Beating the odds! or, the ramblings of a dumb radio tech.

[VT Dave]

As you know, I have made my living servicing electrical and electronic equipment for the last thirty plus years. Sometimes after doing the same job for this long, some things become second nature when you do them and they

 

[Royal]

I worked as an electrician from when I began my apprenticeship in 66 until I retired last year. I have had my share of events! They all really suck. I once was on a work rack, over a stairwell and got my hand across all three legs of 440. I somehow leaned on a terminal strip and since I was ungrounded, the current just went from one leg to the other, through my hand!!

My partner asked what the smell was and I told him it was my hand cooking. I was lucky that I did not get knocked the 30 ft down the stair well.

I was always rather careful but it will eventually bit the best of them.

We had an electrician get fried when he pulled the disconnect on a press with a hung rotor. I don't know how much current it was pulling when he pulled the handle but it blew the door off in his face. Made a crispy critter out of him. He lived but sure was scarred. That was on a Sunday and he was working alone and pretty stupid. That is why they teach us to pull the disconnects with our left hand!!

 

[VT Dave]

I never got quite that hot, had my share of ring and watch band burns though. Hurt like heck! I got into trouble once pulling a meter from the hub at a house fire. Power co. said it could have had as much as 10K amps going through it I did it the smart way, put a hitch on it with a rope and pulled from 25 feet away. Sure made a pretty arc when it came away! I also got to see what happens when you drop a 12" cresent wrench across the main buss in a telco battery room. POOF! no more wrench! Vaporized the sucker! About 7K available amps with 2" brass square bussbars.

Dave

 

[Micheal_R]

lotsa volts and very minimal amps, but for me, it always hurts like the dickens. Now Alice, when she wants to check if a fencer is working, she just grabs the wire and holds on."Yup, it is working" Gawd, I shudder when I see her do that

all the best

M

 

[david(tx)]

mainly because i'm ignorant of it,my mother had a plumbing leak under her house and i went to fix it.when i saw it was close to the power supply coming in under the house,i said self,that looks dangerous.

when i looked to check the leak and what i would need to fix it i was laying in water.i called the electric co-op and asked them to come and turn off the power until i could get it fixed.

the guy that came out looked at me like i was crazy for having asked to have them do it because he thought there wasn't any danger,to heck with him.where the power comes in at the weatherhead you can feel the heat coming off the wire,underneath the house the wire coming into the circuit box is inside some pvc.
i didn't care what he thought,i ain't laying in water around electricity.

 

[david(tx)]

that was remodeling some of their apartments,converting two bedrooms to larger one bedrooms.
they had tore the sheetrock off a wall and he had left the electrical wire there for a while because they were using the plug for their tools.

the wire must have served a couple of plugs because when they went to tear out the wall he turned off the circuit breaker and was going to cut the wire.

the complex maintenance man was in the apartment and went and turned the circuit breaker back on before he cut the wire with a pair of nippers.the maintenance guy was black and he called him every name in the book,i got this story from him when i was using his nippers for something and noticed the burned out spot in nippers.

we used them for a nail puller,they weren't good for anything else after that.

 

[david(tx)]

n/t

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

n/t

 

[butch...ar]

had to go back and read this story twice to grasp it all.....shaking head, I am just so glad u- r still around to post this to us. do u ever have to climb those towers? I did once for a deacon friend and oooooooooooooooooo, will never do that again.

 

[General Ray]

n/t

 

[Royal]

just get too lazy to go turn off the breaker and chop away with fireworks the results occasionally.

 

[VT Dave]

350' was about my limit. By the time I got up to where I needed to b, I was too tuckered out to do the work Now, since my shoulder surgery, I have no grab reflex in my left arm and the company MD says no climbing. I still go up 20 feet or so if necessary.

 

[butch...ar]

I did this favor for a personel friend, who had just had surgery. I went up at night , so there would be little or no-wind. 200 feet....to change out 3 bulbs. I now know what heaven looks like,