Electric shock

[Smokerman]

I’m trying to explain to someone what an electric shock feels like and having a hard time describing it. Yes I know it’s easier to just let them find out themselves, but I’m trying to be nice.
I’ve done HVAC for over 35 years and had more than my share, hell I remember when I was about 10 helping my dad put up Christmas lights he pissed himself laughing when he tricked me to put my finger in the light socket from a string of lights he had plugged in.
So if anyone can explain what a shock feels like would be appreciated, so I can tell this person what it’s like.

 

[Bobby Boucher]

It feels like getting hit in the funnybone, all over. Temporary loss of all motor skills. Usually followed by feelings of shame and stupidity.

 

[AgentPothead]

I would just have them stick a 9 volt battery on their tongue and then try to explain how it's way worse than that. 9 volt puts out maybe 50 mA, which is like .45W, enough to run maybe 15-20 LEDs. Most breakers/fuses in the US are what 15-20 amps right? So if you licked a wall socket you could theoretically get 1800W-2400W in the time before the breaker kicked in? So it would be 810-1080 times as bad. So a thousand times as bad as licking a 9 volt battery. And if you did something really stupid like grasping the bare wire in your hand, you wouldn't be able to let go while electricity was flowing. I mean you could explain all that to them, or just show them a video of a bug zapper and tell them they are the bug.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcGFZ0oj4IM

 

[GOT_BUD?]

It's either a little tickle or a big tickle. You don't want a big tickle.

In my experience, it's very similar to having your arm fall asleep. That weird, not quite numb feeling with little tingles of pin pricks at the nerve endings. But more so. And not painful per se, but not pleasant.

 

[GOT_BUD?]

I would just have them stick a 9 volt battery on their tongue and then try to explain how it's way worse than that. 9 volt puts out maybe 50 mA, which is like .45W, enough to run maybe 15-20 LEDs. Most breakers/fuses in the US are what 15-20 amps right? So if you licked a wall socket you could theoretically get 1800W-2400W in the time before the breaker kicked in? So it would be 810-1080 times as bad. So a thousand times as bad as licking a 9 volt battery. And if you did something really stupid like grasping the bare wire in your hand, you wouldn't be able to let go while electricity was flowing. I mean you could explain all that to them, or just show them a video of a bug zapper and tell them they are the bug.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcGFZ0oj4IM

It all depends on the situation. I've gotten zapped plenty of times by what's considered in the trades to be "low voltage". Which believe it or not is 600 volts. Over 600 is considered high voltage.

I remember the first day at my current job I was working on a single phase 220 to 240 three phase inverter for a large kitchen mixer for a pizza joint.

Now, I've worked in what I consider "low voltage" all of my life, which was anything under 70 volts. Occasionally I would have to wire up some 120 volt plugs for equipment to power them up, but those are really simple.

I was wiring up this inverter while my supervisor (and I use that term very loosely) was doing paperwork or something and not paying attention to what I was doing.

I forgot to use the disconnect switch for the circuit we had installed, and brushed up against a leg of a live 220 feed, which is 110 volts on a 20 amp circuit breaker.

It seriously was a "tickle" as I described in the last post.

I felt it immediately in my left arm, just below my elbow. And it shot straight through my fingers into the mixer which was grounded. Didn't pop the breaker, as I broke the circuit myself out of reflex. Only damage was to my pride as my supervisor got a good chuckle out of it as I let out a yelp and stood around flexing my hand for the next several minutes.

Household current isn't as dangerous to you as everybody is led to believe. It can still kill you. But you have to try to do it.

 

[troutman]

When I was running my saltwater aquarium I got a good one
from a pump I dropped that cracked during a cleaning.

Saltwater sure helps with the zapping power.

 

[armedoldhippy]

lit myself up not once, but TWICE working on my oven. second time, i came to sitting against the wall on the other side of the kitchen with a blue flash fading in my left eye, and the convulsions still twitching in my left arm...

 

[Smokerman]

lit myself up not once, but TWICE working on my oven. second time, i came to sitting against the wall on the other side of the kitchen with a blue flash fading in my left eye, and the convulsions still twitching in my left arm...

I’m sorry, I laughed way to much at that.
But I know exactly what you mean.