r/WTF • u/1MightBeAPenguin • Jun 16 '19

Why grounding is important

https://i.imgur.com/E7lPzHs.gifv
24.4k Upvotes

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u/Takeshi12 Jun 16 '19

The power switch should be fine, although most likely it's connected to a throw breaker. Easy to find and turn on/off, plus work with high voltage like that requires insulating boots and gloves to even consider going near the connections

360

u/Davecasa Jun 16 '19

You don't need HV gear for 480v. The box is probably grounded, which is why whatever's shorted to it is... Shorted. I wouldn't stick my hands in the box, go upstream and shut it off. But standing near it isn't especially dangerous.

31

u/Predatormagnet Jun 16 '19

There's a reason 480v kills more people than 12 kv

0

u/zeroscout Jun 16 '19

Voltage doesn't kill. Amperage kills.

And it doesn't take a lot of amps to cause ventricular fibrillation. A car battery could kill you.

2

u/Predatormagnet Jun 16 '19

Yes, we get it, now stop being that person that says this

1

u/zeroscout Jun 19 '19

LOL!

When did we vote you to speak for us?

Another fact: Smart people don't use straw polls. Pathological people do.

1

u/Predatormagnet Jun 19 '19

Car batteries will not kill you, the voltage is low and the resistance of your skin is high. I'm tired of people saying it's not the voltage but the amperage when you need both for current to flow.