worst jolt ive ever got

[gnuuser]

i got nailed once by a bessemer condenser tester.
it was brought to my shop and put on a rolling cart. it had some damaged test leads that needed replaced.
what i didn't know was that they had plugged it in.
the cart was against the test bench and its tabletop blocked view of the outlet the tester was plugged into.
i grabbed my meter and reached to move the leads . (you guessed it i got nailed hard)
the power switch was off.
the other guys just froze not knowing what to do (all young fellows)
luckily i was able to lift my foot up and kick the leads out of my hand. (i couldn't use my left hand for a week)

investigation revealed that the internal relay had welded itself closed leaving the machine powered on full time.
i learned the hard way make sure its isolated from power before handling damaged conductors.
also i made sure the other guys were properly trained in prevention

 

[trev]

It only takes one belt to focus your mind properly mate. As an apprentice I tried to impress my mentor by going further than he told me to when he went off to get some kit. It was a lesson I only needed to be taught once.

 

[markc123]

Similar to you trev, but i didn't get a belt...when i first started my apprentership, one of my first jobs was too change the face plate of a socket, my old man had told me it was "dead" proceeded to take the wires out, slapped the live and neutral together and there wasn't half a crack...gave me the fright of my life. My old man shouted at me and told me too always make dead ureself and not believe anyone else. Lesson firmly learnt.

 

[MDJ]

I disconnected 2 neutrals on a lighting circuit when I was a lad and there were several 8ft fluorecents on the circuit, it hurt, it really did, I never did it again, years ago working live was the norm, now it's a No-No

 

[trev]

When my oldest lad had just left school I took him on a job, I isolated the lighting while he was getting gear out of the van. When he was done I threw a driver at him and told him to strip down a fitting, as he put the driver close to a terminal I screamed BANG as loud as I could. After he calmed back down he realised why but it was bloody funny seeing how high he jumped

 

[gazzamikes]

I was working as an engineer in printing factory. New machinery had static bars to remove static off the sheets. The chief engineer (only chief as he was the only engineer left no quals except the pat cert)thought there may be a break in the cable to bar. He didn't know how to use the mat we had in the workshop and I was on a break down at one of the other units we had. So in his wisdom he used a neon screwdriver. When got back h&s was standing there. He told me that as the engineer went to test the bar he had his thumb on the end of the screwdriver arched across and blew up! Can't remember the voltage but bar was fed via big tranny.

 

[Guest111]

I was working as an engineer in printing factory. New machinery had static bars to remove static off the sheets. The chief engineer (only chief as he was the only engineer left no quals except the pat cert)thought there may be a break in the cable to bar. He didn't know how to use the mat we had in the workshop and I was on a break down at one of the other units we had. So in his wisdom he used a neon screwdriver. When got back h&s was standing there. He told me that as the engineer went to test the bar he had his thumb on the end of the screwdriver arched across and blew up! Can't remember the voltage but bar was fed via big tranny.

the screwdriver or him?

 

[tino1888]

Honestly,
one of the worst I've had is off a disposable camera 'before the digital age' when I was a young apprentice on holiday in magaluf..
Dropped the camera, smashed into bits and as I picked it up the capacitor game me right good belt thru my two fingers.
Other than that 240v room stats coming on after I've tested it dead..

 

[shanky887614]

sounds nasty. always pays to carry voltage tester or at least voltage stick with you.

some of the places we have been working in, would be hours before they found you, longer still till they can get to you because you lock yourself in and not many people have keys