Life Changing (or Near Ending) Experiences

[LondonRascal]

Over on the mains electric thread, Vaughan had mentioned how he had come close to meeting his maker when getting a tingle of an engine, and finding how dangerous the shore power connection was and a battery charger’s coil breaking down leaking mains voltage.

This lead me to think back to my own close shave with my maker as a young boy.  I wonder if anyone else has come close to it but lived to tell the tale?

I can't remember my age, but it was somewhere between being helpful and a pain in the backside.  You know, when you want to help your dad out with something and have joined some but not enough of the dots to actually know what on earth you are doing.

We had an old' three bar' electric fire.  In fact until a recent cull of stuff this was still in the back of a cupboard.

When you plugged it in, the top element would come on automatically and after some time glow orange.  Each element was 1Kw. It had two switches on the front that could turn the other elements on of off. There was no indicator light to tell you if the fire was plugged in such as a neon lamp.

One day the top element rather spectacularly failed with a lot of noise and sparks.  It no longer glowed orange. However (and I am not sure why) it did not blow the fuse and this was long before our house has any sort of RCD fitted (we were re-wired to replace the 1930's wiring in 1992).

It seems in hindsight it had failed somewhere along the middle section of the element - breaking the connection much as a filament might break in a bulb.

My dad duly went and bought a new element to fit, and wanting to be helpful thought I would 'lend a hand' - little did I know that the fire in question was not actually switched off - just because it was cold I assumed it was safe well that was almost my greatest error but I lived to tell the tale...My mum and dad were in the kitchen, down a flight of stairs and I (without telling them) went up stairs to get the old element and bring it to my dad. 

 

I lifted up the safety cover and then with both hands grasped the left and right ends of the element to pull it out of the holder - at which point all hell let off with me now completing the broken circuit. It was making a racket, which if memory serves was a sort of vibratory sound, I was shaking, screaming and of course could not release my hands from the element.  I am not sure how long it took - but a few seconds at least for my mum and dad to run upstairs, into the room and pull the plug out the wall.

I had two red lines across my palms and though young knew from the tears of everyone this had been a very fortunate escape.  I therefore gave up with electricity tinkering and turned to instead to a new and utliamtly more destructive interest in chemical reactions and fire where I learnt not to conduct experiments with Meths and matches...Sometime in my life people say I grew up, I am not so sure.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Robin,

I always thought of you as a bright spark

I don't know what was worse having shocks (had a few of those over the years) or having your hands being burnt and shocked by a welding rod when holding something for a colleague. Now that really hurt.

Regards

Alan

[BroadScot]

Hi Robin,

Basically your body completed the circuit, and you are indeed a lucky fella to tell the tale. Like Alan I have had a few rattles in my time, thankfully one handed ones are less painful ! However, I do have a scar on my right thumb from a busbar burn caused by a faulty rubber electrical glove, with as it happened a pinhole on it. I was flung a fair distance, and woke up in the accident room at a foundry, with copious amounts of sweet tea to drink !

The busbar could not be turned off while we added the new three phase 440/660volt armoured cable. Elf n safety in the 60s wasn't heard of much, then ! It was the awkward blue phase I was tightening when extra pressure by my thumb opened the glove. I then became an Olympic long jumper unassisted !

You were lucky, so was I also.

Iain

[Bound2Please]

7 minutes ago, BroadScot said:

Hi Robin,

Basically your body completed the circuit, and you are indeed a lucky fella to tell the tale. Like Alan I have had a few rattles in my time, thankfully one handed ones are less painful ! However, I do have a scar on my right thumb from a busbar burn caused by a faulty rubber electrical glove, with as it happened a pinhole on it. I was flung a fair distance, and woke up in the accident room at a foundry, with copious amounts of sweet tea to drink !

The busbar could not be turned off while we added the new three phase 440/660volt armoured cable. Elf n safety in tge 60s wasn't hward of much, then ! It was the awkward blue phase I was tightening when extra pressure by my thumb opened the glove. I then became an Olympic long jumper unassisted !

You were lucky, so was I also.

Iain

Very similar to an experience I had in about 1980 Iain except elf n sa was in force that was on 660v ac, and yes was wearing rubber gauntlets. I came to the other side of relay room and accused out flagman of whacking me with a lump of wood on back of head. Glad I wasnt in the 660 cage at the time but up a ladder connecting a new jumper, one of the gauntlets must have had a leak and my nect was touching the frame work of the cage.

Ac current tends to throw you off Dc you tend to stick to

Charlie

[BroadScot]

When you think about it more and more, Charlie, this malarky is bliddy dangerous !!! 

[Bound2Please]

1 minute ago, BroadScot said:

When you think about it more and more, Charlie, this malarky is bliddy dangerous !!! 

One of the reasons of getting out of it in 1987 mate, that and jumping clear of trains doing in excess of 100MPH a lot of the time... young mans game them ... Now they stop trains shut the road and adjacent roads. The traveling public now suffer far more...

Charlie

[vanessan]

I think we should go back to oil lamps and coal fires! (And Lady Grantham said electricity would never catch on - in a very early episode.)

Nothing to do with electricity but when I was very young (aeons ago) I got hit by a golf ball. It wasn't landing, had only just been hit. I remember it hurt dreadfully and although it knocked me down, it didn't knock me out much to the amazement of the folk with me. Could have been nasty but probably explains my lack of sanity sometimes!! 

[BroadScot]

1 hour ago, vanessan said:

got hit by a golf ball.

You were lucky, Vanessa, I watched in horror when a golf club head came flying off into a crowd ! Luckily know one was hurt, but the shout of fore has a different ring to it when its a clubhead coming towards you !

Iain

[Gracie]

I know this doesn't really count as a life threatening experience but maybe life changing.....When I was a teenager I got hit right in the face with a football while watching my brothers play football in a Sunday League, done up to the nines and thinking I was gods gift, the ball hit me square in the face and I fell backwards into mud, broke a nail and my very posh sunglasses, all this happened in front of two teams a Ref and spectators, it changed my life as I never went to Sunday football again, I had a crush on at least five of the footballers and thought I would never get over it It seems so trivial now but at the time it was the worst thing that could ever have happened to me lol

Grace

[Wonderwall]

I once told my wife , my mince and Tatties were a bit salty ..

[BroadScot]

22 minutes ago, Wonderwall said:

I once told my wife , my mince and Tatties were a bit salty ..

Ah ha....too much Bisto! Neil ! 

[grendel]

when I was little I needed a spare plug and bit of cable, so got my knife out and cut through the cable on my train transformer. next time I will remember to switch off and unplug before I try that. another time I tested a battery found in an old radio across my tongue, woke up about 10 minutes later with a splitting headach and then saw the voltage of the battery - 90V.

later in life I managed to stick my finger into a 110V plug, that was being fed from a 240V plug at the other end, oh yes, I have had my share of close shaves

[ranworthbreeze]

My fist shock was when I bought my first meter (an Avo model 8) when I was about 12, my uncle took me to a swap shop, to test the meter the owner could only find some cotton covered wire which I used to measure mains voltage.

A mistake I never made again I am glad to say.

Regards

Alan

[Siddy]

I was tracing a cable in a Dist Board to remove power to 40Kva ups unlike old guy sparky who'd stick his fingers in the middle to find a cable, I traced it with snips open easing it out as they went round the bent they found some broken insulation and earth to case, flash bang smoke and im flat on my back off the steps. he was laughing at me and showing me the missing end of snips. I replaced the snips but doing it his way who knows but if lucky maybe able to count to 9.

[Baitrunner]

Nowhere near as big on the voltage side but must have been about 10 and had a motor out of an old scalextric car. 

Decided to see how fast it would go if I put 240v across it. In a safety conscious house I had a bedside lamp extended with a choccy block. 

Sat in bed choccy block on covers motor in hand and wires into said choccy block. Lots of sparks and smoke, exploding burnt motor over sheets and me wondering why I was in the dark!!

i Learnt a lot about Volts that night. 

[BroadScot]

There appear to be a number of Frank Spencer's on this Forum that are somewhat accident prone, myself included!! I still have nightmares over a certain fire extinguisher !

Iain

[Baitrunner]

I didn't mention the ladder I nearly fell off as it slid down the wall. Just caught on the guttering!!!

and drilling a 40mm home with a core bit up a ladder with arms at full stretch  bit catches, drill ripped out of hands and whacks head. Lots of clarate but stayed on ladder and finished the hole before going off to hospital to get sticked up  

and the other ladder that slipped as I had 16ft of 7x2 in my hands that I let go off to grab the ladder and the wood landed across my forearm. Yep broken arm but didn't realise it for 2 wks! I don't do ladders unless I have to now. 

I have more and we talk about Darwin awards on here a lot!!!!

[Bound2Please]

Makes note stay away from Mark ..... no in fact run if I see him to a place of safety

Charlie

[BroadScot]

4 minutes ago, Bound2Please said:

Makes note stay away from Mark ..... no in fact run if I see him to a place of safety

Charlie

My concern is for the poor boat owners moored next to him ! 

[Baitrunner]

It's ok no ladders on the boat. 

Now back to the 240v on boat thread!!!!!!!

[donnygeoff]

I cut my thumb on a piece of broken glass in a farmers field once....

That's as near to death as I have been.

I will try and find the pic I took of the horrendous ( very near death experience) ...

 

[TheQ]

Well I'm sat here with 1000v, on bare connectors 1ft away from me and when I change the frequency, my fingers will be within 2 inches of the connectors. but that's the sort of thing I do. I used to have to do strange things like changing 3 Phase contacts, connected to the national grid while they were live or working on very large CRT's with covers off, and they needed a high voltages, as you can tell I didn't get that wrong or I wouldn't be typing this now.

 The only time even been burnt on the fingers from electricty was when some clown stole the light bulb from the wall mounted light above the head of my barrack room bed, I reached under to turn it on (the switch was next to the bulb connectors) and my fingers touched the bare pins of the bulb connector, leaving 2 small round burn marks and the air in the barrack room blue with language.

As for life changing or near life changing I've not experienced that with work myself, But I know of two killed, doing the things I did, who did get it wrong.

The nearest to a life changing was driving the car, a drunk driver pulled out in front of my my car, just outside Lanark race course. I was doing 50 when I hit the brakes, as I T boned him, the car floor pan rippled and I cut both legs and I had a beautiful bruise from the seat belt come up the next day. but other than that I was OK...

[Jim]

Nearly ran off Beachy Head when I was 17. Friends parents had taken us there for the day and it had rained for a good while. I slipped on a steep section and found myself running down the slope and unable to stop!  As the slope leveled out, I managed to let my legs fold and fall over 100 yards from the edge of the cliff.  Came to no harm but I did lose the heels from my platform shoes lol

 

[Vaughan]

Perhaps a bit off subject but I remember Ray Claxton who used to be the engineer at Hearts in the old days. He was a big, heavily built man, and he could spread out the fingers of one hand, like some grotesque pianist, and touch them across the 4 spark plugs of a running engine, until it stopped.

[Baitrunner]

5 hours ago, Jim said:

Nearly ran off Beachy Head when I was 17. Friends parents had taken us there for the day and it had rained for a good while. I slipped on a steep section and found myself running down the slope and unable to stop!  As the slope leveled out, I managed to let my legs fold and fall over 100 yards from the edge of the cliff.  Came to no harm but I did lose the heels from my platform shoes lol

 

Jim,

 I nearly did that as a 12 yr old!! By brother managed to rugby tackle me about 10ft from the edge!! I had my best trousers on at the time and despite him telling me to fall down to stop myslef, I wasn't ruining them was IAlthough they may have been even messier had he missed me!!

on the sparky front, I actually knew a guy who tested if light sockets were live by putting his fingers in them!! If it tingled he knew it was live

My mate took his eyebrows off a couple of years ago - yep lighting his BBQ with petrolHe was very lucky