Frasbee

2 floors of the school all but shut down yesterday because somethin' popped. We had thought it was the tiny panel feeding 2 floors because that thing had been roasting for a while.

Turns out, with it raining so much the ground has stayed soft, and a crane had rolled over where the feeders are coming into the building. Managed to crack both 2'' PVC pipes that are at least 3 feet down. We thought it was just one, because the other was still feeding the other half of the building, but when we dug it up, that pipe was just as f*cked up.

So we worked late yesterday, well until 6pm, and came in this morning.

They wanted to clean up the pipe and the cable to see if there was any damage.

Little did I know.

I grabbed a wet rag, jumped into the trench and gripped that cable with one hand to wipe it down.

Fortunately it only went through my hand, so I guess I wasn't grounded.



I told them I just got shocked*, but they kept askin' if I wasn't sure it wasn't just my nerves. I've gotten shocked before so I know what it felt like, though they weren't rushing to put their hand on it. I kept sayin' be careful because that sh*t'll shock you. And later on when the other helper was putting a sleeve around it, he got shocked, too. They stopped bustin' my balls then.

That was real stupid, I didn't realize that there could be a knick in the cord, buried in the dirt without shorting. I'm mad at myself, and a little angry at the 3 electricians that were watching me when I did it.

Lesson learned, I guess.

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pudge565

I don't think you would be telling them you were electrocuted. You would be dead. Dead men don't talk.

nolabama

I told them I just got electrocuted

electrocuted = dead
you just had voltage applied to you without a bunch of amps
glad your ok

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“Dammit, Smithers, this isn’t rocket science, it’s brain surgery!”

MDShunk

I think you can be electrocuted and not be dead. Death orders say "electrocuted until dead". My wife is a nurse, and I notice in some of her nursing books sections called "electrocution injury". Don't ask me what the difference between simply being shocked and electrocuted (but not dead) is. I guess that "electrical shock" is not a medical term.

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mattsilkwood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocution

wildleg

I heard that somewhere that tongues are more sensitive than your hands. next time lick the wire so you'll know if its hot sooner. (by the way, you are probably a dumb a$$ for not thinking the cable was damaged- what did all the brain surgeons standing around think caused the power to go out ?)

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Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because Chuck Norris is afraid of the dark, but the dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

Celtic

TEST before touching.....I'm sure you will NEVER forget that, now.



Glad you are "OK".

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Bob Badger

For what it's worth SER should not be underground anyway.

Frasbee

No, there were two panels feeding two separate panels on opposite sides of the building.

We knew the pipe feeding the right side was probably damaged. That disconnect was already off. That one was also ran with aluminum cable.

The other still had juice and was powering the left side of the building, but it turns out, the PVC pipe that the SER was fed through, was also damaged, leaving the SER exposed.

I'm less inclined to think I'm a dumba$$ if only because I was under the impression that if electricity found a good path to ground, it would take it, and therefore burn the fuse. Considering it was caked in wet mud for weeks, and we had no problem on that side of the building, I thought it was fine.

One of the electricians was saying that a high enough voltage could be felt outside of the jacket. I'm not sure if that's true, but now I'm really confused. Is that true?

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JTMEYER

Definitly. Run 7200 though cable rated for 600v you'll feel it thriugh the jacket. He was jacking you.

pudge565

Main Entry: elec·tro·cute

Pronunciation: \i-ˈlek-trə-ˌkyüt\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): elec·tro·cut·ed; elec·tro·cut·ing
Etymology: electr- + -cute (as in execute)
Date: 1889
1 : to execute (a criminal) by electricity
2 : to kill by electric shock
— elec·tro·cu·tion \-ˌlek-trə-ˈkyü-shən\ noun

Black4Truck

You forgot Golden Rule "2.. always take pics to document the damage and show us what happened.

Golden Rule #1.. NEVER grab a cable till you are sure power is off

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314.27.. you must use "listed" connectors when bringing wires into a 6X6 PVC box. Use a water tight compression connector for the UF because a 1/2" hole in the bottom of the box will cause all kinds of problems if you post it on a Internet Forum

Frasbee

Original post fixed.

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Black4Truck

SER cable used to be a 4 conductor cable used for sub-panels, but not below ground.

Is that the same cable you are talking about?

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314.27.. you must use "listed" connectors when bringing wires into a 6X6 PVC box. Use a water tight compression connector for the UF because a 1/2" hole in the bottom of the box will cause all kinds of problems if you post it on a Internet Forum

Frasbee

Someone forgot to tell me that rule sooner.

Anyway, I don't think they wanted to turn it off because the framers, and drywallers, work until 5:30 and they didn't want to turn off all the electricity to the building while people were still working. Not to mention it's dark in there without lights.

Regardless, next time I won't be so quick to volunteer to clean it. Better him than me if they don't want to off the power.

Not sure if you're talking to him or me, but I would not at all put it past this company to violate code out of convenience.

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Black4Truck

Since when are you expendable??

The mechanic making the big bucks should of jumped in the trench, not you

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314.27.. you must use "listed" connectors when bringing wires into a 6X6 PVC box. Use a water tight compression connector for the UF because a 1/2" hole in the bottom of the box will cause all kinds of problems if you post it on a Internet Forum

Frasbee

It's a balancing act between stepping up to challenges and taking on responsibilities, and reminding myself of my pay.

One of the reasons why I quit my old company is because I might've stepped up too much because I felt as though I was very poorly compensated for the amount of work I did, and was capable of doing.

I lost balance on this one.

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Celtic

How long have you been in the trade?
[A couple or 3 years, right?]

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Frasbee

February 2008 until now...so that's 1 year and 8 months?

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crazymurph

I still do not understand SER in conduit. Is this for temporary power?