I got electrocuted! A few questions....

[jdillon]

This was very very stupid of me.

We have been replacing the light switches in our house with new stainless steel ones.

Unforuntately one or two of them arent earthed. Yesterday I had the misfountune of touching two light switches (or the faceplaces) at teh same time as I was leaving a room and turning the light out. I got quite an electric shock.

Now Im really worried.

Anyway, my question is as follows, is there a way I can safely check why I got electrocuted? I was thining of buying a multimeber and testing what happens when I touch the terminal ends to the light switches, would this work?

If both switches had been earthed, would I have been safe? If I had only touched one switch, would I have not been electrocuted?

And of course... could the shock have killed me?

 

[THRIPSTER]

You have received an electrical shock - not been electrocuted.


If you have a neon screwdriver - identify which of the face plates are live. Isolate the supply at the distribution board, check that the circuit is dead and then remove faceplates to find the cause. You may have suffered from 'sparkover' if switching flurescent lights. If you do not feel competent to do this then call in an electrician.



Regards

 

[jdillon]

Thanks for clarifying it.

Id rather not use a Neon screwdriver, doesnt that require that you become part of the circuit (earthing it).

Woudl a multimeter work?

 

[bernardgreen]

Unforuntately one or two of them arent earthed

That is not unfortunate..... it is DANGEROUS and needs to be corrected.

If there is no earth in the cable to the switch then you have no option but to use plastic front plates

 

[jdillon]

After the shock I got Im half considering changes all the faceplats back to plastic!

If earthed, are the metal plates just as safe?

 

[bernardgreen]

After the shock I got Im half considering changes all the faceplats back to plastic!

If earthed, are the metal plates just as safe?

Yes provided the earth conductor is properly installed at the switch and is continuous to the main erth bar in the consumer unit.

 

[mywetpants]

Wouldn't this have triggered the MCB/fuse?

 

[Lectrician]

No - the impedance of a body is high enough to limit the current to milliamps, far below that which will cause operation of an MCB (6amps upwards typically). An RCD *may* have operated - a 30mA RCD would require 30mA to flow through the body before it operated.

50mA is considered a leathal amount of current.

Touching a live item with one hand and an earthed item with the other provides a path across the body, and right across the chest - past the heart. This is the worst type of shock to recieve.

 

[mywetpants]

Say for example, if an unwitting soul happened to be changing a light fitting - unknowingly that the circuit was still live -and happened to touch the live and earth, could they have a fatal shock?

 

[JohnD]

if they touched both with the fingers of the same hand, probably not as he would probably be able to snatch his hand away from contact very quickly - a lot of domestic shock related injuries are where people do things like this and fall off the ladder with the shock.

However a surpising number of people who have a minor shock and "seem" OK later have heart attacks, so AFAIK it is now recommend First Aid practice to send people to hosp for check after a shock. Not sure if this is in the latest edition of the handbooks. if you happen to have a weak heart (you may not be aware of it) or a pacemaker the risks are a lot higher.

 

[rjb]

Id rather not use a Neon screwdriver, doesnt that require that you become part of the circuit (earthing it).

Didn't you already do this the first time you were shocked?


Seriously though. Electricity is no joke. Get a qualified electrician in to test your circuits. The current could have been quite high, but your footwear for instance could have given a sufficient resistance to lower the shock. Next time you might be in bare feet and just got out of the shower. result 'GOODNIGHT FOREVER'.

What price do you rate your safety and that of your family at?

 

[mywetpants]

If this doesn't put people off domestic electrical DIY, I don't know what will.

Seriously though, I'm still looking for an electrician in the London area that I can perhaps train with.

I'm educated to degree level, have own tools and transport and have recently completed my intermediate VRQ certificate for Domestic Electrical Installers 100/4501/6. And looking to take my 16th Ed. in the New Year.

I'm looking to do domestic installations as a career change, so if anyone needs a labourer to start me off...

 

[jdillon]

I was in bare feet

Id rather not use a Neon screwdriver, doesnt that require that you become part of the circuit (earthing it).

Didn't you already do this the first time you were shocked?


Seriously though. Electricity is no joke. Get a qualified electrician in to test your circuits. The current could have been quite high, but your footwear for instance could have given a sufficient resistance to lower the shock. Next time you might be in bare feet and just got out of the shower. result 'GOODNIGHT FOREVER'.

What price do you rate your safety and that of your family at?

 

[JohnD]

have you fitted plastic switchplates yet?

 

[jdillon]

Im going to be checking all the faceplates again, any that dont have an earth connection are going back to plastic (until I can get a proper electrician out to earth them).

Those that are earthed should be ok right?

Another question, for this to have happened the live wire must have come loose and have been touching the face plate, is that right?