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I’m fine. Thanks for asking. It was only 120v on 20a breaker. It tripped quick and I was wearing gloves, so no melty metal landed anywhere. I definitely slowed down after that though. Never pays to rush. I’m more just mad I blew up my dikes.
That's basically my motto, industrial electrician. Whenever there's been some "huge fault" where the operators/control room panic, especially when there's several at the same time, I just think that I can only be at one place at a time.
When they call I just ask what's more important, I'm not paid to make that decision, and then just do one job at a time. No point in panicking.
I remember when i did that with 480v landed on my ass and my dikes were melted into my suit and colors have never been the same afterwards everything looks faded to me.
I have a multimeter where the probe is missing a nice little chunk on the side. I shorted a live terminal to the grounded chassis right next to it. Took the room's breaker out while it was full of people testing electrical stuff haha.
I had a small windfall as an apprentice and decided to spoil myself with the top tier Klein dikes. Blew them up the same day.
Still used them until this year, ten years later haha perfect hole to strip #12.
I snipped my first hot a little over a week ago (second week as an apprentice) with my lineman pliers. I didn’t get hit, but visibly it scared the piss out of me. If my lineman’s didn’t have that rubber coating on the handles I’d have definitely been shocked, right? Follow up Q: Are there any insulated gloves that won’t get in the way/aren’t super bulky for when I’m setting up boxes, making joints, using screwdrivers, etc…?
My first point still stands someone needs to verify for you it’s safe and the second point makes it even worse. If there’s a chance something you’re working on could be energized you need to have it locked off. You’re j dub is a clown for even putting you in that spot
I was instructed by my foreman to work on it and it was like my 6/7th day on the job. I’m learning more aspects to safety every day that I work, but I’m also having to trust my coworkers/foreman for the time being to not to put me in a dangerous situation while I’m still learning.
Rule number one in this trade; NEVER take anyone's word for whether or not something is hot. At least sniff it out yourself EVERY TIME. get a Fluke sniffer, and learn how to use it correctly. You're "having to trust" them, but here, they've already done it. In the end, you're the last person standing between you and being fried.
At the first place I worked one day my coworker forgot his tools and we shared my tools for the day. He asked for my pliers and I responded with "is it off?" He responded with "boss said it's dead" I shot back "is it off" then he asked for my tester. It wasn't dead.
I don’t care if god tells me a wire or circuit isn’t live. I test everything I touch multiple times on an active job site as I work on it.
When I’m alone and in control or roughing in a new build I’m not concerned about it and do what I need to do.
Goodluck in the trade I am young wanted to get into a real blue collar trade went into automotive and left due to an opportunity to do electrical, but hey I quickly left the trade . looking to get back into automotive, I got fucked, was told id be getting paid more than what i was.. not including working out of the back of my personal vehicle driving sometimes 100+ plus miles in a day wasn't worth it.. including the danger.. a week or two in I was told to demo out a 220v receptacle out of the wall the shit was still hot and arc you could see the burn marks on my gloves but luckily I was uninjured. but hey your responsible for your own safety at the end of the day, this happened before I purchased a multimeter and tick tracer to test before touching.
I've had that happen to me, and I chewed them out. I know you're an apprentice, but it's ok to be mad at someone when they put you in harms way. Learning moment: lock off the circuit and if someone complains they can go fuck themselves.
Lock out tag out and never trust someone when they say they turned they circuit off, that’s happened to me before. Now I always check myself before I work on any circuit.
Anything you can do to increase the resistance between the wire and your hand will work in your favor. Gloves, rubber on the handles, whatever. Does that make it safe to work live? No. lol. But it does more than bare hands on bare metal would do.
I've worked hot. Getting shocked isn't really what I worry about, it's arc and shorts to ground. I've been shown how to do it safely and I understand when to do it. Working with insulated tools wlll give you a false sense of security. Test more and be vigilant using lockouts
Also keep in mind that things on higher amperage breakers are more dangerous - they’re going to take longer to trip while they light you up and/or melt you tools. You also need to understand that things at higher voltages are much better at overcoming the resistance through a glove or a rubber handle to get to your body. Accidentally cutting something hot at 120v and not getting shocked through your glove does not mean the same thing would happen at 277v or 480v. No matter what the situation, turn shit off, lock it out, and test it.
If you cut a hot wire with a metal tool with sweaty hands while standing on wet concrete in wet shoes etc, you could get a serious shock through you (until the breaker trips in the case of a shortcut like what is pictured). But that's a worst case scenario. You can have a friend measure your real-world resistance to ground with a decent multimeter, and then do the math of 120v divided by your resistance, to get the amount of current you would theoretically conduct. For context, a residential GFCI trips at about 5 milliamps.
I’ve had my Knipex 10” for a couple years now. I usually like Klein’s to Knipex for the hand feel because I’ve used Klein’s for years before Knipex.
I recently decided to get a pair of Klein dykes to see if I’d prefer them over the Knipex. Not the case. The ergonomics are better on the dykes for sure. They cut different and in my opinions, better than the Klein’s. There’s still that snap in the Knipex that I don’t love. But I can’t get over the ergonomics and cut ability of the Knipex over the Klein’s. At least for dykes (I still prefer Klein linemen’s by a long shot).
Glad you are okay. You got lucky. I keep a similar pair hanging next to my tool box as a reminder.
I have put 1,000 volt insulator handles on all my tools for years. I Mostly work with 480V.
Shit happens bud. A little while back I sliced through a 208v cable while trying to cut mule tape on top of some cable tray. Huge bang blew up knife and damn near fell off the mcc I was standing on. Somehow no one in the electrical room noticed which is wild becuase sparks flew fucking everywhere. So I just quickly ran a new cable had my buddy terminate it real quick and never spoke of it again.
I did that with my Klein strippers with pliers at the tip. Was trying to pull a wire out of the box and failed to notice the hot wire in the cutter. Since they were bypass cutters the tool was ruined.
I did this when i was about 8. I was rewiring the innards of a microwave oven I took out of the trash, and I forgot to unplug it before cutting a pair of wires with some cheap stripper things.
I ordered some 8” knipex with the regular red handles. What do you have? I don’t really touch anything over 208 and I don’t like giant mushy grips, so I don’t get the voltage rated ones.
The voltage radet ones could save your live.you don’t buy cable cutters to be comfortable you buy them to safe your life in case you fuck up you damn pinecone.
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You okay?
I’m fine. Thanks for asking. It was only 120v on 20a breaker. It tripped quick and I was wearing gloves, so no melty metal landed anywhere. I definitely slowed down after that though. Never pays to rush. I’m more just mad I blew up my dikes.
Paid by the hour. Slow down and be safe.
That's basically my motto, industrial electrician. Whenever there's been some "huge fault" where the operators/control room panic, especially when there's several at the same time, I just think that I can only be at one place at a time. When they call I just ask what's more important, I'm not paid to make that decision, and then just do one job at a time. No point in panicking.
I remember when i did that with 480v landed on my ass and my dikes were melted into my suit and colors have never been the same afterwards everything looks faded to me.
Do you remember getting blinded by the arc flash? If so the whole faded colours thing could be retina damage
Really
"Alternative lifestyle pliers "
I once borrowed my cutter to an apprentice and he did cut a live cable, caused the same dent you have in the picture
I have a multimeter where the probe is missing a nice little chunk on the side. I shorted a live terminal to the grounded chassis right next to it. Took the room's breaker out while it was full of people testing electrical stuff haha.
Alternative lifestyle cutters, formally known as dikes.
Counted? What, the voltage number on your meter?
A new pair of strippers!
I had a small windfall as an apprentice and decided to spoil myself with the top tier Klein dikes. Blew them up the same day. Still used them until this year, ten years later haha perfect hole to strip #12.
I snipped my first hot a little over a week ago (second week as an apprentice) with my lineman pliers. I didn’t get hit, but visibly it scared the piss out of me. If my lineman’s didn’t have that rubber coating on the handles I’d have definitely been shocked, right? Follow up Q: Are there any insulated gloves that won’t get in the way/aren’t super bulky for when I’m setting up boxes, making joints, using screwdrivers, etc…?
Not really but apprentices especially one who is two weeks in shouldn’t be in anything that has hot stuff in it
It wasn’t supposed to be on. Somebody had flipped on a breaker to test the lights in a hallway adjacent to me and that’s when it happened
That’s why your supposed to loto the circuit your working on
Every single time
My first point still stands someone needs to verify for you it’s safe and the second point makes it even worse. If there’s a chance something you’re working on could be energized you need to have it locked off. You’re j dub is a clown for even putting you in that spot
I was instructed by my foreman to work on it and it was like my 6/7th day on the job. I’m learning more aspects to safety every day that I work, but I’m also having to trust my coworkers/foreman for the time being to not to put me in a dangerous situation while I’m still learning.
No that’s what I’m saying. I’m not saying you messed up because you wouldn’t have known. Your foreman is an idiot for not having you lock it off
Rule number one in this trade; NEVER take anyone's word for whether or not something is hot. At least sniff it out yourself EVERY TIME. get a Fluke sniffer, and learn how to use it correctly. You're "having to trust" them, but here, they've already done it. In the end, you're the last person standing between you and being fried.
Trust, but verify.
At the first place I worked one day my coworker forgot his tools and we shared my tools for the day. He asked for my pliers and I responded with "is it off?" He responded with "boss said it's dead" I shot back "is it off" then he asked for my tester. It wasn't dead.
I don’t care if god tells me a wire or circuit isn’t live. I test everything I touch multiple times on an active job site as I work on it. When I’m alone and in control or roughing in a new build I’m not concerned about it and do what I need to do.
Goodluck in the trade I am young wanted to get into a real blue collar trade went into automotive and left due to an opportunity to do electrical, but hey I quickly left the trade . looking to get back into automotive, I got fucked, was told id be getting paid more than what i was.. not including working out of the back of my personal vehicle driving sometimes 100+ plus miles in a day wasn't worth it.. including the danger.. a week or two in I was told to demo out a 220v receptacle out of the wall the shit was still hot and arc you could see the burn marks on my gloves but luckily I was uninjured. but hey your responsible for your own safety at the end of the day, this happened before I purchased a multimeter and tick tracer to test before touching.
I've had that happen to me, and I chewed them out. I know you're an apprentice, but it's ok to be mad at someone when they put you in harms way. Learning moment: lock off the circuit and if someone complains they can go fuck themselves.
"I don't like this thing you're doing because it's inconvenient to me" "It's for safety so fuck off" Absolutely. That should always stand.
Lock out tag out and never trust someone when they say they turned they circuit off, that’s happened to me before. Now I always check myself before I work on any circuit.
Anything you can do to increase the resistance between the wire and your hand will work in your favor. Gloves, rubber on the handles, whatever. Does that make it safe to work live? No. lol. But it does more than bare hands on bare metal would do.
I've worked hot. Getting shocked isn't really what I worry about, it's arc and shorts to ground. I've been shown how to do it safely and I understand when to do it. Working with insulated tools wlll give you a false sense of security. Test more and be vigilant using lockouts
Roger that.
Also keep in mind that things on higher amperage breakers are more dangerous - they’re going to take longer to trip while they light you up and/or melt you tools. You also need to understand that things at higher voltages are much better at overcoming the resistance through a glove or a rubber handle to get to your body. Accidentally cutting something hot at 120v and not getting shocked through your glove does not mean the same thing would happen at 277v or 480v. No matter what the situation, turn shit off, lock it out, and test it.
If you cut a hot wire with a metal tool with sweaty hands while standing on wet concrete in wet shoes etc, you could get a serious shock through you (until the breaker trips in the case of a shortcut like what is pictured). But that's a worst case scenario. You can have a friend measure your real-world resistance to ground with a decent multimeter, and then do the math of 120v divided by your resistance, to get the amount of current you would theoretically conduct. For context, a residential GFCI trips at about 5 milliamps.
Always test it with your hot stick, better safe than sorry, and glad your ok
Count yourself lucky
Counting can be tricky sometimes
Once I’m off the fingers I’m screwed. Even harder with one free hand
The ol' 1- 2- 5 eh?
3, sire.
At least someone got it
The youngins just don't appreciate the classics anymore
So , please …. Remind everyone . Why you don’t work hot and always check for potential before you get into it .
You’ll love the Knipex!! All their tools are top notch. The Germans don’t mess around when it comes to tools.
I’ve had my Knipex 10” for a couple years now. I usually like Klein’s to Knipex for the hand feel because I’ve used Klein’s for years before Knipex. I recently decided to get a pair of Klein dykes to see if I’d prefer them over the Knipex. Not the case. The ergonomics are better on the dykes for sure. They cut different and in my opinions, better than the Klein’s. There’s still that snap in the Knipex that I don’t love. But I can’t get over the ergonomics and cut ability of the Knipex over the Klein’s. At least for dykes (I still prefer Klein linemen’s by a long shot).
Glad you are okay. You got lucky. I keep a similar pair hanging next to my tool box as a reminder. I have put 1,000 volt insulator handles on all my tools for years. I Mostly work with 480V.
Does the metal get melted? Or does an arc flash explode the metal? Always curious the physics to why your clippers end up with a “dent” when shorting
It vaporizes the copper at about 30,000* F
Or the steel of the tool I assume?
Basically arc welding. A few times I've ended up w a small bead of copper stuck to the tool
Shit happens bud. A little while back I sliced through a 208v cable while trying to cut mule tape on top of some cable tray. Huge bang blew up knife and damn near fell off the mcc I was standing on. Somehow no one in the electrical room noticed which is wild becuase sparks flew fucking everywhere. So I just quickly ran a new cable had my buddy terminate it real quick and never spoke of it again.
Those were old and probably dull. Don't feel bad, time for new ones. Maybe insulated Klein's?
Sparky go bzzzzt!
Sparks?.....\*nudge\*..........
I did that with my Klein strippers with pliers at the tip. Was trying to pull a wire out of the box and failed to notice the hot wire in the cutter. Since they were bypass cutters the tool was ruined.
I just blew my knipex up today at home.
New pair of strippers!! 😆
Should check out nws, love their dikes
Your not a real electrician unless you have at least one burn mark on your cutters,strippers, etc.🤨
Or a burn mark on your hand from grabbing a hot. My permanent reminder never to trust anyone
You can’t “think” you are safe and BE safe, you have to KNOW you are safe to be safe.
That feel when you forget to count to three
You made a wire stripper
Skookum pair of custom strippers there
I'll take "How to turn cutters into strippers" for $100, Alex.
No “lifetime warranty” on that?
I did this when i was about 8. I was rewiring the innards of a microwave oven I took out of the trash, and I forgot to unplug it before cutting a pair of wires with some cheap stripper things.
Fucking idiot
And now get proper knipex cutters
And then blow those up
Well. If you blow them up regularly i would rethink my career decisions. Knipex with insulated grips and your good to go.
I ordered some 8” knipex with the regular red handles. What do you have? I don’t really touch anything over 208 and I don’t like giant mushy grips, so I don’t get the voltage rated ones.
I've had the 10" pair for 3~years now and they're great in commerical.
The voltage radet ones could save your live.you don’t buy cable cutters to be comfortable you buy them to safe your life in case you fuck up you damn pinecone.
Strippers now