Remarkable electric shock I experienced

[R Blankenship]

I experienced an electrical shock while replacing an A/C Fan Coil's 120vac, single phase motor that was above the ceiling grid in an office, while I stood on a fiberglass ladder and having no other voltage, neutral, nor ground point in the electrical shock -It was severe enough to lock me to it and leave blisters on entry and exit points. Here are the details: I was time constrained and in a hurry; and convinced of the concept of the "bird on a high tension wire" not getting shocked, and not troubling with turning off the breaker NOT putting on gloves, I began to strip the Stranded (THHN) "live" wire feed to make the necessary connection to the motor lead, using a wire stripper designed to strip solid copper insulated wire -this requires a little extra "umph" to pull the insulation off the stranded copper wire; so holding the Wire Stripper in my right hand (index Finger touching its metal, uninsulated portion of the Wire Stripper) and my left hand holding the "live" (120vac) wire by its insulated covering, I used my left Thumb against the Wire Stripper for the "umph" to pull the insulation away; at which point I compressed the Stripper to cut the insulation and pressed my thumb against the Wire Stripper to pull the wire apart from the end of the now stripped insulation; at which moment, I became hung to an electric current traveling through my Hands, Arms and Chest. I thought of walking down the ladder, to free myself; but thought I might NOT be able to break loose; so I slung my legs out side ways to cause the ladder to tip out and I fell to the floor, landing unconscious but freed of the shock! It taught me that a single voltage can cause death by electrical shock and the "bird on the wire" is a "false flag" concept.... My thought (as to how that was possible) is that the left Thumb and right index (less than an inch apart on the wire stripper) set up a capacitor circuit and my arms and chest became the dielectric!?!

 

[nicebutdim]

was NEVER discussed in any class or safety meeting that I have attended....

In any class or meeting was it ever suggested that you would be safe touching live conductors, while relying on fibreglass steps to insulate you from the general mass of earth? I'd be amazed if that was the case.

 

[nicebutdim]

My apology for taking so long to respond: In seeking an answer as to how I could get shocked on a single phase A/C live wire and birds do it all the time on an A/C high tension..., and also, to give workers a heads up..., here is what I have come to as an answer, that I can deduce: The "bird on a wire" sits on a live wire with a clean A/C [Generator produced, transformer distributed A/C] LIVE wire; where as, down the line, where end-use A/C lines have harmonics signals (such as Computer Systems) and other equipment (such as in the office where I received this shock/electrocution)... in which partially failed equipments' input rectifier circuits, etc. can "ping back", induce, or impress back onto the live wire harmonic sinusoidal signals, saw tooth, square wave, repetitive spike voltage signals that are at varying potential difference, all a single, live wire...; and this is what led to a potential difference that sent electricity through my hands, arms, chest and heart..., while leaving my lower torso and legs free to swing sideways to cause the ladder to tip over, me to fall to the floor and break the grip this current had on me... -The shock repition felt more like a saw-tooth, square wave of a rectifier circuit transformed up from some office eqiupments partially failed or poorly engineered input circuit..., thanAit felt like smooth sinusoidal A/C signal.... This concept and its possibility

[for a potential electrical shock..., and why bird's sitting on high-tension (A/C-generator-produced/xfrm transmitted Ckts) clean, isolated circuit... and why the bird does NOT get shocked]

was NEVER discussed in any class or safety meeting that I have attended....

Thanks for your kind response, to my experience, seeking answers, and wanting to alert other electrical Workers.
Richard L. Blankenship

Perhaps you might also consider the huge air gap between birds and the general mass of earth, which is where I suspect the real answer lies.

I don't know how things are in the US, but here in the UK I've never met anyone who would expect fibreglass steps to keep them safe from electric shock. Fairly recently I laughed at a colleague who received a minor shock while working on a lighting circuit from fibreglass steps. He foolisly assumed he was working on the same circuit as I was (he wasn't) and didn't bother to check if it was live (it was). He felt daft, but at no point did he express surprise that his steps didn't keep him safe as he would fully expect to receive a shock in those circumstances.

 

[R Blankenship]

The bird is completely isolated by the air, the OPs comparison is totally not applicable.

My apology for taking so long to respond: In seeking an answer as to how I could get shocked on a single phase A/C live wire and birds do it all the time on an A/C high tension..., and also, to give workers a heads up..., here is what I have come to as an answer, that I can deduce: The "bird on a wire" sits on a live wire with a clean A/C [Generator produced, transformer distributed A/C] LIVE wire; where as, down the line, where end-use A/C lines have harmonics signals (such as Computer Systems) and other equipment (such as in the office where I received this shock/electrocution)... in which partially failed equipments' input rectifier circuits, etc. can "ping back", induce, or impress back onto the live wire harmonic sinusoidal signals, saw tooth, square wave, repetitive spike voltage signals that are at varying potential difference, all a single, live wire...; and this is what led to a potential difference that sent electricity through my hands, arms, chest and heart..., while leaving my lower torso and legs free to swing sideways to cause the ladder to tip over, me to fall to the floor and break the grip this current had on me... -The shock repition felt more like a saw-tooth, square wave of a rectifier circuit transformed up from some office eqiupments partially failed or poorly engineered input circuit..., thanAit felt like smooth sinusoidal A/C signal.... This concept and its possibility

[for a potential electrical shock..., and why bird's sitting on high-tension (A/C-generator-produced/xfrm transmitted Ckts) clean, isolated circuit... and why the bird does NOT get shocked]

was NEVER discussed in any class or safety meeting that I have attended....

And as I said, I felt the current and its pathway between the upper jaw of the wire-Stripper (which is where my right index Finger sat) my hand, arm, chest, heart, other arm and hand..., and the lower wire-Stripper jaw where my left land's Thumb pressed against the Stipper to aid the cut insulation to be drawn off the clean Iive-Wire's 11/16" end, for mating to the motor's input-Lead wire... -NO missing, fraid or oxidized copper strands..., providing the Customer's equipment with a state of integrity and long-lasting motor service.

Richard L. Blankenship

 

[DPG]

This thread is just going round in circles. Like the electricity when you completed the circuit and received the shock.

This is nothing to do with harmonics, saw tooth waveforms, etc.

 

[westward10]

You are over thinking this. You worked on something live, somehow created a circuit through your body and got a shock.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck it is likely to be a duck.

 

[mainline]

My apology for taking so long to respond: In seeking an answer as to how I could get shocked on a single phase A/C live wire and birds do it all the time on an A/C high tension..., and also, to give workers a heads up..., here is what I have come to as an answer, that I can deduce: The "bird on a wire" sits on a live wire with a clean A/C [Generator produced, transformer distributed A/C] LIVE wire; where as, down the line, where end-use A/C lines have harmonics signals (such as Computer Systems) and other equipment (such as in the office where I received this shock/electrocution)... in which partially failed equipments' input rectifier circuits, etc. can "ping back", induce, or impress back onto the live wire harmonic sinusoidal signals, saw tooth, square wave, repetitive spike voltage signals that are at varying potential difference, all a single, live wire...; and this is what led to a potential difference that sent electricity through my hands, arms, chest and heart..., while leaving my lower torso and legs free to swing sideways to cause the ladder to tip over, me to fall to the floor and break the grip this current had on me... -The shock repition felt more like a saw-tooth, square wave of a rectifier circuit transformed up from some office eqiupments partially failed or poorly engineered input circuit..., thanAit felt like smooth sinusoidal A/C signal.... This concept and its possibility

[for a potential electrical shock..., and why bird's sitting on high-tension (A/C-generator-produced/xfrm transmitted Ckts) clean, isolated circuit... and why the bird does NOT get shocked]

was NEVER discussed in any class or safety meeting that I have attended....

And as I said, I felt the current and its pathway between the upper jaw of the wire-Stripper (which is where my right index Finger sat) my hand, arm, chest, heart, other arm and hand..., and the lower wire-Stripper jaw where my left land's Thumb pressed against the Stipper to aid the cut insulation to be drawn off the clean Iive-Wire's 11/16" end, for mating to the motor's input-Lead wire... -NO missing, fraid or oxidized copper strands..., providing the Customer's equipment with a state of integrity and long-lasting motor service.

Richard L. Blankenship

Not all fibreglass ladders / steps are non-conductive.

Were the ladder/steps wet ?

Were there any metal ends on them that were conductive ?.

If you were insulated from earth, then you wouldn't have had an electric shock.

 

[James]

There are devices out there that are guaranteed to protect you from a shock, they are often gloves or boots and are marked up as having been tested to provide protection up to a specified voltage.
if you are touching live cables or equipment then having suitable protection is the key.
no point in going round and round in circles, if you did receive a shock, it was due to the fact you touched something live and did not have suitable protection.

 

[R Blankenship]

If he had, then by his own reasoning there would be a heck of a lot of dead birds, and things like this would not be possible:
View attachment 110448

Tim Horward, my apology for taking so long before responding. In my early career a Linenan shared with me his experiencing grabbing with both hands a single "live", in operation, 69kv line while standing in his bucket-Truck's extended, isolated bucket -He said that it was vibrating..., but made no remark of whether it felt warm.... Your above pgotograph shows a higher voltage transmission line -maybe 138kv.

Here's what I concluded as to why an office's single 120vac cut but live wire could set up a current through my hands, arms, and chest..., but the man with both hands on a high tension wire and sitting on a helicopter's platform does not have a delta-V nor current flow through his hands, arms and chest: High Tension wires have clean sinusoidal AC voltage produced by a Generato, transformed and transmitted through transformers; where as in offices operating all sorts of electrical devices these end-use equipment can set up harmonics and/or have partially failed or poorly designed input rectifier-transformers circuits that can "ping-back", impress, induce multiple frequency sinusoidal harmonics, or sawtooth, square wave, or othet repetitive spike, variant voltage on a single line -And this is what hung me.... You could take a bird or a man sitting below a helicopter of a line with thes delta-V's and they too would be shocked by current flowing through their hands (or bird's feet) and Body.

This concept was not realized by me until this experience; although, I knew about harmonic that computers can set up and cause undue heating on "live" wires.

 

[westward10]

Unbelievable.

 

[DPG]

Tim Horward, my apology for taking so long before responding. In my early career a Linenan shared with me his experiencing grabbing with both hands a single "live", in operation, 69kv line while standing in his bucket-Truck's extended, isolated bucket -He said that it was vibrating..., but made no remark of whether it felt warm.... Your above pgotograph shows a higher voltage transmission line -maybe 138kv.

Here's what I concluded as to why an office's single 120vac cut but live wire could set up a current through my hands, arms, and chest..., but the man with both hands on a high tension wire and sitting on a helicopter's platform does not have a delta-V nor current flow through his hands, arms and chest: High Tension wires have clean sinusoidal AC voltage produced by a Generato, transformed and transmitted through transformers; where as in offices operating all sorts of electrical devices these end-use equipment can set up harmonics and/or have partially failed or poorly designed input rectifier-transformers circuits that can "ping-back", impress, induce multiple frequency sinusoidal harmonics, or sawtooth, square wave, or othet repetitive spike, variant voltage on a single line -And this is what hung me.... You could take a bird or a man sitting below a helicopter of a line with thes delta-V's and they too would be shocked by current flowing through their hands (or bird's feet) and Body.

This concept was not realized by me until this experience; although, I knew about harmonic that computers can set up and cause undue heating on "live" wires.

It is nothing to do with clean or dirty AC, or harmonics or saw tooth wave forms or bouncing pulses etc. It's just the well understood electrical circuit in which current flows.

I suspect you will still keep repeating the same thing over and over again though until someone agrees with you. I suspect this won't happen.

 

[westward10]

 

[timhoward]

Finally, something that makes sense!

 

[westward10]

It was lineman, it is going round in my head now but what a great tune.

 

[nicebutdim]

It was lineman, it is going round in my head now but what a great tune.

Can't help wondering if it was a smooth sinusoidal or rectified signal that allowed Campbell to 'hear her through the wire'...

 

[westward10]

Is he still on the line?