in long nosed insulated handle pliers I think.) The falling end passed near to my left pointer finger. I recall a flash, and myself flying across the room (downstairs laundry) and hitting a wall. Only a few feet, but it was pretty surprising. There was a nice neat round burn hole through the skin on my finger. I couldn't find a corresponding burn mark on my feet, but the current must have gone from them to the concrete, slightly damp floor.I have no idea what the current through my torso must have been. Several tens of mA? I had no way to measure the current output of that thing. Also the shock was very brief, since the wire fell past and so the arc only lasted briefly.There was no one else around. Apparently my heart didn't fibrillate, and restarted OK.Obviously, it's not the electricity that throws you, it's your own muscles. So if your knees were straight at that instant, nothing much will happen.At least that event taught me a very serious respect for the dangers of electricity, and I've never had anything more than a bit of a tingle since. Plenty of *other* ways to be stupid though - that list is up to 15 now.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 02:21:06 pm
content: Quote from: Marc M. on August 16, 2013, 01:10:24 pmWhen i was 14 i opened a flash and i get zapped, i was on that computer chair with little weels. For the reaction (i don't remember if i've hit something) i've crash on the bookshelf at 2 meter if distance,

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 02:41:51 pm
content: Twice, the first time was when adjusting a 26 inch color TV dating from the late 70's I was leaning over it turning a trim pot when I inadvertently touched the EHT as I was standing on a stool in order reach over it made me straighten up so violently that I went over backwards and hit the opposite wall. The second time I had just set up a mains unit high power electric fence system for someone and went outside with them in order to check the line, I was chatting to them while walking around the first paddock on the system and while looking at her I walked right into the line out where it came out of the ground and connected to the fence just as I was placing my weight onto my right leg and a pulse arrived from the unit, the result was my leg straightened so rapidly that I was thrown into the air and did a backflip.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 02:51:05 pm
content: Strongest zap ever I experienced was 1000V on 10uF cap from RF tube amplifier. It was disconnected from mains. I got shock between palm that somehow made contact to the pin in a tube socket and elbow. Two nice holes in the skin and nice smoked pork smell. I get shocked many other times mainly from not discharged caps, but never was thrown because I never hold something with 2 hands if it was powered not so long time ago. 6 months ago I got zap from 3 phase device which I accidentally forgot to disconnect from the mains (zap was between phases) but guy near to me didn't even notice that. I continued talk with him like nothing happened. I didn't want that he knows what happened.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 05:44:30 pm
content: Well i have been thrown righteously one time in my life. Happened when i was working in a hi power lab of my then employer Stromberg, testing an AC drive system prototype using an 10+ kW 3 phase inverter. The pesky thing didn't want to start and while checking the main supply i got the shit zapped out of me. The ancient Metrix analog multimeter had sockets for regular bananas only and i failed to note that they were not properly seated. Managed to get 400V mains from one arm to the next - the worst possible scenario.I wasn't thrown across the room, but i had vaulted over the backrest of the work chair. Not that i was aware of that until later. It was instant blackout and i woke some 2-3 minutes afterwards on the floor. Multimeter was thrown across the roomjudging from the bits and pieces strewn everywhere.I guess the stars were in the right position because the only consequences were small burn marks, real sore joints from the sudden spasm and strange fluctuations in the pulse for some days but that too passed. No permanent effects ..ffects ...cts ...cts....

author: rexxar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 07:22:16 pm
content: I once took 300VAC across the chest. I didn't get thrown back, but my hands sure flew right off what I was working on.

author: bookaboo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 07:33:20 pm
content: I got ~900AC across my hand once while working on a single to 3-phase converter. Had the inline fuse in my pocket but that wasn't enough to stop some bright spark putting in a new fuse to "get the yard lights working".Nice yellow entry and exit burn marks, bacon smell and a sore arm the next day but no big jumps.

author: ptricks
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2013, 09:02:49 pm
content: Living on a farm + rainy morning + fencing =

author: warp_foo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 03:13:59 am
content: On US Marine Corps KC-130s (F and R models), there is an electrical panel on the bulkhead just aft of where the radio operator sits. On a flight to Lajes, one of the 440v buss fuses blew, and I 'helped' the flight engineer by attempting to remove said blown fuse.I put on my flight gloves, nomex - of course, and grabbed the fuse to pull it out. It's here that I should mention that my glove was ever so slightly damp.In my defense, I'll point out that it looked like there was plenty of clearance between the contacts for my thumb and forefinger.While I didn't go flying through the air, it did make every muscle in my entire body 'pop'...m

author: smashedProton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 03:30:04 am
content: Quote from: warp_foo on August 17, 2013, 03:13:59 amNormally water does not conduct electricity. I think that it was piss

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 04:21:21 am
content: Not me... a screwdriver with that fuse in it that's supposed to glow when there's electricity in the socket :I was young and curious and found that in my dad's desk, saw him use it before a couple of times, opened it up, put it back together, put in the socket and it flew out of my hands and hit the other wall of the room, about 3-4 meters away. Don't know what happened...I did touch the AC leads once but it was by accident.Me and my family used to visit some family friends who lived at a house with a big garden and a fence you could see through. Right at the gate, they had behind the two thick cement pillars which held the gate and on the other side of the pillars they had a switch which would turn on the lights in the garden.Once we arrived to them somewhat in the afternoon, I just put my hands through one of the fence openings and tried to hit the switch with my fingers - but I didn't know they removed the switch a few hours before ( they were planning to paint the whole thing and preemptively removed the plastic cover but the idiots didn't insulate the wires)I had my fingers on the wires for about 10-15 seconds and couldn't understand why something was buzzing and I couldn't remove my fingers... Then I realized and I moved my whole body back and fingers slipped off the wires.Basically, my fingers were numb for about 10-15 minutes after that.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 10:36:43 am
content: Before that gets into another dick waving party of the "I take five electrical shocks before breakfast, but because I always keep one hand in my pocket it just makes me a better man". Skip to 4:20https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfnEuRA7-vo#t=4m18s

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 12:42:30 pm
content: Poor bastard... that video is pure nightmare fuel and should be required watching for all dickwavers.I had an exploding multimeter accident due in equal parts to my own failure to check for voltage, and the previous engineer's failure to record the circuit schedule correctly (so something I VERY wrongly assumed was off was very much live), stuck my probes across phases and blew the absolute shit out of it. Very nearly pissed myself in fright, but because I had my big 1kv elbow-length gloves on, no serious harm done. Also didn't get the sack either which was almost as lucky as not being hurt.The gloves come out for anything bigger than a pissy little baby flyback, but these days I rarely have to deal with anything needing more than 5VNo FHV circuits to deal with either in work or at home... I prefer to live vicariously through Photonicinduction

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 01:13:39 pm
content: I am surprised that the equipment could be switched on with panel open, all the Power switches that I have seen or fitted are interlocked such that they cannot be opened while the switch is in the on position and once opened cannot be switched back on.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 01:31:51 pm
content: It doesn't have to be HV to throw you a few meters, lot of amps will do the same job. Some contractor worked at a DC PDU (power distribution unit) of an aisle in a data center wiring new cabinets. -48V DC and two paths for redundancy, armthick wires back to the main DC busbar. Unfortunately he used non-isolated tools. Maybe he tought it's just low voltage DC. So he created a nice short circuit unintentionally, was thrown about 3 or 4 meters back and the remainings of his wrench were sprayed across the inside of the PDU cabinet and the area in front of the PDU. He had a nice scare but was ok, fortunately.

author: cosmos
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 01:55:57 pm
content: Flashovers are truly deadly.When it jumps to the metal structures and are not quenched in milliseconds you have steel and/or copper on fire.scary stuff

author: Cdngreybeard
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 09:11:52 pm
content: I've never been thrown by electricity, but I have been punched in the nose by it.Years a ago, I was stupidly looking over the shoulder of someone working on a CRO. He swears to this day that he accidentally touched the CRT HV, which subsequently caused his hand to fly back and punch me in the nose.Sure, it was an accident ...

author: jamesp15
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 11:04:57 pm
content: I had a co-worker "get thrown" off of a scaffold while we were working on a radar installation in Poland. Really dont know if he was thrown by the electricity or just his reaction to being shocked. But he damn sure took a flight off the scaffold... Was about 3 meters up when it happened, broke a few bones and had to stay a few weeks in Poland before he could fly home. The bang scared the crap out of me and almost made ME (and another co-worker and our translator and a Polish Air Force colonel) jump off too..(He was and old hat at it too, got a little too complacent doing something he has done hundreds of times before. Maybe distracted by our translator, not to be sexist but Polish women are quite pretty lol)

author: WarSim
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 06:06:27 am
content: I agree current is very hazardous. When I was hit by large amps it took a long while to shake the effects.Using safe practices are not a guarantee of safety. Sometime alignment of high power equipment has to be performed with insulated tools in the field.I was wiping down my arm and tools every 10 seconds due to sweat and condensation of humidity. Apparently circumstances required 5 second wipe downs.I also know snowflakes conduct.

author: HammerFET
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 02:13:34 pm
content: Camera flash cap for me. Don't really remember what happened and I didn't fly back as I was sitting against a sofa.From what it felt like, my arms when up in the air and i did a little dance before falling sideways

author: tealsuki
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2013, 02:40:54 pm
content: Quote from: HammerFET on August 18, 2013, 02:13:34 pmThat's happened to me too. Quite a queer feeling in my arm. I ended up getting frustrated with the camera and carried it to the trash... getting shocked by it once more on the way over!I imagine that's nothing compared to what you've all dealt with, but it was enough to give me a healthy respect of electricity again.Quote from: KremmenWhenever something can be described as biblically as that, you know it's not something to mess around with!

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2013, 04:20:43 pm
content: someone said "water does not conduct electricity", well i cant prove that but what i'm so sure is water will improve your body conductivity to ground, in other word, you'll get more shock in wet condition. well back to topic about being thrown away. i have many experiences nothing too fancy but only want to one experience. when i was 17. i threw electricity few meters away in the form of floating ceiling fan's condenser (capacitor) because it pissed me off.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2013, 04:22:34 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on August 23, 2013, 04:20:43 pmYep, I've never been thrown by electricity, but Ihavethrown electricity.

author: bigtimewelds
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 23, 2013, 09:45:51 pm
content: Quote from: ptricks on August 16, 2013, 09:02:49 pmhaha short sweet and too the point. I like it.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2013, 02:45:47 am
content: Yes, I have been "thrown" by electricity. I was 4 years old and playing with tweezers and thought "Hey, this looks like it would fit" So, yea, it shot me back 5 feet and almost burned the house down. The breaker box was one of those old types with the tube fuses... that was bypassed with a screwdriver. True Story and the beginning of my career. I remember calling it "tricity"

author: casper.bang
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2013, 04:59:45 am
content: So according to this thread, low voltage but high current, can throw a guy. At what voltage does this start happening? I ask because I am playing a lot around 12V car accumulators these days and my understanding (and experience) is that the only danger here, lies in a direct short which will toast too thin a wire and cause burns. I assumed up until 36V - 48V, direct contact while grounded can only cause an eerie tingle?!

author: WarSim
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2013, 05:22:14 am
content: Quote from: casper.bang on August 27, 2013, 04:59:45 amThe only answer that can be given is based on averages ergo the norm. There are always exceptions. I have personally worked with people way outside the norm in both directions.I worked with a guy who could tell if a portable radios PTT was pressed 100 yards away. One coworker burnt a hole thought his finger without knowing until he smelt his burning flesh. These are the extremes and rare. I only recommend not finding out where you are the hard way.

author: Neereus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 27, 2013, 05:51:31 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on August 23, 2013, 04:20:43 pmOff topic, but, PURE water is a great insulator. However, most water has impurities such as salts and metals that increases conductivity.

author: MatCat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2013, 06:54:05 am
content: When I was about 17 I had a job operating rides at a small amusement park and I was operating a tea cup style ride, I was opening the door of one of the ride cars to allow some passengers on and my finger found the 480vAC light socket that had no bulb or cover on it, for about 10 seconds I was locked to that socket and COULD NOT separate myself from it, the entire time the duty cycle was like getting punched from the inside out, finally I managed to sway my body enough to pull my hand free, I was tingling for about 20 minutes after that and quite sore for a little while longer. That was by far the worst I have ever experienced, many shocks from low voltage sources, though I did watch my aunt with the worst 80s hair style get shocked from her blow dryer and shoot her hair straight up, I thought that was rather hilarious! (She was OK).