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this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2023
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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.
Good trade.
I would pay to see shit get evaporated by electricity
https://youtu.be/ywaTX-nLm6Y?si=DwT_j8pwq9x_vYPa
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.
Dead live dead test. Always
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.
I believe that's why a lot of machines now have locks, so the person working on it can lock the machine with a padlock and take the key with them.
Looking around, it seems like some setups now have a lock per person doing the work, so no one can accidentally leave someone in danger.
I remember the first time I saw lock out tag out proceedures, I audibly said "oh fuck yeah" involuntarily in front of a bunch of people I didnt know
I was walking someone around once who basically asked "it looks like you could cut it". I mean yeah... I guess. The point isn't to make it literally impossible, it's to make sure it doesn't happen accidentally. The person driving the excavator could just decide to chase me with it to if they really wanted.
Jesus Christ lol
Could not have missed the point more than that
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.
Reading a bit, it seems like they're not the most accurate and are better in conditions where your life isn't on the line.
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.