When your job gets the better of you!!!!!

[Darkwood]

Hi ... just want to hear you worst electric shock you received ......im sure all you established sparkies have had a zap!!! or 2.

To get the ball rolling, i once many years ago had to stick my head through a 600/600 ceiling grid so i removed a tile as you do and proceded up my aluminium steps alittle further to stick my head up.. as i used my left hand to steady me on the steps and put my right hand on the grid i was suddenly locked in cramp until i fell off the steps pulling down part of ceiling, it was an office not in use but was told i was walking in on board meeting looking white as a ghost and all confused.... i dont recall the hour after it at all... It turns out the whole grid was live from a faulty transformer sitting on top of the grid eeek! got the full wack through me ...



Now who says ceiling grids dont need earthing ???? I assume the fall gave me concussion but the shock which lasted 2 -3 seconds left burns on my hands and at least the clients were sympathetic to what had occured and the dangerous situation which was not something you usually have caution to --- could have got any unlucky trades/handy (wo)man.

 

[D80]

Worst - I was 14/15 and messing about with the light fitting in my bedroom. No idea what I did but it bloody hurt!

Stupidest (1) - Was a 3rd/4th year apprentice - charge hand said circuit is dead as he'd turned it off. No it wasn't! Lesson learnt!

Stupidest(2) - Adding a cable to an on MCB, elbow on trunking, uninsulated screw driver, finger on uninsulated part whilst pretty much spouting off about not having had a belt in years!

Never had a shock as bad as yours darkwood!

 

[GT1]

Clearing up a wiring job that another spark had walked away from mid job.
Cable hanging down everywhere.
Some of which was live some of it wasn't.
Isolated lighting circuit whilst investigation took place.
Reached up to look at what was hanging down and left bicep completed a circuit on a piece of 1.5mm t+e that was still live and on a separate circuit.
Thankfully board was on an RCD but the current was enough to burn away about 3mm diameter of skin.
A lovely mark remains as a reminder to check, check and check again.

 

[Darkwood]

Luckiest was many years ago when i was fitting a blank into a distboard 3ph, back in the days when all the busbar stubs to mcb couldn't be isolated, the board was on and lid was on and all i had to do was push fit a 6 modular strip into the lid...... think i pushed a little hard as the blanks buckled in the middle and fell through into the bored with my fingers..... 400 volts from tip of finger to side of it.... left a whole i could blow air through but the scary bit was i had a burn stripe on my chest just over my heart where i was lent into the metal steps.....

That did make me think!!!!!! bet was a good party trick for a few weeks been able to suck drink up from tip to side on my finger although not that comfortable to boot.
Having said this - this spans 20yrs so not really any other bad ones to note!

 

[malcolmsanford]

Was installing a stand-by genny set and learnt my lesson why a sparks should never wear watches or rings.

We were coupling up the emergency feed back onto the bus from the ATS and I was a young'un just out of my time.....so asked the foreman if I could couple it up on the live bus.................after all fully trained man now

Going well and I had the foremans no 10 spanner as well as mine, and was tightening up the Yellow phase, spanner slipped I'm left handed, stainless steel watch strap............................. next thing I know the foreman's standing over me, I'm across the other side of the room, the complex is in darkness, and he bends down to me and with real concern in his eyes

That's a new spanner you owe me ..............................in them days men were men ...................and I still have the blob of skin on my left wrist, and if I wear a watch I have to wear in on my right hand

 

[Guest123]

I'm afraid I too have been the victim of the old "yeah it's off" routine.

Trouble was it was on a 600v system whilst subbing to Network Rail and I nearly died!!!!!!!! - burns, flash blindness and i had no feeling in my arm for a good few days.

Needless to say since that day I dont trust anyone but myself when isolating i check, check and check again.

 

[EastAnglian]

As a teenager I played about with old radios and amplifiers. I had one my dad had built on a metal chassis box with no bottom to it - it usually lived inside a nice wooden box. It was, of course, valved.

One day it fell off the table - and I instinctively reached out to catch it. To this day I'm not really sure what I grabbed hold of but suffice to say how ever many killer-volts were inside were passing through my hand to the metal chassis which my wrist had a firm grip of. I can still remember the feeling, and I had a racing pulse for over an hour afterwards as well as being very shakey.

 

[Darkwood]

I believe its evidence of the old saying that a seamstress is only a pro once shes had the sewing machine needle through the finger.... on that point i dont believe you can truely appreciate you job until you've felt its wrath and so far im seeing some fine electricians on this thread.

 

[Dan the spark]

In a school in the holidays installing some extra em lights, dabbed the cables into an existing em live as couldn't get into the mains cupboard ( caretaker of on a jolly) one hand on the metal light body palm of the other hand touched the shaft of the un-insulated screwdriver while connecting the live. Hands clenched the fitting and had to jump of the steps to free myself, 20mins sat shaking on the table and still have the burn on my palm from the driver to remind me to isolate