Why I write about electrical safety
The day I accidentally stopped and restarted my own heart!
Everyone,
I want to share everything I know about electricity, and would love to double the number of subscribers to this blog in the next few months. And I’m not really worried if these are free or paid subscribers. I just want my RVelectricity safety and DIY articles, videos and podcasts (coming soon) to reach as many RV owners as possible.
But everyone asks me how and why I became interested in teaching electrical safety, so here’s my story…
Why do I do this?
Well, I started experimenting and teaching myself electricity when I was 4 years old (really, I did). And by the age of 14 I was designing and building my own tube amplifiers, big speaker cabinets and sound mixing boards for my band. So by the time I made it to my 20’s I was getting pretty brazen around electricity since I had been working around live high-voltage circuits for the last decade, and rarely been shocked.
Then something went very wrong…
I was building a big tube power amplifier which had a 600 volt DC power supply and a lot of storage capacitors. But, being an indestructible 22 year-old I was doing everything wrong.
I was working on a live high-voltage circuit all alone
I was most of the way through a 6-pack of beer since I didn’t want to be too tense while working on live voltage
And finally, I was leaning my bare left arm on the metal chassis of the amplifier chassis, and reaching into the live circuit with a screwdriver using my other hand
How I nearly killed myself
My hand slipped onto the screwdriver shaft and I made contact with the big capacitor bank charged up to 600 volts DC. So I took a hand-to-hand shock through my heart that blasted me backwards out of my chair. The last thing I remembered was everything going black and I was knocked out!
Don’t let this happen to you!
Sometime later I woke up in the corner of the room, and felt like I’d been kicked down a flight of stairs. That 600-volt shock made every muscle in my body contract at the same time and stopped my heart for a second, which caused me to black out. But lucky for me this was 600-volts DC, not AC. And DC voltage is what’s used by a defibrillator to restart a heart. Yup, I had stopped and restarted my heart at the same time. Had this been 600-volts AC I would have died on the floor. But instead I learned a very important lesson about electric shocks.
A shock can kill you!
Oh yes, it most certainly can. And it doesn’t take 600 or 240 or even 120 volts AC. The lower threshold of death by electrocution is around 40 volts AC if your hands are wet and you get a good grip in an energized object. And AC voltage is much more dangerous than DC voltage since 60 Hz is just the right frequency to interrupt your heart rhythm.
Never work on live voltage alone!
And if you can, never work on live voltage at all. Unfortunately, for troubleshooting circuits you often need the power to be on. But be super careful when doing so and don’t let anyone distract you.
Don’t use both hands, ever!
One of my master electrician colleagues taught me to keep my unused hand in my back pocket so I don’t touch anything with it. And don’t be standing in water while plugging into shore power.
Know your meter, and use it!
We have a saying in the live sound business that every mic is an open mic. And I treat every circuit as a live circuit until I can triple check it myself. In fact, there’s a procedure called a Live-Dead-Live test that I was trained on nearly 50 years ago. Basically, you need to confirm that your meter and test method is actually working. I think that topic needs its own video, so watch for it!
I’ve been writing for the RV industry since 2010
But I started this daily blog just over a month ago, and I’ve already republished 40+ of my 700+ RVelectricity and NoShockZone articles, and I’m on track to post 300 articles per year. I write a lot, and there’s lots to write about. This knowledge can help you repair your own RV, troubleshoot pesky problems that the dealer can’t solve, and keep you alive. That’s right, always remember that electricity can kill you. I came really close 46 years ago, so learn from my mistakes.
Please Share This Blog
This is a labor of love and I really want to spread this information. Please invite me on your own video blog, or share one of my articles, or even contact me about teaching an online or onsite seminar for your RV group or rally.
And if you can help by joining as a paid subscriber that would be fantastic. But I really want to grow my free subscriber base so I can save more lives. That’s my primary mission…
Let’s stay safe out there - Mike Sokol
Hi Mike,
I'm glad you're keeping in touch!
That high voltage will get your attention, huh? I had a very similar experience in electronics class at South Carroll HS back in the '70s. There was an instructional tube circuit that was installed vertically, against a wall. The chassis was steel, similar to what equipment racks are made from. It was supposed to be safe. We were not told not to touch it. There were no warning signs. To this day IDK what I touched but I had one hand on the chassis and somehow the other came in touch with B+ (not 600Vdc though, maybe 350) and I got knocked back several feet. Of course my classmates thought it was hilarious...
Frightening experience Mike! I've had a few electrifying encounters but nothing like yours and they weren't powered by Bud. Once my boyfriend asked me to hold a plastic handled screwdriver and put the metal shaft somewhere near the spark plug on his Kawasaki dirt bike so he could see if there was an arc. I got a heck of a shock, it was probably a mild shock but I didn't expect it because the only thing I was touching was the plastic handle. While in my 20's I was renting an older house while going to college. The stove and refrigerator were beside each other; I had my hand on the corner of the stove while I opened the fridge. I felt the shock but as hard as I tried to pull away I couldn't; the next thing I remember is being on the floor across the kitchen sitting up against the cupboard below the sink. I packed and moved. Electricity and I are not friends, I steer clear and leave it to the experts. Your article was a great read, Thanks, Cee Tee