Will I die doing this?

Just a short note here. I constantly talk on the phone while lazing in my hot tub. The phone is NOT cordless. So am I putting myself at risk talking on the phone while in the hot tub? Thanks...Jim

Reply to
Jim
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If you constantly talk on the phone you will turn into a woman. Which would be worse?

Reply to
badgolferman

I think it was "Jim" who stated:

If you do that, you will SURELY die!

Of course, if you don't do that you're gonna die too . . . 'cause we all do.

I'd only worry about an incoming call; there's higher ringing voltage then.

Or if there's a lightening strike nearby that comes down the phone line.

Otherwise, don't worry about it . . . .

Reply to
Don Fearn

Will you PUH - LEEEEZE warn me when you are going to do that? Do you know how difficult it is to get MGD out of a keyboard?

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

That's not a good idea.

Reply to
CJT

Yes. There's 90V and lethal current available on the phone loop.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

No its 48 volts to stay under the limit of 50 volts for working live permits etc.

Rich

Reply to
Rich

Only slightly.

You would do well to avoid the practice during a severe thunderstorm.

Reply to
Jim Redelfs

I thought ring current was 90 volts.

Reply to
CJT

At least 90v maybe over 100 at 20 cycles, It is current limited but you could still get a nasty jolt in the water. Actually if the phone is "off hook" it won't ring (line busy) and the voltage is more like

10-12v. That is all part of that current limiting stuff. You can still get 40-50ma on a phone line and that is 10 times what they consider safe.
Reply to
gfretwell

Still too much.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Very bad idea. Ringdown voltage is near or exceeding wall outlet voltage. Granted, current capability is lower, but it's enough.... and the the human body's resistance while soaking in water is quite low.

Cordless phones are cheap. You need one if you wanna chat in the bath.

Reply to
Todd H.

You will not surely die.... hisss.... hisss...... I'm a snake, you can trussssst me.... hissss........

Seriously, the phone in the tub is a crappy idea.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I thought the ring current was 105 VAC?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Although I have heard and spouted about currents around 5 mA having a slight chance of electrocution, it is easier to cite 100-1,000 mA as the "deadly range" (most-deadly range), and the body count from 30 mA neon sign transformers might not need to resort to using toes.

So I say beware of disinformation, misinformation, insufficient information (like how slowly probability of electrocution decreases as current decreases below 100 mA), etc!

==========================

One day over 20 years ago a friend of mine was stripping a wire in his phone line with his teeth. He managed to make contact - at the same time I was calling him! Big jolt! I somewhat remember him saying that he fell down on his butt and maybe saw stars!

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)

Reply to
Don Klipstein

You're both right. 48V DC is the loop voltage when the phone is on hook. Pulled offhook this drops to under 10V. Ringdown voltage is

90V superimposed on that 48VDC so you've got peaks of 138V.

Traditional phone near bathtub = bad idea.

Ventricular fibrillation of the human heart only takes a macroshock of

100 to 300 millamps. While human skin dry is normally around a megaohm, wet skin can make ya under 1kohm in impedance. V=IR and all, 138V / 1000 ohms = .138A = 138mA if your phone slips into the tub and someone decides to give you a ring.

Not really in the engineering tolerance you wanna be to stay alive, particularly with how wildly variable the resistance estimate can be, and the variability of what level of macroshock is needed to cause the heart muscle to fibrillate.

Throw $15 at a cordless phone. :-)

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

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Reply to
Todd H.

I have a phone jack next to my bathtub. I only plug in a handset (which has to be rewired iirc to use it this way, and it worked better when I put on a wider plug than handsets have). I don't place calls because there is no dial, and I answer the phone between rings. I also don't let the phone get wet, and if my hand is wet, I think I wipe it off with a towel.

I also do the same thing before I adjust the volume on the tv. The tv has a sound output, and I have a cord coming out of the wall behind the tv, speakers from a 1950's Hi-Fi on the ceiling, and a volume control next to my shoulder on the bathroom wall. That way I can turn the volume down when I'm on the phone. I also tied a washcloth (and later I changed it to a sock) so the water doesn't make much noise when it runs into the tub. That way I can also keep a trickle of warm water coming in so the bath doesn 't get cold.

Reply to
mm

Doesn't it vary from one city to another?

Reply to
mm

Hire a professional to make your phone calls for you. You are not qualified to use a phone.

Reply to
Professional

I forgot to say that I don't have any children who need me to pay their expenses, nor a wife in those circumstances.

Why not buy a cordless phone? They are totally safe, even in the bath.

Reply to
mm

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