what voltage kills the most.. - Page 2 - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randas

You silly kids and your 480. Come up north and play with some 600

Who is 600?

Frasbee · 10-07-2009, 11:12 PM

I still don't f*cking get this amperage/voltage thing.

Does voltage even matter at all?!

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frasbee

I still don't f*cking get this amperage/voltage thing.

Does voltage even matter at all?!

Not when it comes to killing people, no. It's the amperage that kills. You could have a million volts go through your body and if the amperage is low enough, you would never know it.

This is why GFCI's are set to trip at 4-6 mA.

Frasbee · 10-07-2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 480sparky

Not when it comes to killing people, no. It's the amperage that kills. You could have a million volts go through your body and if the amperage is low enough, you would never know it.

This is why GFCI's are set to trip at 4-6 mA.

Go through you to ground?

What about the resistance your body possesses?

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frasbee

...........What about the resistance your body possesses?

That will determine how much amps are allowed through your body. The lower the resistance, the more amps that will flow.

jbfan · 10-07-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randas

You silly kids and your 480. Come up north and play with some 600

Been there, done that.
I used to work in a cotton mill where everything but the lights were 600 volts.

steelersman · 10-07-2009, 11:26 PM

The other thing to understand is that for whatever the given resistance your body happens to be at the time of the shock, the higher the voltage, then the more amps you will take as well. That's why higher voltages are more dangerous even though it's the current that does the "killing".

Frasbee · 10-07-2009, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 480sparky

That will determine how much amps are allowed through your body. The lower the resistance, the more amps that will flow.

But wouldn't a higher resistance also increase the chance of burning internal organs?

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frasbee

But wouldn't a higher resistance also increase the chance of burning internal organs?

No, a lower resistance would. If you have a high enough resistance, the current flow will be reduced, and if you reduce it enough, you'll never feel it.

It's Ohms law.... draw it out, punch in some numbers and do some calcs.

Frasbee · 10-07-2009, 11:36 PM

So why is it that using say, 16 awg wire on a 30 amp breaker would cause it to overheat?

Sorry, we're finally getting to theory in class but this teacher doesn't seem to know anything outside what's written word-for-word, in the book.

crazymurph · 10-07-2009, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 480sparky

I would guess 120 as it is the most common voltage the general population is exposed to. Very few housewifes have 277 volt coffee makers, or 480 volt espresso machines.

My wife has a 480 volt device she keeps in the bedroom

steelersman · 10-07-2009, 11:39 PM

I'd say because it has been determined that it's not large enough to safely carry that amount of current for a sustained amount of time without overheating.

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frasbee

So why is it that using say, 16 awg wire on a 30 amp breaker would cause it to overheat?

Sorry, we're finally getting to theory in class but this teacher doesn't seem to know anything outside what's written word-for-word, in the book.

It's not the higher resistance of a 16-ga wire that causes it to overheat... it's the fact that 30 amps being forced through it by the load on the circuit is what causes it. Hook a 16-ga wire to a 30-a breaker, turn it on and sit back to watch with total amazement when......... nothing will happen.

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazymurph

My wife has a 480 volt device she keeps in the bedroom

It uses 320 AA batteries?

steelersman · 10-07-2009, 11:47 PM

Damn if it uses that many batteries, imagine how big it must be?

480sparky · 10-07-2009, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelersman

Damn if it uses that many batteries, imagine how big it must be?

I'd rather not, really.

BCSparkyGirl · 10-08-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randas

You silly kids and your 480. Come up north and play with some 600

ya it will put some hair on your chests.....speaking of which, time to go shave mine again.........

BCSparkyGirl · 10-08-2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazymurph

My wife has a 480 volt device she keeps in the bedroom

did she say where she got it perhaps?

slow cooker · 10-08-2009, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frasbee

I still don't f*cking get this amperage/voltage thing.

Does voltage even matter at all?!

That is like asking does a wedding ring mean anything. brief answer sometimes yes. firstly we look at the overall effect or outcome, this is best described as power. the formula states that p=VI, since V is an incumbent part of the power formula it must be taken into consideration. We know that the human body and its nervous system react to micro amps, therefore we require minimal current to interact with the natural body functions these include the heart and brain. This then begs the question what must we have for an external stimulii to be able to interefere with our own natural electrical system. This answer is a circuit, what then stops a circuit becoming a circuit? this answer is resistance, resistance can be Air between two live wires or that of the human body.

This is where Voltage comes into it, we as electricians will surely die if any wire we touch that has a route to ground through us and sufficient voltage to push the circuit through us.

Voltage is the driving force or pressure to make the circuit, consider it rhe most critical element in the equation.

slow cooker · 10-08-2009, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazymurph

My wife has a 480 volt device she keeps in the bedroom

Sheees!!!!, Do I know your or your wife? whats your address and phone number again?

I guess you work long hours like me? I tend to work a half hour less than most good looking busy sparkies.

By the way its the fistatron thats 480v and the ring puncher thats 120v what ever you do man don't confuse them