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!?!

 

[cliffed]

safe Isolation comes to mind…somewhere you’ve made a contact to earth & shocked…this time you survived next time maybe not so lucky BEWARE!!

 

[MJPD29]

With all due respect that was an incredibly stupid idea. Lesson learnt ALWAYS ISOLATE and prove dead before commencing ANY work.

 

[nicebutdim]

It's not always possible to isolate, but in such circumstances it would be incredibly foolish to make any assumptions about safety.

 

[Marvo]

Yeah, I guess your post is a great illustration of how people get killed by a complete disregard for safe working proceedures. There's no such thing as too time constrained to safely isolate.

Enjoy your second chance at life.

 

[R Blankenship]

safe Isolation comes to mind…somewhere you’ve made a contact to earth & shocked…this time you survived next time maybe not so lucky BEWARE!!

safe Isolation comes to mind…somewhere you’ve made a contact to earth & shocked…this time you survived next time maybe not so lucky BEWARE!!

It was a single wire having 120vac impressed upon my wire-Stripper in which my left hand's Thumb and right hand's index finger touched the Stripper's metal as I cut the insulation -NO other voltage delta NOR ground potential- as the current traveled through my thumb hand arm chest other arm hand and finger...; THAT'S why it is SO remarkable- I will try to upload two photos I took afterwards -showing the blistered Thumb and Index Finger.... The only other possible thought as to how this electrocution was possible is Harmonics impressed in a single voltage source; which can set up a delta-Voltage (Voltage difference) strong enough that the current locked my arms to its travel.

 

[R Blankenship]

safe Isolation comes to mind…somewhere you’ve made a contact to earth & shocked…this time you survived next time maybe not so lucky BEWARE!!

Please tell me where that contact to ground was, as the two blister points -for in and out (and then through my hands, arms, and chest area) were my left thumb and right index Finger which contacted the wire-Stripper as I crimped the insulation and pressed the left Thumb against the Wire Stripper to assist separation!?! The left Thumb and right index Finger were about as far apart as are the feet of a bird sitting on a high tension/voltage wire that everyone has witnessed looking up -That's why this electrocution was so REMARKABLE. Judge me rash, incredibly stupid, it matters NOT to me, what matters to me is why I got shocked doing inessense what birds do all the time..., and I lived to tell the story and begin a dialogue on what has NOT been ever addressed -I have the photographs I took of the blisters I received.

 

[littlespark]

You have been incredibly lucky not to do any more damage....
In fact, you should mention this to a doctor, just in case.

Your analogy of a bird sitting on a wire is flawed.... The cables up there are possibly insulated... not by much, but there will need to be some... just to stop the cables corroding more than anything else.

Ive never actually tested how resistive a fibreglass ladder is..... but unless its marked as being safe f0r live work.... (like insulated screwdrivers) i would't trust it.

 

[R Blankenship]

I'll try to attach the photographs I took -They show the entry and exit points as my right index Finger and left Thumb -and I can tell you the current traveled from these two point (less than an inch apart -about the distance between a bird's feet in the olden days perched on a high tension wire when NOT all pole hanging wires were insulated) as I held the wire Stripper to remove the outer insulation on a single, live 120vac (thinking I'm as safe as any bird in the field of a single voltage sourced wire...; and, as I mentioned, I could have walked down the FIBREGLASS ladder because NO current flowed through my legs! I lived through the experience and can only explain the Voltage/Potential difference -that had my hands, arms, and chest LOCKED to it and was electrocuting me- had to be due to induced Harmonics that can occur: There then IS a potential difference. It is important that I give a heads up, for my guess is that this has been the death of other senior electrical workers who have been led to believe in the bird on a wire concept -which I now know is a FALSE Flag.
Thanks for responding,
Richard Blankenship

 

[westward10]

I would hope any senior electrical worker wouldn't be stupid enough to work on live wires.

 

[DPG]

I think you are looking for a particular answer. I may be wrong.

 

[nicebutdim]

I get the theory on which the OP thought they could depend as birds do indeed sit on live cables without harm, but I've watched a swan electrocute itself when its wingspan reached to cables on approach for landing.

While I get the theory, I'm not sure it applies to human beings dependant on fibreglass ladders to insulate them from the general mass of earth.

Perhaps the OP might have been safe with a huge air gap between them and the ground (or anything else in contact with the ground). Just need to learn how to float or fly.

 

[westward10]

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

 

[davesparks]

Your analogy of a bird sitting on a wire is flawed.... The cables up there are possibly insulated... not by much, but there will need to be some... just to stop the cables corroding more than anything else.

A lot of overhead lines, particularly HV are uninsulated. Birds sit on them perfectly safely because both feet are on the same wire which is at the same voltage so no current flows through them.

 

[James]

I have never seen a bird stood on a step ladder, put a hand or any other part of their body on a live wire.

 

[R Blankenship]

You have been incredibly lucky not to do any more damage....
In fact, you should mention this to a doctor, just in case.

Your analogy of a bird sitting on a wire is flawed.... The cables up there are possibly insulated... not by much, but there will need to be some... just to stop the cables corroding more than anything else.

Ive never actually tested how resistive a fibreglass ladder is..... but unless its marked as being safe f0r live work.... (like insulated screwdrivers) i would't trust it.

Littlespark, imagine how much weight is added to insulate transmission lines, if this were the standard. Or imagine the usefulness of an insulated electric cattleguard fence that a Rancher uses to discouraged their Cattle from traveling any further and upon which a bird safely perches itself without a shock.... Now,xI failed to mentionbthat on this service-Call, I had trouble-shot, found the motor had failed, cut the feed's "hot"/"live" wire and put a wire nut on its exposed end and set it aside to remove and replace the motor.... -I cut the wire with the same wire-Stripper with my right hand while holding the "live" wire's insulated wire with my left hand..., all without receiving a shock or henerating a spark on that "live" wire in which no current presently traveled.
I can assure that I am NOT the first NOR will I be the last to proceed along this path -That is partly why I posted this remarkable conditions for a shock.

 

[R Blankenship]

I would hope any senior electrical worker wouldn't be stupid enough to work on live wires.

Here, Westward10, is a little more background on that service Call: I trouble-shot the Fan-Coil and found the motor had failed. I then cut the feed's 120vac "live" wire with my wire-Stipper (holding the insulated wire with my left hand) and placed a wire nut on its now exposed tip and set it aside (no shock then, even though I used my hands without gloves or turning the Breaker off), while I replaced the motor. Once replaced, I then needed to remove 11/16" of the feed-Wire's outer -end insulation to "mate" it to the new motor's lead wire. It was then, after crimping and begin leveraging that 11/16" of insulation.off when, I guess, the movement caused the now exposed "live" wire to touch the wire-Stripper's exposed metal and set up a current that traveled back and forth through my left Thumb, hand and arm, chest, heart, right arm hand and index finger... -there was no other circuit components and NO other delta-V other than generated from Harmonics or other dirty signals on that wire.... My guess is that these Harmonics and variants generate a current and yhat this is what cause "heating" on the wire even when the circuit has NO demand from the end-User.

 

[R Blankenship]

I have never seen a bird stood on a step ladder, put a hand or any other part of their body on a live wire.

James, let me assist you, high tension transmission lines would be formidable to transmit long distance if weighted with insulation. But, check out a Rancher's electric fence with its high-tension, uninsulated wire that discourages the Rancher's Cattle from traveling past that point... -waolit and watch a bird safelyvperch itself on that high tension wire -or if in a hurry, go up to it and touch it with your hand while jumping into the air and experience for yourself how you only feel a shock when you land back on the ground while still touching that Rancher's electric Cattle guard fence.

 

[DPG]

James, let me assist you, high tension transmission lines would be formidable to transmit long distance if weighted with insulation. But, check out a Rancher's electric fence with its high-tension, uninsulated wire that discourages the Rancher's Cattle from traveling past that point... -waolit and watch a bird safelyvperch itself on that high tension wire -or if in a hurry, go up to it and touch it with your hand while jumping into the air and experience for yourself how you only feel a shock when you land back on the ground while still touching that Rancher's electric Cattle guard fence.

I think we all know the theory behind this to be honest, it's fairly basic and fundamental.

What you experienced was a completed circuit, however it was formed. Nothing to do with harmonics. And I'm not sure where you are going with your 'delta V' comments.

 

[R Blankenship]

I think we all know the theory behind this to be honest, it's fairly basic and fundamental.

What you experienced was a completed circuit, however it was formed. Nothing to do with harmonics. And I'm not sure where you are going with your 'delta V' comments.

"Delta" is engineering terminology for "difference" -whether 120vac and ground or whatever has a voltage difference in which current can potentially flow -in my circumstance the "delta V" existed on a single 120vac wire.... My guess is that "harmonics" on wires (seen often in commercial electrical wiring systems) generates heat due to the delta V of Harmonics in which multiple frequencies exist and so current will flow in a single "live" wire... -a concept my training never touched upon but nearly ended my life....

So more background on that troubleshooting and replacing a failed motor: Once determined the motor was bad, I cut the feed's "hot"/"live" wire with the same wire-Stripper and bare hands, then wire-nutted its exposed end and set it aside as I replaced the motor... all without being shocked, and my left hand only touching the "live" wire's insulation.