Earths can be dangerous

Used to work in broadcast, where safety of things like electric musical instruments could be a very real problem, given all metalwork in a studio was earthed. (Before the days of RCDs, etc)

The norm was to use one isolating transformer per instrument. A single large one feeding all simply doesn't provide the same degree of safety.

he's trolling. Or tarding. Or both.

Is it really worth discussing?

It used to be ungrounded, thus requiring dp fusing. Result: a blown fuse left the shock risk still active, but to the user the appliance appeared dead. Such practices were banned in the '55 regs.

It was 100v originally. 200v was an easy way to double the number of subscribers fed from existing wiring. 210-250v edged things up a bit further. It turns out 240 is safer than 100-120, fire deaths greatly outnumbering shock deaths.

NT

Odd as I thought we used to be 250. I have seen old stereos with a manual adjustment on the back for all sorts of voltages, usually in 5V steps anywhere from 210 to 250. I guess they may have been destined for other countries.

'We' used to be DC too. In some parts of the country.

But then it wouldn't occur to a stupid brexiteer that standardisation for this sort of thing is in the interests of everyone. Long live Britannia. For those who wish to go back to Latin too.

Difficult to tell the state of the heart after the event. Plus everyone has an ulterior motive, or is lazy. Just look at the reports for people's deaths, they never say much, just "old age", "exposure", etc, etc.

That's unfortunate, I would have thought he'd just get a fried tongue as the current would be from live to neutral only a few mm apart. If he'd been sat on something earthed, it would have been more likely to kill him, as the current would go through his vital organs. I once had a parrot chew through the wire behind a wall light. There was a very loud bang (I think the spark was echoed by the cone shaped glass shade), which made him fly away rapidly and the 5A lighting fuse blow. He didn't seem to be in any pain and didn't yelp. I assume he managed to short live to neutral but not through himself.

Mine varies from 244 to 256 (strangely before they replaced the substation just across the road, it was always precisely 241). Thus my computer and lights are connected through a UPS which levels the voltage to something more sensible. Amazing how much longer LED lights last now.

So you're basing the chances of death on a little bit of capacitive current.

If you were a 0.5 metre squared metal plate and the ground was the same under the plastic sheet, then it would come to about 150mA, not much more than the 50mA tripping current of an ELCB. But.... you're not flat, so only a small amount of you is actually touching the sheet of plastic. Most of you is much further away from the ground than a quarter inch. Plus you have quite a high resistance especially if you have dry fingers. You need the full mains voltage to lower your skin resistance.

Then you'd just get what we have today, 240V anchored to earth on one side. Anyway, most pipes are now plastic. My incoming waterpipe is a black pipe that looks like a very tough version of a garden hose.

So do the same on washing machines and microwaves, then I wouldn't have to de-earth them!

I'm sure it's own blade could do it. I've sliced straight through the cord on my hedge trimmer.

It's actually mentioned in the regs.

Some poor innocent sap in the future might just find his suggestion archived someplace and take it at face value and end up dead. Best to air the argument against.

I've said all I'm going to say on this subject anyway.

They might also read the replies that suggest the OP is a d*****ad and that his suggestion should be ignored as it is not safe.

His post was of little electrical merit. Whilst is can be done it must be done properly and it certainly will not apply to his kitchen or indeed to a normal persons kitchen.

Who cares what my neighbour has? If my supply floats, it's safer, no path to earth.

How is that safer? No earth tap means touching either of the two lines from the secondary can give no shock to ground/scaffolding/etc.

I wasn't aware musicians were a bunch of pansies.

So this single pole that's left active would shock you how? Where does the current flow to?

Standards do not require dictators, just friendly agreements.