Electrical Safety

[Wingnut]

Okay, I know I haven't even started my 'Road Safety' thread yet, though I intend to sometime before I DIE, lol... but an incident occurred this afternoon as I cut my hair, using the Sunbeam hair clippers which I've had for nearly a quarter-century. I started cutting my own hair in the late '90s as a way of saving money, and also as a way of saving TIME, since I only had so many days off during my 'trucking daze' and I wanted to maximize enjoyment & recreation while minimizing all time-consuming BS, aye? And once I learned how to cut my own hair, using a mirror and some attachments for the clippers, it became an easy task which only took 10 or 15 minutes, tops. No waiting around at some barbershop or 'hair salon' (pfffffft), just a quick cut and on my way to burn steaks & drink beers in the back yard of the ol' beach cottage with friends, lol.

Now, over the years, the electrical cord on the clippers became damaged, as I had to hold it doubled back out of the way as I cut to either side of my fat head, 10-4? When it became sketchy, I taped it up with electrical tape and carried on, right? Well, today, all those years of doubling or bending the cord at a severe angle to keep it out of the way led to a bad break in wiring underneath the tape. I managed to cut my hair before I noticed how bad it was, as I'm very careful with all things electric. I was done with my haircut and I was gonna simply remove the last attachment and shave the hair off my shoulders, but I decided to tape up the cracked cord first. As I carefully put the cord in line to tape it... POW!!! A FRIGGIN' LOUD & WICKED ELECTRICAL SPARK put paid to the cord and the clippers, lol. I'm talking about a LETHAL SPARK, with a NASTY POP to it as well... plenty of folks get killed by 110 volts every year, and I don't wanna be one of 'em, so I trashed the clippers, lol.

I'm no newbie or rookie when it comes to electricity & electrical equipment, nor am I an IBEW pro, but I HAVE repaired or swapped out many electrical fixtures or appliances over the decades, and I have a 'system' for doing such work. I don't like 'hot work' or 'hot wiring' with the juice on, I don't feel sufficiently experienced to tackle that sort of work, and I don't have to either, lol. What I usually do is identify the problem, cut the power using circuit breakers (or by simply unplugging a device or fixture), then go to town on the repair, testing it very carefully afterward and looking for problems, right? This system has served me pretty well over the years, but today I came close to meeting the wild beast that ya never wanna let out of its cage... that's a reference to author Dick Francis, who wrote about horse racing and murder mysteries. In one of his books, the protagonist recalls an uncle who was an electrician, and that uncle likened electricity to a wild beast in a cage---if ya ever let it out, it would certainly KILL YOU, lol.

So my intent in creating this thread is to remind folks---no matter how experienced those folks might be---to BE CAREFUL when dealing with electricity! I used to work in construction (as a lowly laborer long ago), and I always paid attention to what the electricians said, as I knew my knowledge could be increased in that area. My seven older brothers taught me a lot about dealing with electricity, and I thank them, but it never hurt to listen to the pros. And one of those pros was the guy who told me that many folks die every year from 110 volts... so I paid attention to what he said, lol. I think we were discussing the relative merits, advantages, disadvantages, etc., of 110v versus 220v, aye? And I was an avid "student" or "apprentice" when it came to learning how to work with and around electricity. That's the sort of work I NEVER do if I've had anything to drink, or if I've actually taken a bong hit... no future in THAT, lol. Okay, that's about it for this thread, unless somebody else wants to chime in and possibly teach youngsters...

Electricity is one of those unforgiving things that will seriously injure or kill an inattentive person, or a stoned person, or an ignorant person, etc. It does NOT discriminate, I assure you, so it behooves one to be extra careful when dealing with it. Some of y'all may have seen or read those stories on linemen who work on those high-voltage lines out in the middle of nowhere? Jeez, I could NEVER do that job, though I'm a former technical rock climber and I am comfortable working at height, lol. The juice is just too powerful, ya know? And if ya ever slip up, yer gonna be an 'Extra Crispy Skeleton' dangling from a harness high above the ground, lol... if the harness isn't also damaged and ya take an unroped fall to the deck below. I don't care how much money those guys (and gals) make, it ain't enough for THIS kid! I've had a couple of close calls with electricity, including today's incident, and DESPITE taking precautions... so I'll leave the high-dollar lineman's work to the pros! Enough said, now I'm back to the site to see what's happening before I make beef fajitas for dinner! Here are the old Sunbeam clippers, now RETIRED in the TRASH BIN, lol.

P.S. I pulled the tape further back to show y'all the exposed wiring... "YIKES!!!" Didn't know it was THAT bad!!! Sure made an UGLY NOISE like HELL WAS A-POPPIN'!!! Good thing my hand was nowhere near the POS at the time!

 

[Supervisor42]

... no future in THAT, lol. Okay, that's about it for this thread, unless somebody else wants to chime in and possibly teach youngsters...

Electricity is one of those unforgiving things that will seriously injure or kill an inattentive person, or a stoned person, or an ignorant person, etc. It does NOT discriminate, I assure you, so it behooves one to be extra careful when dealing with it.

I was done lecturing young people when I hung up my 'Supervisor' necktie.
Just glad I will never dance with the 'crazy-leg' of 240 3-phase (277VAC to ground) again. It knocked me down.
Been bit with higher voltages and they mostly burn, but you are correct, 110VAC kills the most people.

 

[havasu]

That cord looks like my De Walt compound miter saw. Since the cord is $70 and 3 hours to install (ground wires on all surfaces) I've been procrastinating. Seeing your post, maybe it's time to fix it.

 

[backlash]

When I get shocked I get mad at myself.
I know it was because I did something I should not have done.
If you plug those clippers in you might have a death wish.
A new cord isn't hard to install and they are cheap.

 

[montanabill]

cutting up pallets for fire wood with a skill saw......the cord now looks like it has multiple growths on it from all the splices.

 

[Bacpacker]

My crew and I at work have electrical safety training yearly, up to 600v. We almost never work above 110 however. And being a union shop, we bring in electricians if we have to open a breaker box. My guys are instrument techs

 

[Wingnut]

A new cord isn't hard to install and they are cheap.

Hmm, there's an idea... I was gonna simply buy another pair of clippers, since these cost around $20 or $25 back in the day, but in this Fraudulent Biden Era, the same clippers may retail at WallyWorld for $349!!!

Perhaps I should fish the clippers outta the trash and hang onto them until I can check prices, lol. Dunno if the clipper motor was damaged when that nasty pop & spark occurred, but maybe swapping cords would solve the problem.

Alright, lemme go fish the clippers outta the trash, and at least hang onto them until I figure out what course of action to take. Good on ya, Backlash, for pointing that out, since cords ARE cheap and I can do that sort of work.

The clippers aren't very large, so it's no big deal to hang onto them for a bit... I just figured the whole thing was kaput, but that might not be the case. Perhaps there's life left in that old pair o' clippers yet, lol.

I've taken great care of 'em otherwise, always cleaning them afterward and carefully oiling the blades... they've served me well for over two decades, maybe I shouldn't be in such an all-fired hurry to toss 'em, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

Alright, Backlash and youse other electrical heroes, here's what I have so far... I just spent an hour or more cleaning hair out of the plastic case or housing of the clippers, y'all wouldn't BELIEVE how much hair was in there! Like SOMEONE was keeping a herd of camels in there! Short-haired camels, but camels nevertheless! Lol. I used a couple of toothpicks and about 50 Q-Tips to clean that cr@p outta there so y'all could actually SEE what we have on the table, and here it is!

As y'all can see, the electric motor does NOT appear to be fried, there are no scorch marks of any kind on it! And nothing else appears to be damaged in any way, so perhaps the ugly popping & sparking which occurred as I was just about to wrap up my haircut was simply the frayed ends of the cord meeting OUTSIDE the plastic housing, where the cord was covered with electrical tape prior to the damage or fraying.

I'm still trying to figure out WHY I was so ready to TOSS this unit... with any other power tool, I would've simply cut the cord, bared the ends of the wires, spliced 'em, taped everything back up & carried on as if nothing happened. Perhaps the low cost of the clippers when I bought 'em was the deciding factor? Anyway, I now think that tossing the clippers would've been a mistake and a waste of money.

I added photos to show y'all the condition of the wiring & electrical gear, and to zoom in on the problem area... that little board by the temporarily-removed switch (switchboard?) is fine, and I don't wanna mess with it, but that only leaves me so much wire to work with in splicing a new cord to what still exists here. That end piece where the wiring exits the housing compartment seems to be the crux of the problem, as it seems to be molded around the wires...

Do I dissect that piece and attempt to salvage the wire(s) inside it, or do I simply cut the wiring right where it enters the piece on its way out of the housing compartment? I don't see any way to save that piece, unless I cut the wiring and then drill the piece, which may be difficult if the wires inside were somehow heat-gunned or whatever during construction of the clippers. I just tried gently pulling the piece off with two pairs of pliers, but no dice, the wires are STUCK in there.

So, do I dissect the piece, which feels like some hard plubber (plastic & rubber combo), there is some flex to it but it ain't coughing up the wires, lol. If I carefully cut down one side of it with an X-Acto knife or single-edged razor, maybe then I can get the wires out and still use the piece later? Though I'll probably have to drill it out a bit? That seems like the next logical step in this repair process, as I *may* be able to re-use the plubber piece as I put everything back together...

Otherwise, I see a simple splice with the new cord, taped up with the splice inside the housing, the plubber piece no longer in the equation, and the cord heavily taped to the end of the housing compartment on the outside. I don't suppose somebody actually makes something similar to the plubber piece, something I could fit to the square hole where the plubber piece usually rests? I doubt Sunbeam sells the plubber piece separately, as it looks to be heat-gunned to the wiring.

Alright, let's hear your opinions on the subject... I guess I have a project for today after all, lol. I sure would like to keep these clippers, they work pretty well despite their age, and there doesn't seem to be any electrical damage inside the plastic housing. I've seen damage & scorch marks before in other tools & equipment, so I know what to look for here, but everything looks pretty clean, like it's still serviceable... once I buy a new cord and splice it to the existing wires.

OKAY, TIME TO CRACK A COLD ONE, HAVEN'T HAD ONE YET DUE TO CLEANING THE CLIPPERS, LOL...

SHOW ME WHATCHA GOT, YOUSE ELECTRICAL HEE-ROES!!! DANG, THIS BEER TASTES GOOD!!!

Edit: Kinda funny to think that some of that hair trapped in the housing compartment might have been from the '90s!!! I wonder if there's a market for old hair as DNA? Fast forward to moi wearing a trenchcoat in a dark alley, and slinging my wares to passing gang members in need of alternate DNA for their pending court cases: "HEY, VATO, YOU WANT SOME '90s DNA??? I'LL CUT YOU A DEAL, HOLMES!!!"

 

[Bacpacker]

Imo, splice to the wire inside the housing. And build up enough around the wire where the plumber was to hold it solid.

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking... I'll probably dissect the plubber piece just to get more wire to work with, but I have the feeling that the plubber piece is gonna be beyond repair or reuse once I do that, 10-4? Those wires aren't coming out of the plubber piece without cutting it open, except maybe with some sort of heat gun or torch, but I'll try cutting first. Not today, I've set it all aside until I hear whether anybody else has something to say about it, otherwise I'll buy a replacement cord and knock it out in the next day or two. I'm not making a town run solely for a replacement cord, lol...

Ya know, the only reason I had to pull the cord out of the way or double it back upon the unit was that it started cutting off & on, and that pulling or doubling of the cord is what caused the damage. If I splice it right and tape it up, it should be fine, and I can just keep the cord on the outside of my hand or forearm as I actually cut hair. I only use these clippers about once a month, so if I can get 'em to work again and I just take care not to mess up the cord, I reckon they'll be safe enough for my purposes. Definitely worth trying a repair job, if it doesn't work then I buy new clippers...

Anyway, I'm off to watch a movie or read a 'Red Clark' Western, I'm done messing with stuff today... CHEERS!!!

 

[backlash]

Just get online and find a replacement power cord and swap it out.
If it's a Wahl clipper this cord should work.
Looks like a direct no soldering replacement.
Wahl 647-500 Replacement Hair Clipper Cord - Black for sale online | eBay

 

[Bacpacker]

One thing if you do splice it, get some heat shrink tubing and put it over the splice. Does a better job than electrical tape. Harbor freight, auto parts stores, etc carry it

 

[viking]

I'm probably fortunate to be alive, considering the long term hobby of electronics, especially when I was building transmitters, I've been shocked many times but the worst was while I was working on the chassis of a power supply that had 750 volts DC at 1/4 of an amp, I had the chassis laying on it's side and was adjusting a variable resistor with a short screwdriver when my thumb hit the top of an oil filled filter capacitor while my other hand was fully clamped on the bottom edge of the chassis to keep it from falling over, needless to say the voltage went through my body from one hand to the other, burned a little hole in my thumb and could have stopped my heart due to the time involved trying to release my hands from the chassis. There is an old but true saying,"It's not the voltage that kills you, it's the amps.", 1/4 of an amp could have killed me, but for some reason,
god still wanted me around. What's interesting is that I later build a 1,400 volt 1.25 amp power supply out of Navy surplus parts for a large transmitter for when I planned to get a higher grade of ham license, I already had a Novice license which was for Morse Code only. Anyway I had great respect for that 1,400 volt power supply after tangling with the 750 volt supply. As a side note, I believe that the 1,400 volt power supply parts were from a sonar system, the transformer alone weighed well over 100 pounds, probably close to 200 lbs.. I've touched 120 VAC many times without getting a shock, when I worked at Square D company I knew a guy that would touch 120 AC terminals to see if a circuit was hot and he never got shocked, some of the reason could be having dry skin, I've also heard that if you have alcohol in your system that you are more likely to get shocked, something about lowering skin resistance. The worst AC shock I ever got was from a metal junction box my foster dad had not put a cover on and the wires were not taped, I was climbing through a passageway in the attic and put my hand on top of the box, didn't even know it was there, turns out it was 220 volts, anyway I'm thankful that I'm still here.

 

[Bacpacker]

Worst I ever got was crossing a big capacitor in a commercial microwave. Knocked me back about 8' and in the floor. By the time I got my crap together enough to realize what happened the boss was in the shop wanting to know what happened. Old guy that worked there said "He just learned what those caps will do". He wasn't wrong.

 

[backlash]

A Navy buddy was working on a high voltage power supple.
He didn't put the safety caps on the DC output connectors.
He got his big sweaty beer belly across the connectors.
He weighed around 280.
It picked him up and tossed him over a work bench.
His heart was not beating when he hit the floor.
We did CPR till the corpsman got there and they revived him.
He spent a day in sickbay and came back to work.
He was very nervous every time he had to work on a PS but he always installed the safety plugs.

In a training class they had a HV DC generator that had a wedding ring welded to a buss bar.
It killed the guy.
They got their message across and we were all very careful.

 

[dademoss]

Darwin WILL find you, and will teach you.

 

[Wingnut]

Just finished reading RED CLARK, TWO-GUN MAN, by Gordon Young. Not as good as the other 'Red Clark' Westerns I've read, the author tried to weave too many threads together. Anyway, I see your replies, and these are Sunbeam clippers, but maybe the company offers replacement power cords... I will check the web tomorrow. Today turned out to be one of those non-drinking days, I only had one beer and then decided to read a book, lol. Meh, a break will do me good. I'm gonna go read another Gordon Young book, RED CLARK RIDES ALONE, hopefully it's better than the last one... the author changed his style and tried to make the plot all tricky, but his work is better when he just lets Red be himself and handle whatever business comes his way, lol.

I'll look for a replacement cord manana, I'm enjoying a nice quiet evening here and I'll probably crash before too long...

 

[viking]

Worst I ever got was crossing a big capacitor in a commercial microwave. Knocked me back about 8' and in the floor. By the time I got my crap together enough to realize what happened the boss was in the shop wanting to know what happened. Old guy that worked there said "He just learned what those caps will do". He wasn't wrong.

I might have told this story here but when I was a teenager with my electronics hobby, I built an oscilloscope out of navy surplus parts, one of the filter capacitors was a square metal case about 1" thick X 2" tall X 2" long with porcelain insulators on it's top with terminals sticking out, probably .2 microfarad rated at about 5,000 volts, I had respect for what it was capable of doing, so when I had to pull it out to work on something, I knew I'd have to discharge it before handling it, so I used a screwdriver to short it out, as I was closing gap between the terminals at about 1/8th of an inch, the capacitor discharge with a loud bang, thank God I never discharged that thing with any body part, it certainly gave me even greater respect for what capacitors can do.

 

[Supervisor42]

I might have told this story here but when I was a teenager with my electronics hobby, I built an oscilloscope out of navy surplus parts, one of the filter capacitors was a square metal case about 1" thick X 2" tall X 2" long with porcelain insulators on it's top with terminals sticking out, probably .2 microfarad rated at about 5,000 volts, I had respect for what it was capable of doing, so when I had to pull it out to work on something, I knew I'd have to discharge it before handling it, so I used a screwdriver to short it out, as I was closing gap between the terminals at about 1/8th of an inch, the capacitor discharge with a loud bang, thank God I never discharged that thing with any body part, it certainly gave me even greater respect for what capacitors can do.

Well since @Wingnut has left us hanging since Thursday, we will have fun with his thread.
So, @viking , did that cap have the appropriate warning label on it, like the ones we danced with?:

 

[Bacpacker]

Well since @Wingnut has left us hanging since Thursday, we will have fun with his thread.
So, @viking , did that cap have the appropriate warning label on it, like the ones we danced with?:

That one is shorter than micro wave cap was, and no didn't have a label on it.

 

[user 55]

I've heard that, like 9 volt batteries, you have to stick your tongue across the terminals of large capacitors to verify they have been discharged... Not been able to confirm this method.

 

[viking]

Well since @Wingnut has left us hanging since Thursday, we will have fun with his thread.
So, @viking , did that cap have the appropriate warning label on it, like the ones we danced with?:

Back in the 50's and 60's they didn't know what a warning was and looking back I also realize that I have probably handled a lot of PCB's, including the fluorescent ballast transformers I changed out when I worked for Square "D" company in Seattle and Denver and for our local school district

 

[backlash]

Anyone that has doubts about the storage power of a capacitor need to give themselves a shock with a tennis racket style bug zapper.
It is powered by a single 9v battery so how bad could it hurt?
I will tell you this. I didn't do it a second time.

 

[kenv1950]

found one of these in an old house -----suicide cord

 

[Wingnut]

Well, when I repair the clippers, they danged sure won't look like THAT, lol...

And Supe, for messing with my thread, NO ice-cold beer or 'Apple Jack' for YOU, lol...

This 'Apple Jack' (as I call it) is pretty darned good... it ain't JD, but that's okay in this holiday season!

 

[Peanut]

Even after I left the military I still used the “red tag” system. A red tag attached to a breaker or componet that meant don't touch. I worked alone but hospital staff might walk into my equipment room and see a breaker in the off position and for some unfathomable reason turn it back on. Happened to me, was working on a HV cabinet. There after I used red tags that read “don’t touch”. If I didn’t have a tag I’d duct tape over the breaker. Anything to make someone hesitate before touching something.

The typical catscan back in the day used 150KV to produce xrays. I always made darn sure grounding rods were properly attached to the tanks at all times. I was also very focused when I had to open a high voltage tank and make a repair inside one.

The current was only about .6 amps but 150,000 volts will still kill. That kind of voltage will jump across several feet of open air, mini-lightening. Impressive to see, as long as it doesn’t hit you. That’s why the high voltage system componets were enclosed in tanks filled with transformer oil.

The black cable that goes to the very left carried 150KV. It started as a dedicated line of 3-phase 480vac. Went through two tanks and came out as 150kvdc. The tall tank was the raw tank only about 8KV. to the right is the control cabinet. The short tank took the 8KV and turned it into 150KV(closest).

 

[Supervisor42]

Well, when I repair the clippers, they danged sure won't look like THAT, lol...

And Supe, for messing with my thread, NO ice-cold beer or 'Apple Jack' for YOU, lol...

This 'Apple Jack' (as I call it) is pretty darned good... it ain't JD, but that's okay in this holiday season!

Sorry, wasn't paying attention, and just busted another one of these open :

(Watching Bama playing LSU).

 

[Supervisor42]

Even after I left the military I still used the “red tag” system. A red tag attached to a breaker or componet that meant don't touch. I worked alone but hospital staff might walk into my equipment room and see a breaker in the off position and for some unfathomable reason turn it back on. Happened to me, was working on a HV cabinet. There after I used red tags that read “don’t touch”. If I didn’t have a tag I’d duct tape over the breaker. Anything to make someone hesitate before touching something.

The typical catscan back in the day used 150KV to produce xrays. I always made darn sure grounding rods were properly attached to the tanks at all times. I was also very focused when I had to open a high voltage tank and make a repair inside one.

The current was only about .6 amps but 150,000 volts will still kill. That kind of voltage will jump across several feet of open air, mini-lightening. Impressive to see, as long as it doesn’t hit you. That’s why the high voltage system componets were enclosed in tanks filled with transformer oil.

The black cable that goes to the very left carried 150KV. It started as a dedicated line of 3-phase 480vac. Went through two tanks and came out as 150kvdc. The tall tank was the raw tank only about 8KV. to the right is the control cabinet. The short tank took the 8KV and turned it into 150KV(closest).

View attachment 97521

I learned to respect HV DC the hard way when working with video arcade machines.
With 25KVDC, you didn't even have to touch anything. It would reach out and 'touch' you 2" away.
...And a picture tube that had air leaked into it, is a giant capacitor!

 

[Bacpacker]

Yet the old picture tubes have a nice large charge on them. Always discharge them first

 

[Supervisor42]

Yet the old picture tubes have a nice large charge on them. Always discharge them first

I will always remember when I was removing one. I disconnected the neck socket and the HV wire.
I leaned in and was taking the bolts out and heard a loud pop .
The pins on the neck dumped kilavolts right into ...my left nipple!
(yes girls, guys have those, we just don't mention them much)
So, how many people are hoping @Wingnut breaks that shaver out soon?