62 replies to this topic

[rocket]

I didn?t get much of a burn jut two small line but it sure hurt after a wile.
Yes I did noticed a huge difference in my BP I thought it was fast before the ball milling.

[fishy1]

Rocket, you certainly like taking risks. Maybe a little bit more care? Sticking a screwdriver in a live motor? That's pretty careless. I know not to coffee grind BP.

Take Care

[Richard H]

As I read this thread I am literally cringing. Please take care and think what you are doing!

[rocket]

Those incidents happened ages ago (beside the electrocution) I?m a lot more careful how I got about thing now. I do admit I have done some silly thing and I have leant from then, not to repeat it that is.

[madtrick]

On the subject of coffee grinders, Does aluminium foil produce a nice powder after being ground up for a while, as ball milling it does nothing, and I was thinking of getting a big coffee grinder. (like this one on ebay)

[pyrotrev]

At the risk of sounding a wally answering my own question, the best coffee grinder I've found is actually a Moulinex blender with a grinder attachment. Not only are the grinder bits detachable for washing, but you can buy spares for milling different materials. And you have a 500W motor! maybe not qyuite as swish as the Kitchenaid thing Frank has, but probably as good as we'll get in the UK. I'm even looking at fitting WC blades to one cup for milling hard stuff .
As for chopping up ali foil, I haven't found a coffee grinder that good for anything other than coarse chopping - the foil seems too ductile. It would be useful for initial reduction preparatory to an extended ball milling.

Edited by pyrotrev, 27 April 2007 - 05:27 PM.

[madtrick]

At the risk of sounding a wally answering my own question, the best coffee grinder I've found is actually a Moulinex blender with a grinder attachment. Not only are the grinder bits detachable for washing, but you can buy spares for milling different materials. And you have a 500W motor! maybe not qyuite as swish as the Kitchenaid thing Frank has, but probably as good as we'll get in the UK. I'm even looking at fitting WC blades to one cup for milling hard stuff .
As for chopping up ali foil, I haven't found a coffee grinder that good for anything other than coarse chopping - the foil seems too ductile. It would be useful for initial reduction preparatory to an extended ball milling.

So would putting small blocks of aluminium work better than foil?

[wielder of fire]

Those incidents happened ages ago (beside the electrocution) I?m a lot more careful how I got about thing now. I do admit I have done some silly thing and I have leant from then, not to repeat it that is.

i hope so!! i two have done some realy stupid stuf but never anything as braindead as sticking a screwdriver into a f**king electric motor!

you would be a dead man if that screwdriver had no insulation, your hand would have griped the screwdriver in a deathgrip and you would have curled and jurked whitch would if you where in a closed stance around the grinder would have definately killed you.

i have had a litle experiance with hih voltage shoks as i was once thrown about 12 foot across a room when i was fixing one of the old types of fuses and some jerk turned on the electricity to the board from the external mains control we have in the garage.

i have no recolection of any pain as i flew just a feeling that i was made of steel and rock solid so when i hit the cubboard and took the hinges of i knew what a stone felt like when its being thrown at a brik wall with all someones might.

i lay thare for a while shoked (excuse the pun ), my ass half in the broken cupboard door, then got up trenbling to my feet before retiring to bed, and in the morning my muscles KILLED LIKE A BICH

excuse my apaling dyslexia.

Edited by wielder of fire, 06 May 2007 - 05:23 PM.

[portfire]

Hi wielder of fire.Are you talking about a 240 volt shock?.I have had two in my life (many years ago) and didn't get thrown anywhere,i'm not saying it didn't hurt as it f**king did.I remember feeling a strange fast biting sensation moving up my arm and feeling ill for some time after,not nice at all.This may explain my small fear of high voltage


regards
dean

[MFX]

Hi wielder of fire.Are you talking about a 240 volt shock?.I have had two in my life (many years ago) and didn't get thrown anywhere,i'm not saying it didn't hurt as it f**king did.I remember feeling a strange fast biting sensation moving up my arm and feeling ill for some time after,not nice at all.This may explain my small fear of high voltage
regards
dean

OK so this isn't stricktly pyro related but as many people make modify and repair equipment a bit of electrical safety won't go amiss I hope :-

One of the keys to working with electricity is work in a way such that if you do get a shock it doesn't pass across the heart. E.G. work on an insulated (NOT WET!) surface, work only with one hand wherever possible, keeping the other hand well away from any metalwork/wiring (some people recommend keeping one hand in a pocket). Of course if live working always use fully insulated tools (i.e. screwdrivers with shafts insulated right to the tip etc.), don't wear ANY metal jewelry Murphy states that it will come in contact with live parts at some point (would not be nice if it were a dangly necklace!) Avoid live working unless you absolutely have to and if you do, don't work alone, and make sure the other person knows what to do in an emergency.

[dr thrust]

looking at this thread i think a blender would be a better choice as the mixing bowls are separate from the motor so there would be no build up of powder around the motor like on the coffee grinder, what does everybody else think? i am looking to purchase of ebay soon so i can go charcoal chopping thanks

[BrightStar]

One of the keys to working with electricity is work in a way such that if you do get a shock it doesn't pass across the heart. E.G. work on an insulated (NOT WET!) surface, work only with one hand wherever possible, keeping the other hand well away from any metalwork/wiring (some people recommend keeping one hand in a pocket). Of course if live working always use fully insulated tools (i.e. screwdrivers with shafts insulated right to the tip etc.), don't wear ANY metal jewelry Murphy states that it will come in contact with live parts at some point (would not be nice if it were a dangly necklace!) Avoid live working unless you absolutely have to and if you do, don't work alone, and make sure the other person knows what to do in an emergency.

Good advice here... I have had two 240v shocks in my lifetime. The first was as a very young toddler, taking a screwdriver to a 13 amp socket to find out how it worked - that one threw me across the room, but babies bounce so I was OK. The other I was working on fixing a robotic chemical assay system - the designer had dangerously lead 240v to the low voltage PCB for use as a timing signal, without any warnings. I was tired and missed the clues but the RCD breaker I always use 'just in case' cut in, so I was left literally stunned for a few moments but otherwise unharmed.

One thing I learnt recently from reading about HV radar work is that if you do get a shock, the effects can be delayed and you may still suffer a heart attack 12 hours later in your sleep. If the worst comes to the worst and you do get a jolt, seek medical attention and have a friend watch over you for some time after the event.

Edited by BrightStar, 30 May 2007 - 10:59 PM.

[pyrotrev]

So would putting small blocks of aluminium work better than foil?

I think blocks might be a bit extreme.... but if you could get coarse granulated Al it might work to some extent.

[marble]

101 with electricity:

If you get shocked by mains AC your heart can be shocked out of rhythm with can be fatal when you sleep, if you do get shocked with 60+v AC go to the hospital where they will check you out and may have to shock you again to get your heart back to normal. DC is safer but your mussels will tense up and will make letting go of an object harder. Any AC voltage over 30v can be treated as 'dangerous' and any DC voltage over 60v can be treated as 'dangerous'.

You can be shocked with mains and walk away unharmed but this depends on where the electricity entered and exited your body, if say it entered and exited between 2 fingers you will most likely get a nasty burn, damaged muscles but your heart should be ok. If you get shocked between your left and right hand your up shit creek as per say

Don't play around with anything with big capacitors (doesn't matter if its turned off), many people have been killed by opening microwave ovens and TV's that have been unplugged for a long time.
Always keep one hand in your pocket when working with mains, dont forget the earth wire, don't mess up the diffrent colored wires (eg wiring active to earth) and make sure there is a nice amount of insulation.

http://en.wikipedia..../Electric_shock

20mA through your heart is enough to kill you!

Edited by marble, 01 June 2007 - 01:46 PM.

[Asteroid]

The reason for a heart attack occurring after the shock is as follows; because the natural electric pulse of your heart is around 50Hz, a shock from AC will upset the rhythm and "confuse" the heart, which is why you should go see a doctor, no matter how good you feel.
I must say that I've never heard of anyone dying from 10mA under normal circustances, normally fillibration in a healthy adult requires at least 30mA. And I suspect that keeping a hand in your pocket may not do as much good as you'd hope, If you are feeling unlucky, far better to earth yourself using something attached to your wrist, I think it'd be quite ironic if you fell onto an electrical lead and couldn't stop yourself falling because you had a hand in your pocket.

Edited by Asteroid, 01 June 2007 - 02:39 PM.