He should of been electrocuted

[emphasis303]

ok guys my neighbour did something extremely stupid.

He decided to climb his ladder and move a junction box with out cutting the correct mcb.

He touched the live wire with the outside of his hand before switching off the mcb but luckily didnt get electrocuted. I asked him if he was sure he didnt cut the power but he confirm it was physically impossible as he hadnt gone to his garage to switch it off. He checked the relevant connections to see if there was still power and there was.

I cant think of any reason why he didnt get a nasty shock as it was a 40amp suppy for his power shower.

Any ideas why? I thought maybe because he was wearing thick rubber soled shoes standing on a metal ladder but only touching the exposed elements, so effectively he was only touching the copper and not anything for the current to run through.

Cheers

 

[Paul_C]

There needs to be a complete circuit for current to flow, so it could be well-insulated boots, or possibly that the metal ladder was insulated sufficiently by its rubber ends, both those standing on ground at the bottom and those resting on the wall at the top.

Whether it was a 40A feed or a 1A feed is immaterial, by the way, since the actual current flow would be determined by the resistance of the body and other items on the path to earth. A few tens of milliamps is more than enough to prove fatal under the right (or should that be wrong?) conditions.

 

[Taylortwocities]

It is more likely that he should have been electrocuted

 

[ban-all-sheds]

He touched the live wire with the outside of his hand before switching off the mcb but luckily didnt get electrocuted.

Did he get any level of shock?

I cant think of any reason why he didnt get a nasty shock

I thought maybe because he was wearing thick rubber soled shoes

Well which is it?

You say you can't think of any reason then immediately think of a blindingly obvious one.

What's going on?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

A few tens of milliamps is more than enough to prove fatal under the right (or should that be wrong?) conditions.

You don't have to be electrocuted to die from receiving an electric shock at the top of a ladder....

 

[Paul_C]

You don't have to be electrocuted to die from receiving an electric shock at the top of a ladder....

Very true.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[Taylortwocities]

Maybe he has exceptionally dry skin.

And a parachute?

 

[KingboyD]

A work mate was telling me how he was decorating and removed socket face plates without shutting off the juice! Said he didnt want to reset the VCR!

 

[RF Lighting]

Do you mean pulled them away from the wall, or completely removed them?