As I get older I have become more concerned about safety, I bought a petrol lawn mower as I didnt like using an elec one if the grass was wet. Anyhow doing lots of jobs around the house and a few times have some outdoor work, maybe 10 minutes planing (elec, using extension from house) a bit of wood, because there is a few spots of rain, not enough to `wet` the ground but maybe just dampen it, I have delayed doing it until all dries up.
Am I being over cautious? Where does this become a danger?
Depends what you term a danger and what safety devices are in use.
The sort of things that tend to give problems are those leads down fences that have been there for years, and folk forgot they were still live until the uninsulated pair of pruners cuts it while you are wearing wet footwear. Brian
I use a `reel out` ext cable as and when required. I normally sit it on a rubber mat and throw a piece of polythene over it.
Hopefully this year I can get a permanent supply to my shed, but too many other things to be getting on with.
A chap near us uses his home-made extension lead. Piece of cable with a plug on each end, plugs one end into the house mains, the other into an adapter together with the mower. He's still alive ATM.
You would be better off standing on the rubber mat yourself. I have worked on 3 phase that I later discovered was live through a well-hidden secondary connection, protected only by a rubber switchboard mat and safe working practices.
Colin Bignell
Anything that goes outside should have a good quality RCD breaker inline that you can test immediately before using it. That way if you do cut through the cable or suffer a mishap there is local protection.
I am generally happy with an upturned washing up bowl over my extension cable sockets to protect against sudden rain showers. YMMV.
An unlucky friend at a major physics department was nearly killed by an arrangement like that. He suffered very serious burns to his right hand. Some cretin had wired up a mains cable with a plug at each end because they could not be arsed to open up the extension block and do it properly. Once you grab hold of live mains you *cannot* let go so someone else responding to the scream had to switch him off.
Anyone that wires a plug on each end of a mains cable deserves to die, but unfortunately they usually kill or maim some innocent third party.
You need to be careful if you are using electrical cable on a drum. If you draw to much current the cable will get to warm and start to melt.
I would suggest disconnecting electrical equipment if you think it might rain. When cleaning my car I try to put my hose pipe away before getting out my mains powered vacuum cleaner.
But then I have always thought that mains powered pressure jet washers must be hazardous - but people clearly use them.
I used to camp in one of those small two-man tents, but when I could I would have a power hook-up using those blue round plugs, terminating in an extension socket inside the tent. And yes I did get a bit nervous during a rainstorm. These days I would tend to unplug during very wet weather.
120 chances in some parts of the world.
It depends on how much of a "hold" you have on the mains. A good handful of metal at 240 with a good handful of E in the other and it 'aint so easy. I found out the hard way, things went black, I fell over which fortunately dragged the handfulls of metal out of my hands.
That's what comes of being constructed like the old man of Madras
Well, I've had many shocks, and am still here. However, it can be very risky if my scenario is found. the problem is often when you move into a new old house with a shed or greenhouse or the neighbour has an open type fence and you start to prune. I've done it, seen it many times. Usually ther is a flash and a bang, but just sometimes people do get deaded. Brian
Yes, very very silly. I kicked a bloke who got into this hand affixed to wire syndrome. I was not going to touch him with my hand. His fingers did get burned, and his arm ached for days, but it would have killed him if it had been a path across his chest.
One of the other dangerous bits of gear are those fan heaters that you put in a greenhouse then somone proceeds to water the trays and let it drip onto the heater.
Anyone know how conductive raw rainwater is?
Brian
Should be pretty low as it's distilled - certainly compared to tap water anyway.
Must admit tho, it shook me up. You never forget it :)
full of CO2 actually and various carbonates
Dissolved air perhaps but where do the carbonates come from ??
dissolved carbon dioxide and any other salts carried up into the air. rain is weak carbonic acid. let that get near any metal container and you get carbonates.
also rain contains weak sulphurous and nitrous acids..from such pollutants as exist in the air. Rain washes out anything ionic really.
Those might come from lightning strikes or ozone - I cant remember - but anyway rain is nothing like distilled water in terms of purity.
Is it any more trouble to wire a trailling socket than it is to wire a plug?
Wind blown dust washed off the roof.
I just measured my water butts and it is pretty rough but about 100,000 ohms per cm between two rods about 1" long. Our tapwater is worse - more conductive with plenty of total dissolved solids to wreck kettles..
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