little bit of voltage present on earth

Andy From Sligo

got one of these phase tester screwdrivers (the one where the neon lights up in the handle) and touched it on the screws holding in a plastic single blanking onto a sunken metal back box. The light on the screwdriver only very faintly lights, not at full brightness as if you have touched it right onto a live terminal ... but even so i am surprised that there is some voltage present at all - the electrics go through a RCD/ELCB and MCB in the fuseboard and they havent tripped and if I touch the screw(s) of the blanking plate I am getting no shock whatsoever, not even a tiny one. and it doesnt trip the RCB/ELCB etc

Its a strange one, what do you reckon? what could be causing voltage there, even albeit tiny ?

punisher5112

Don't use them they are pure Sh1te

Risteard81

Haven't heard from you in a while... As stated a phase tester proves nothing.

10-10-20

Induced via capacitance or induction, I'd guess. Do you have good earth continuity and do other sockets show the same reaction?

Andy From Sligo

10-10-20 wrote: »

Induced via capacitance or induction, I'd guess. Do you have good earth continuity and do other sockets show the same reaction?

thanks - its not on the sockets circuit, nor the lighting circuit. its on the heating circuit (this blanking plate covers where a heating room-stat was) when I put the phase tester onto the screws of sockets or light switches it does not light at all.

so on the heating is just outdoor oil boiler and the other roomstats and heating timer all proteced by a b10 breaker and going through ELCB/RCB

2011

Throw it in the nearest bin.
These are banned from many sites for good reason.

punisher5112

Fluke testers are the go to for them tests.

Andy From Sligo

ok .. pushing to one side that these phase testers are rubbish/flukes - its obviously showing up a bit of voltage

Andy From Sligo

just pulled this out of my toolbox - dont know where i got it from .. most probably some ol cheap euro shop - anyway when i hold it onto the screw 110v shows up on the LCD panel ... absolutely no way though cause I would get a jolt with 110v if i touched it - must be crap

punisher5112

Look up Fluke testers then you will see what a real tester looks like.

These yolks?
Almost as bad.

Ocassional false positives.
Only prove live. Cannot prove dead.
Widow-maker.

I use plug in testers or a meter, or myself when I'm being willfully stupid instead of ignorantly so.

A voltage between earth and neutral means either the earth is a slightly different potential to the earth electrode(s) or the generator/transformer is floating, or the "polarity" is incorrect or the neutral has dropped...it all depends on the voltage magnitude and other considerations.

Earth to phase is usually 230Vac in most earthed low voltage installations. Measuring it often trips RCBOs.

Jack Moore

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

just pulled this out of my toolbox - dont know where i got it from .. most probably some ol cheap euro shop - anyway when i hold it onto the screw 110v shows up on the LCD panel ... absolutely no way though cause I would get a jolt with 110v if i touched it - must be crap

You can’t feel volts
Amps is what you need to feel

Volts are what make you feel the amps.

2011

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

ok .. pushing to one side that these phase testers are rubbish/flukes - its obviously showing up a bit of voltage

Do you think so?
How much, 5 volts, 50 volts, 120 volts, 230 volts?
AC or DC?

The truth is it is impossible know. Also if this does not illuminate when touching a conductor I would not believe it either. The danger is that some people are under the impression that these devices can be trusted.

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

These yolks?
Almost as bad.

Agreed, only slightly less dangerous.

Sleeper12

The amount of times people promise me that the shower has power over the phone & got me to get there only to find out the shower doesn't have 230 volts.

As everyone say bin it. They are a waste of time and for the most part all they tell you is that the bulb works. I hate them.

Risteard81

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Volts are what make you feel the amps.

It's the volts that jolt but the mills that kill.

It's the voltage that overcomes the resistance of the skin and the current that burns & interferes with the electrochemical signals of the brain and heart.

They are not mutually exclusive.

punisher5112

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

It's the voltage that overcomes the resistance of the skin and the current that burns & interferes with the electrochemical signals of the brain and heart.

They are not mutually exclusive.

I find it best when I don't use a fork or knive but find they are quite similar in design to the light up faze testers.....

I've had a few shocks over the years and lost some great cutters due to the environment I worked in where realistically we couldn't turn anything off.

Other would be getting told sure of course it's off then bang.....

Cut one conductor at a time and don't be the fuse.
It's never the fault of the person who says it is off.
Our job is diagnostics, the onus is on us to validate theories, verify claims and gather evidence.

anna 'nuther thing...milli is an SI unit prefix; you can have milliAmps, milliVolts, milliWatts....

I've at least two sets of snips that transmuted to cable strippers...I give them to lads for jobs like when they ask for my copper cutters to cut their steel wire. :mad::rolleyes:

punisher5112

Cowboys ted

I was referring to myself.

..and proud of it.
We're not all bad, like not all RECs are good.

punisher5112

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I was referring to myself.

..and proud of it.
We're not all bad, like not all RECs are good.

Unfortunately I was let go as an apprentice in the bust so had to move on to other things.

I can't afford to be an apprentice. It's cheaper for me to hire a sparks to collaborate with.
Keep on truckin'

There's more to life than hanging T&E off rafters, makin' tea and two way switched circuits.

Andy From Sligo

i have had shocks since i were aged 7 - used to go putting fingers into bayonet light bulb sockets one in a bar in a holiday camp .. then later on when a fridge bulb was removed from inside the fridge - then I used to take the backs off old valve type tv's and radiograms and got a few bolts off them ... I once cut into a T&E 5amp lighting circuit in the loft with a pair of pliers beleiving i pulled the fuse from the upstairs and bang (i had removed the downstairs lights fuse instead) made shíte of the pliers but i was grateful of the rubber coated handles - when I moved to Ireland was doing up an old wreck of a cottage and good ol' ESB put the live tail in the aluminium guttering with a join and a bit of black insulation tape wrapped around and when i touched the guttering i got a nice little shock (werent the full 230v I suppose, but enough to shoot the hand away .... I'm still alive!

early recollection of my grandad checking to see if live was getting to the ceiling pendant by sticking his finger on the terminal and getting me to turn on the light switch .. hardly flinching as the 240v uk electric went down his finger through is body to earth ...

I think getting a shock is over-rated

Sleeper12

Funny enough my first shock was around age 7 too. Our Christmas tree lights were joined together with a male / female bayonet fitting. Being the curious person that I am I stuck my fingers in the bayonet fitting.

Andy From Sligo

oh, I forgot another shock I got as a nipper - I am old enough to remember when 13a plugs never had those black bits of plastic on the neutral and live pins and i was pulling out the plug (the sockets back in the day never had switches on either) and my fingers touched the pin(s) anyway got a nice jolt then ... and who else hasnt had a back of a 13a plug come apart as they are removing the plug from the socket ... or a stray strand of wire sticking out on a 13a plug? (and remember back in the day no appliances came with any fitted plugs and you had to wire up your own 13a plugs onto stuff when you bought it new - kids have got it so easy these days the little snowflakes ) - and we are talking back in the day where MCB's or ELCB's where not even a twinkle in an electricians eye ...

Electrification was originally for lighting. The first washing machines were plugged into light bulb sockets.
Bittovan ordeal to disconnect the screw caps when grandma peggy was being discombobulated by unprotected machinery...

Andy From Sligo

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Electrification was originally for lighting. The first washing machines were plugged into light bulb sockets....

I remember my mum used to plug her electric iron into the light bulb sockets , it had that brown twisted material type insulation and a Bakelite bayonet plug on the end ... and of course not earthed

brightspark

Some reading for those who think nobody dies from electric shocks!

https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Electricity/Dangers_of_Electricity/Electrical_Fatality_Statistics/Description_of_Elec_1996_Fatalaties_to_2017.pdf


Note the most recent one.."Accessible part became live".

punisher5112

On the ladder part I've come close to it myself.

Always look up and around anywhere you intend on placing ladder or plan on moving it while extended.

Andy From Sligo

makes for interesting reading that HSA list! :eek: - RIP to all those who lost their lives. I couldnt even comprehend how it must feel like to have so many kvolts like some of them

no wonder they put out this advert - can you envisage cutting the hedge and into an overhead line!

here are some unusual ones i have picked out from the hsa pdf:

Tree-Felling- Wet rope
touched OH Line

Mobile home became
live

Possibly self inflicted

Vandalised Lamp-post

Welder in Hospital

Guttering

Exploding Circuit
Breaker

Child Climbed into Substation

Plumbing in Kitchen

Changing Bulb

Toddler-Nail in Socket

Man on Dart Powerline

Having a shower

Mains on Electric Fence

Roofer Hit Line