# Shock Stories



## duramaxdarren (Sep 12, 2012)

figured i start a thread about the most memorable shocks you've we've all had. my most painful and memorable one was a 277v nuetral blast. i was standing on a 8ft ladder with half my body above the ceiling grid. i just turned the circuit back on after wiring a bunch of 2x4's. one was out in the middle and was 3:15pm. so i was pissed and threw the ladder up and flw up the ladder and grabbed the duplex connector and the nuetral from the ballst hit my wrist. everything in my vision was shaking and jumped off the ladder and took a part of ceiling down with me. yup a felt like sh$#t for 2weeks. there was 30+ light on that circuit.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

I put a 9 volt battery on my tongue.


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## Sparkypyro (Nov 2, 2011)

I took the connector end of an old Army field phone and placed it on my neck and squeezed the generator on the handset once in basic training. Made funny faces and we laughed. A lot.


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## socalelect (Nov 14, 2011)

Not sure on the voltages, had a welder set at 180 amps wet feet knees dry gloves wet truck bed went to stick another rod in and got nailed really bad


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

socalelect said:


> Not sure on the voltages, had a welder set at 180 amps wet feet knees dry gloves wet truck bed went to stick another rod in and got nailed really bad


If i remember right, an arc welder runs around 50 volts... but the amperage is almost always in the hundreds.


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## socalelect (Nov 14, 2011)

TOOL_5150 said:


> If i remember right, an arc welder runs around 50 volts... but the amperage is almost always in the hundreds.


It hurt really bad, couldn't move my left arm for like a half hour and my legs were slightly ********


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

socalelect said:


> It hurt really bad, couldn't move my left arm for like a half hour and my legs were slightly ********


50v isnt a joke... thats for sure. I am sure it didnt feel good at all.


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## socalelect (Nov 14, 2011)

It turned me into a girl about sticking another rod In the holder, I set them on something flat and would just grab one with the stinger


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

Last time I got shocked, I was working hot and not really paying attention to what I was doing.

Its not a matter of IF, its a matter of WHEN. Dont work hot, its stupid.


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## socalelect (Nov 14, 2011)

I was working on a generator chasing some wiring and had it running just caught a bare spot from a rat chewing on my elbow, to my wrist


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Without a doubt, hands down, no comparison, the hardest I have ever been hit was with a welder too.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

and then there are those that just _have to_ piss on the electric fence for themselves ......



~CS~


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> Without a doubt, hands down, no comparison, the hardest I have ever been hit was with a welder too.


You are not trying hard enough, 480 will kick that welders butt and send it home crying for mama.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

TOOL_5150 said:


> If i remember right, an arc welder runs around 50 volts... but the amperage is almost always in the hundreds.


And the amperage of a typical circuit is also into the 100s if not thousands.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

duramaxdarren said:


> figured i start a thread about the most memorable shocks you've we've all had. my most painful and memorable one was a 277v nuetral blast. i was standing on a 8ft ladder with half my body above the ceiling grid. i just turned the circuit back on after wiring a bunch of 2x4's. one was out in the middle and was 3:15pm. so i was pissed and threw the ladder up and flw up the ladder and grabbed the duplex connector and the nuetral from the ballst hit my wrist. everything in my vision was shaking and jumped off the ladder and took a part of ceiling down with me. yup a felt like sh$#t for 2weeks. there was 30+ light on that circuit.


I was installing a lampholder, i needed light so i completed the ckt hot, well connected everything. Up then went to do the hot , grabbed the lead on the lamp-holder, and then some how the hot shot over and hit my finger, traveled through my finger and lit bulb a little bit


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

BBQ said:


> And the amperage of a typical circuit is also into the 100s if not thousands.


The machine was set to 125 amps because we were welding with1/8" 7018 rods. I was holding the metal I wanted welded and my helper struck an arc on the piece I was holding ,instead of striking on the metal we were welding to. His rod stuck to it, and Im solidly grounded against building steel, so the full circuit was flowing through me. That was BAD


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> The machine was set to 125 amps because we were welding with1/8" 7018 rods. I was holding the metal I wanted welded and my helper struck an arc on the piece I was holding ,instead of striking on the metal we were welding to. His rod stuck to it, and Im solidly grounded against building steel, so the full circuit was flowing through me. That was BAD


I know it hurts.


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

I worked in a shop where the foreman got hit so hard with the welder he had to have an EKG. He was not a sparky.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

There are 4 times I will not forget.

1966 standing barefoot on the concrete floor of a garage I plugged a 3/8" metal case drill into the outlet, lined up my drill bit and BAM!, when I turned it on I got the crap kicked out of me.

1973 under a house in the heat of summer. Was drilling all morning installing baseboard heat. Got to under the bathroom and I was touching the copper water pipe with my wet arm and when I pulled the trigger of that metal cased 1/2" drill, BAM!, I was stuck in that I could not let go of the trigger (I screamed like a little girl being abused). Lucky the plumber had been down there doing some work and had a hole dug out that I was able to roll into (breaking the connection).

1978 I had 2 incidents, one I was messing with a 15,000 volt neon transformer and it knocked me back a few feet when I got where I shouldn't have. To this day I'm still not sure what happened. The 2nd one was a neutral on a 277 lighting circuit. I was lucky I did not take down the ceiling grid.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

that's 4 outta 9 lives hws....~CS~


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

chicken steve said:


> that's 4 outta 9 lives hws....~CS~


Well, more than 4, but it did not involve electrical, it was road rage and a handgun. Another story for another day.


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

Sitting on a beam 30' up in a high bay hooking up a 277 high bay fixture wiith my rookie wire strippers.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

I know an ex-poco worker here that got 44K worth, has quite the amount of burn scars under his shirt, his story scares the beejesus outta me....~CS~


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## NacBooster29 (Oct 25, 2010)

Putting a dead front on a 480 volt panel. My left hand made contact with two phases on a breaker. The wire was stripped way too long. My arm was numb and throbbing for two days. 
Another dumb thing was stripping a pots line by biting the insulation off, and someone dialing in at that exact time....try it if you don't think that hurts.


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## jbfan (Jan 22, 2007)

Adjusting the color on a video game when my arm hit the fly back.
First thing I did was look and see if anyone saw, then sat down on the skee ball machine and rubbed my arm for 10 minutes.


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## ce2two (Oct 4, 2008)

Worked on metro trains got a nice 64vdc shock.....your body goes stiff ..Trains and direct current respect it..woke me up real quick..


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## Hawkrod (Mar 19, 2012)

2003, new house for the wife, bought a historic 1950's western ranch in Southern California. This home was the advertising piece for a planned luxury community and was 3100 sq feet 4 bed, 4 bath with maids qtr's. Probably the best of the best in 1954 and ALMOST nothing had ever been changed or upgraded which simply made it a true survivor. We moved into the house in August and my wife decided she wanted to do Thanksgiving for the family so a new stacked oven and stove top were on the short list. I slid the oven out of the wall to see what I was up against and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was leaning on a piece of conduit that had been ADDED (and was well grounded, unlike everything else!) and the old amored lead had a 16D nail right through it (nailed from the other side of the wall) that peeled the insulation on one leg of a 240 50 amp circuit. The oven cabinet powered up and I could not let go. It tore off both biceps before I could get off and I crawled to the bathroom to puke before losing it. The guys at the hospital were amazed I was still here! I always tell my guys that it will hit you when you least expect it and it may not be anything you have done. I have the nail and the wire on a shelf in my office and the first thing I did when I got out of the hospital was order a new sub-panel and wire to add grounds and started rewiring. The only circuits in the house that are not grounded now are in a few perimeter walls that I could not easily get into but they will be done eventually. Don't take it for granted, it is not always the wiring you are working on that will get you, I had not even opened up the box on this one.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

hardworkingstiff said:


> Well, more than 4, but it did not involve electrical, it was road rage and a handgun. Another story for another day.


 Be careful dude, you'll wind up in a suitcase by the side of the highway!


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

I had to hold onto an electric fence for a while when I slipped in a pond, that wasnt pleasant. Havent taken 230v yet knock on wood, if I cant see in the hole, I dont stick my hand in there, thats a rule to live by and I assume everything is live on construction sites with most of the ECs around here.


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## bthesparky (Jan 23, 2009)

Was crawled out on a beam unhooking a light. Made the mistake of unhooking neutral first. Light found a good 277 nuetral through me.


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## socalelect (Nov 14, 2011)

chewy said:


> I had to hold onto an electric fence for a while when I slipped in a pond, that wasnt pleasant. Havent taken 230v yet knock on wood, if I cant see in the hole, I dont stick my hand in there, thats a rule to live by and I assume everything is live on construction sites with most of the ECs around here.


I only got a electric fence once and it was running from 4 illtempered rottweilers that were trying to eat me


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## Fishingeveryday (Jul 16, 2012)

First shock of my life was in shop class. Hooking up the stove receptacle with breaker off. Last thing I heard from hot chick, who was my partner, was "You forgot t turn one on." Blew me off the receptacle and into the welding table behind me. Messed up my back had to stay in bed for 2 days. 

Worst shock was 347 when I was a second year. Standing on top of 10' ladder (young and dumb) reaching between two main duct trunks to stuffed box with three extension rings on it. Marrettes are falling off, nicks all over the wires. Needless to say I eventually made an error and got stuck. Felt like five minutes (probably not) until my legs gave out and I fell flat on my back. Took me 15 minutes to scrape myself off the floor. Ended up with bruised ribs and I couldn't use that arm for a few days. I haven't worked live on 347 since.


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## troubleshooting (Mar 16, 2012)

Tried to impress a woman with my electrical skills by fixing her 347 volt baseboard heater with just my leatherman multitool. Took the shock from one hand to the other. She said i bounced about 2 feet off the floor.

I really don't remember the shock, but the muscles in my chest ached for weeks. She was real impressed!


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

troubleshooting said:


> She was real impressed!


That you lived? :laughing:


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## millelec (Nov 20, 2010)

troubleshooting a high voltage power supply for an electrostatic air cleaner. meggered the capacitor (after discharging it first) then forgot to discharge it again before I hooked leads back up. (using both hands at same time). took the 500 Vdc across chest, my field of vision narrowed, and it was like watching an old film projector lose power. everything was slowing down and turning grey. dropped to my knees, then everything started speeding up again. scared the **** out of me, because I wasn't sure I was gonna make it.


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

millelec said:


> troubleshooting a high voltage power supply for an electrostatic air cleaner. meggered the capacitor (after discharging it first) then forgot to discharge it again before I hooked leads back up. (using both hands at same time). took the 500 Vdc across chest, my field of vision narrowed, and it was like watching an old film projector lose power. everything was slowing down and turning grey. dropped to my knees, then everything started speeding up again. scared the **** out of me, because I wasn't sure I was gonna make it.


Your lucky to be alive. That DC ain't no joke.


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## e_auge (Oct 6, 2012)

Dallas copper thieves


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## JohnR (Apr 12, 2010)

I was stripping some telephone wire with my teeth, someone called. 


Thought a 9v batt was bad.


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## Ninety (Jan 7, 2011)

I put my tongue on a 9v battery once.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

troubleshooting said:


> Tried to impress a woman with my electrical skills by fixing her 347 volt baseboard heater with just my leatherman multitool. Took the shock from one hand to the other. She said i bounced about 2 feet off the floor.
> 
> I really don't remember the shock, but the muscles in my chest ached for weeks. She was real impressed!


hopefully gratuitous sex was in the equation....:whistling2:~CS~


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## bobelectric (Feb 24, 2007)

e_auge said:


> Dallas copper thieves
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18559


 That is ahhh ,Sad ahhh.


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## denny3992 (Jul 12, 2010)

http://www.highaltitudeimports.com/...n-tasers-himself...-writes-letter...-I-LOL-ed

Read this many times and still chuckle!


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## ptcrtn (Mar 14, 2011)

I took a TENS unit (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) put one electrode on my butt and and one on my wifes butt and tha is all I have to say about that.


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

socalelect said:


> I only got a electric fence once and it was running from 4 illtempered rottweilers that were trying to eat me


This was either pond or 18 month old bull rag dolling me around the paddock, :laughing:


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## Zog (Apr 15, 2009)

BBQ said:


> And the amperage of a typical circuit is also into the 100s if not thousands.


That has nothing to do with it. I hate these stupid threads that show up every few weeks, always folloewed by a bunch of comments that are way off base and frankly dangerous to those reading this stuff to believe the common misconceptions are true. 

I did not read past this post, don't need to, this shows up here all the time. Please people, go do some real reaserach on shocks before you get hurt or killed, and stop working live.


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## ohmontherange (May 7, 2008)

Zog said:


> That has nothing to do with it. I hate these stupid threads that show up every few weeks, always folloewed by a bunch of comments that are way off base and frankly dangerous to those reading this stuff to believe the common misconceptions are true.
> 
> I did not read past this post, don't need to, this shows up here all the time. Please people, go do some real reaserach on shocks before you get hurt or killed, and stop working live.


Well said. Nothing to joke about. Probably everyone on this forum has been hit more than once and we're all damned lucky to have lived through it. Work smart & stay safe.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

ptcrtn said:


> I took a TENS unit (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) put one electrode on my butt and and one on my wifes butt and tha is all I have to say about that.


Haha


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## halfamp (Jul 16, 2012)

Within my first week or two in the trade I was unhooking some building automation controls with a journeyman who assured me everything was disconnected. All I had ever done at this point was collect garbage, so I didn't know a live wire from a mole on my ass. Needless to say, I got hit with 277 twice, the second time he saw it and goes "ahh the old 277.. smarts don't it?"

Yes it did.

Since then, pretty much just working on POTS lines


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## Dnyce81 (Aug 3, 2012)

I got hit with 277 yesterday. Definetly felt that one. My hand and arm was tingling for a while. Woke my ass up for sure lol


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

BBQ said:


> And the amperage of a typical circuit is also into the 100s if not thousands.


but but... "110 is safe" :brows:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Zog said:


> I hate these stupid threads that show up every few weeks, always folloewed by a bunch of comments that are way off base and frankly dangerous to those reading this stuff to believe the common misconceptions are true.


Than maybe you should stop reading them.




> I did not read past this post, don't need to,


Man you are good, you dont even have to read something to know about it No one here is worthy of posting on the same Internet as you. God only knows what will happen when you pass away, people will die, power plants close down, it will be a dark time. 

:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

Dnyce81 said:


> I got hit with 277 yesterday. Definetly felt that one. My hand and arm was tingling for a while. Woke my ass up for sure lol


 
There was a guy here in his 20's working 277 live, and he never made it home that day. I don't work 277 live at all. I occasionally work 120 live for troubleshooting or if I'm just too lazy to find which breaker it is. But I've done it enough that I don't get shocked. THe worst thing that might happen is you'l trip the breaker when you're stuffing the switches back in.


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## ampman (Apr 2, 2009)

jbfan said:


> Adjusting the color on a video game when my arm hit the fly back.
> First thing I did was look and see if anyone saw, then sat down on the skee ball machine and rubbed my arm for 10 minutes.


what is a fly back


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

ptcrtn said:


> I took a TENS unit (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) put one electrode on my butt and and one on my wifes butt and tha is all I have to say about that.


Just one question. Did this happen more than once? :laughing:


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## LightsOn81 (Jan 6, 2012)

It didn't shock me because it was DC but check it out........

We were doing a UPS change out in a data center for a local Internet/cable provider. Servers and ladder rack everywhere. Well we had to pull some control wire out to change the equipment. It's 1230AM, we been there since 7 the previous morning. We are ready to go. Well I'm on the ladder pulling it out and I got all this loose fish tape. I throw the fish tape over this ladder rack to keep it from goin crazy. I turn around to get back to pulling and I feel this heat on my neck. I turn back around just in time to see the fish tape turn bright orange then melt! It starts raining sparks. The fish tape was laid over an open bus bar with 54v of DC. My buddy Fred jumps over a pile of boxes 5 ft tall flat footed. Chuck turns to run but there's a CMU wall and a panel in the way. I slide down the ladder. The lights go out. Some sparks land in box on the floor. I'm swatting it out with my hands. I just know the building is about to burn down. Fire bell is going off. We had to,call the boss at 1 AM. THANKFULLY we only had to fix a few VCT tiles.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

LightsOn81 said:


> It didn't shock me because it was DC ....


Uh, can you give me the science behind this statement? DC does not shock?

I think maybe it does.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

hardworkingstiff said:


> Uh, can you give me the science behind this statement? DC does not shock?


There are AC people and DC people, if you are an AC person DC cannot shock you.


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## hardworkingstiff (Jan 22, 2007)

BBQ said:


> There are AC people and DC people, if you are an AC person DC cannot shock you.


Ah, OK. I wonder if I can get Mike (Mac) to confirm this. :laughing:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

hardworkingstiff said:


> Ah, OK. I wonder if I can get Mike (Mac) to confirm this. :laughing:


It's black opps stuff, all very hush hush.


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## wingz (Mar 21, 2009)

bbq said:


> it's black opps stuff, all very hush hush.








​


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## hdnvn (Mar 17, 2009)

millelec said:


> troubleshooting a high voltage power supply for an electrostatic air cleaner. meggered the capacitor (after discharging it first) then forgot to discharge it again before I hooked leads back up. (using both hands at same time). took the 500 Vdc across chest, my field of vision narrowed, and it was like watching an old film projector lose power. everything was slowing down and turning grey. dropped to my knees, then everything started speeding up again. scared the **** out of me, because I wasn't sure I was gonna make it.


Funny because that exactly describes my incident. Six foot ladder while grounded to a bar joist, hot hung up on a 277 volt ballast neutral. I woke up on the floor


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Number 3-Laying on a duct reaching behind where I could not see, wire nut fell off a splice on a hidden J-box.


Number 2- Reaching into a battery cabinet cabinet to disconnect a ground on a roll out battery tray. Left a coppery taste in my mouth and I took the rest of the day off.


Number 1- Reinstalling a circuit breaker after testing it and an electrician from another company, picked up a circuit breaker off the floor installed it in the cubicle and turned the CB on. Thought I was going to die, spent 24 hours in the hospital.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

LightsOn81 said:


> ...The fish tape was laid over an open bus bar with 54v of DC....


 The POCO used to have a label called a "High Energy Area" where anything long and conductive was prohibited, just for that reason. No fish tapes, measuring tapes, aluminum ladders, or even sticks of EMT.

-John


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

brian john said:


> Number 3-Laying on a duct reaching behind where I could not see, wire nut fell off a splice on a hidden J-box.
> 
> Number 2- Reaching into a battery cabinet cabinet to disconnect a ground on a roll out battery tray. Left a coppery taste in my mouth and I took the rest of the day off.
> 
> Number 1- Reinstalling a circuit breaker after testing it and an electrician from another company, picked up a circuit breaker off the floor installed it in the cubicle and turned the CB on. Thought I was going to die, spent 24 hours in the hospital.


What happened in #1 did the cb blow up? Or did you get zapped ?


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## woostaguy (Nov 19, 2012)

This is the results of cross phasing a parallel drop to an 800 amp disconnect...details are to embarrasing to list but that aprentice should have never been on the roof that day... my fault....he was out for 2 months with 3rd degree burns on his hands, I got out easy with these flash marks and minor burns.
It was phase to phase arc flash from alum. 350 mcm. straight off the drop.
many lessons learned that day!!


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## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

I was troubleshooting a GFCI circuit and had the waist high garage recep out. 

As I was working it, I was careless and got nipped. In reaction to the shock, I quickly and instinctively drew my hand/arm back and popped myself square in the nose. 

My eyes were watering, my nose was bleeding and I was laughing my ass off and looking around to see if anyone witnessed it.


This wasn't me. Fishing a hot, taped, 12/3 romex. Obviously not taped well enough. No burns, just soot marks.


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## wireman64 (Feb 2, 2012)

220/221 said:


> I was troubleshooting a GFCI circuit and had the waist high garage recep out.
> 
> As I was working it, I was careless and got nipped. In reaction to the shock, I quickly and instinctively drew my hand/arm back and popped myself square in the nose.
> 
> ...


Once a gfci blew up right in front of me , it stared buzzing like hell , i thought it was our radio, i went to check it out and boom ! As stupid as it sounds, im more careful with them now


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