(If this newbie question sounds stupid to you, don't get mad, I'm a newbie at this.)
I have to replace a broken air duct in the freezer compartment of my GE refrigerator.
Besides shutting off the circuit breaker, do I also have to ground myself the way I do when I work on the innards of my computer? If so, then what's the best way to do that?
The grounding yourself procedure is when working on sensitive electronic semiconductor components. Even then, I've never done it. If I was in a dry, static prone environment, then I'd take time to consider reducing the chances of a problem. But replacing a duct in a freezer, no. Just open the breaker or unplug it. I wouldn't typically even do that, just turn it off, unless I was working on electrical parts.
If walkling on the carpet with certain shoes makes a static charge on your body, the kind that makes a spark when you touch something metal, you absolutely have to dissipate that charge before you touch electronic circuits. The current is low but the voltages are high, 50,000 volts or more.
And it's probably true these days that there's a circuit board even in a refrigerator.
OTOH, you probably won't be touching it if you're working on an air duct. And I havent' had a spark from my fingers in decades. It depends on what the carpeting is made of and what the bottoms of your shoes are made of. Wool carpet isn't very common these days and even leather soles and heels are less common. Anyhow, you'll know if you're generating static charges.
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