this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
132 points (93.4% liked)
Ask Men
1751 readers
1 users here now
A community to ask men questions and discuss any and all issues relating to them.
Unlocking Perspectives, Advice, and Empowerment for Men Everywhere.
Rules
Follow the rules of lemmy.world, which can be found here.
Additionally:
- Be respectful and inclusive.
- No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
- Engage in constructive discussions.
- Share relevant content.
- Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
- Use appropriate language and tone.
- Report violations.
- Foster a continuous learning environment.
Notes
- The title of your post should contain the actual question being asked.
P.S, Would you like to help with moderating AskMen? Send a PM to the top mod.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Check that the electrical power is off with a meter. Don't trust that you shut the switch. Some really creative wiring or frayed wires can cause them to be unexpectedly live.
I heard a story of a guy working on a high voltage, high current piece of equipment. He confirmed that the power was off. Just to be sure, he threw a big wrench at the terminals so they would short if they were still live. His wrench evaporated. Then they actually turned the power off. He lost his wrench, but saved his life.
I have a habit of shorting "dead" wires with a screwdriver every time, before touching them. In theory, it should never be impressive, due to the other checks I do. It has saved me from a shock or two though.
I would pay to see shit get evaporated by electricity
https://youtu.be/ywaTX-nLm6Y?si=DwT_j8pwq9x_vYPa
Good trade.
Non-contact voltage tester pens are cheap and made for this purpose. Don't need a meter to measure. Just need to know live or not.
They're also notoriously unreliable. Fine for casually looking for powered circuits, but if you're going to touch the conductors at all, use a meter.
As an electrician; it's drilled into your head to use an actual physical-contact meter that you've just tested for function on a known good power supply.
Some courses even demand you re-test the meter after you've checked the circuit you're testing.
They are called death sticks for a reason. Always use a known working 2 point meter, and know how to use it correctly. That is the live saving tip here.
And don't let anyone close to the breaker box while you are working, my grandfather nearly died when some idiot turned the power back on for an industrial machine he was repairing. In his case both the elecrricity and the machine itself could have killed or disabled him.
Would you have a video on how to do that
Something like this
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uFn1zucoaRA&si=22QdamXFHwRDGhFr
They also have little contactless voltage pens, but I've heard mixed reviews about them.
I would say at least 20% of the water heaters I've replaced were not wired to the breaker labeled "water heater". I only had to learn that lesson once.