Electrickery?

FOAD - again.

On this occasion the TMH was posting tounge in cheek:-)

It was humour.

Cheers

Adam

Sounds the the USA suicide plug incidents.

I would be more impressed if the SUN ran a few paragraphs about how 1) Part P achieves nothing for portable appliance deaths 2) Part P counted counted and will count the death in its magic Fixed & Portable appliance statistics and 3) why a simple plug-in RCD will save someone's life for about =A39.99. Then I would be impressed if someone blew the bullshit out of reporting, self interest & actually did some EDUCATION.

Sadly out of 3 plug-in RCD locally I found 2 did not work when I tested them and 1 was way out of spec but improved when tested (and buzzed ominously!). They were all good quality (powersaver, MK white adapter block type) but extremely old, scuffed, filthy & the one that buzzed was cracked. People thought they were unbreakable and often dropped them. All sent to B&Q (whereupon the death certificate will show they died of old age, desperation, dehydration or self multilation trying to operate the self scanning machines and begging the tight bastards for a bag).

Journalistic licence.

Journalists are mainly uneducated (apart from meja studies) and ATATSP.

More like a mild shock due to capacitance.

I had more shocks (in a more or less earth free environment) as a child than I had in my 40 year working (with electricity) life. I'm still alive.

Which is why it is a good idea to have one hand behind one's back whilst in a dodgy situation.

test the meter, test the wire, test the meter .....

Test known live, Test known dead, Test dead.

Reminds me of DNO staff with rubber aprons... rubber gloves... but no flash face guard. Then again they may have just been to handle the apprentices :-)

Indeed, the old TV engineers trick - one hand in the pocket!

Its the kind of error that only helps confuse the proportion of the readership that is already verging on complete ignorance of matters technical (and probably proud of it).

They don't look like rubber, more like synthetic. I find that rubber conducts electricity, probably because of the carbon in it.

Yes. Tragic.

Would an RCD really have saved her life? I guess that it would. No RCD protection on sockets that may be used for outside circuits is my pet hate when doing PIRs.

Adam

Some wrongly think Double Insulated makes it safe. It does not.

For domestic use regs say BS4343 are out re unshuttered, yet we get have kept unshuttered hedge trimmer plug-n-socket connectors right by the appliance where people are likely to have damp hands from handling vegetation outside. I have never liked them, the finger protection terrifies me. The plug-n-socket have survived because without them people would use damaged appliance flexes due to having to buy a new appliance when the flex got damaged.

The ESC in sponsoring the weather could have used their charitable trust status to offer free plug-in RCD for outdoor appliances, perhaps "just =A34.99 to cover postage" or "collect 1 per customer with a utility bill free from B&Q". Selling off RoSPA's assets to fund it would achieve more than RoSPA have ever done.

I have my outdoor sockets on a 10mA RCD (or RCBO, actually).

I don't think there's any suggestion that anyone made that assumption here.

It's called a safety-break, and it's so that if you drop the tool whilst the cable is looped over your shoulder, it doesn't continue running, dangling in front of you. It used to be a requirement, but it seems like it might not be anymore. I notice my DIY grade B&D hedge trimmer has one, but my professional hedge trimmer doesn't, so it might also be related to the expected class of user or it might be that whilst some old BS required it, the current EU regs don't.

Perhaps brakes & double handle switches removed the need.

Perhaps making the plug moulded-on to the appliance end would be a good idea.

Perhaps brakes & double handle switches removed the need.

Perhaps making the plug moulded-on to the appliance end would be a good idea.

But in this sad case the connector had been modified/replaced. Anyone can cut off a moulded plug. It should be possible to mould the socket into the hedge trimmers like my lawn mower.

Adam

It should, indeed if the lawn mower has a chassis mount then it is available.

Moulds for Injection moulding have a finite life so easy to integrate into the next product cycle. Who is up for writing to Bosch B&D Torx etc suggesting it? Perhaps they read uk.d-i-y (no, might terrify them :-)

If *you* are so clever, tell us just how earthing through rubber soled shoes saved the toddlers life.

This post is rhetorical, I don't expect any meaningful reply.

MBQ