Stupidest thing youve done with electricity

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by David Roper

That guy musta had hella callouses.

Could have been all the booze he put away too. One time he had an analog cable box I wanted; it cost me a bottle, literally. He wouldn't take the money for one. Back then I was underage so I had to get a drive to the liquor store with someone who could buy the stuff.

[davet753]

Originally Posted by Username1

You mean like this week....... or all time......?

For all time. That also made me remember the time I put my finger on the metal case of a horizontal output transistor that I thought was running too hot.....but forgot to turn the set off first That is another mistake I won't soon forget.

[soundman2]

About 15 years ago I renovated a Sony CRT TV. Checking around (with it switched on) my hand went straight on the soldered pins of the tube base panel. Yes, white smoke where my hand had been burnt. Had that pattern on my hand for some time.

[toxcrusadr]

A coworker had an old SS stereo console and wanted me to look at why the TT wasn't working at all. First thing, I took my meter and checked for voltage at the TT motor in case it was a bad switch somewhere. Except I had it set on 12VDC range instead of 120AC...there was a pop and a flash, the apartment went dark, fuse blew in my meter, and my coworker figured I must be an idiot.

No great harm done other than the embarrassment.

[hi_volt]

Was working on an old CTC38 and forgot to turn the set off and unplug it before I pulled the anode cap off of the picture tube. That's before I learned you're supposed to discharge the second anode before removing the cap.....and of course turn off the power

[egrand]

When I was a teenager I was working on Christmas lights and had a string that wouldn't light. I found a bulb was broken at the base. I went and grabbed a pair of un-insulated pliers to take out the base. When I felt the tingle run up my arm I dropped the pliers as fast as I could.

A few years later, and this one wasn't my fault, I was at my grandparent's house and went to the kitchen sink. I turned on the water and grabbed the spout and got zapped again. We finally found the automatic humidifier on the furnace had shorted out into the copper water line.

[marty59]

I was about five and I put my fingers on the backside/blades of a nightlight while still plugged in the socket. I learned to respect electricity at an early age!

[Dude111]

Stupidist thing I have done??

Touched a fuse box that I didnt think was LIVE and boy did my hand come off it as fast as I touched it!

[Telecolor 3007]

When I was a kid at my maternal grandparents there where 2 electric lamps with flashlight bulbs, so low voltage. One day, as a thing, they attached a switch and a plug. One day, I plugged in. The fuses...
When I was in high school (industrial high school) we had an electric messurers lessons. For messuring the intensity of the electric current, we where told that you had to put a resistence between what you messure and the messuring device. One day, I pluged the apparatus to a socket and put it for messuring the Ampers. Bang. I just only do sparks... 'cause else I would have to pay it, and back then it was expensive compared to incomes. Me thought that the device had electric resistances installed in it... it didn't.

[Alex KL-1]

When I was a kid (starting the post equal to last one from Telecolor, just almost same subject), I noted that a ammeter on the father's old van seems to be broken. It don't meved with the van motor running. Father was sure that the alternator was working. So, I have a brilliant idea to bridge some ammeter terminal to ground, since I was think that works line a bulb (lamp). Result? Almost a fire on the van, and some wires toasted. At least I see the ammeter moving........
Also when as a teenager, I installed a radio in a father's car. But, I run out of insulating tape, and simply choose to leave all wires without any insulation, trying to fix all ones somewhat apart. Soon, in the road's bumps, this catch fire under the dash. Luckly, the wire was thin and "fused" in time... (this did'nt have any fuse on this line...) ouch
Also as a kid, I wanted to test a spring to see if it a spring make a good 12V heater, but using a very secure "lab": on top of a 200A truck battery. I innocently put the spring ver the battery, and connected some heavy gauge wires, and... to my luck, the wires fused way before the hole in the battery become more deep...
Another stupidity was to say to some technical colleages to put capacitors in the mains outlet without explaining about it's ratings: one of them put a 15000µF x 16V cap on a 220V/60Hz outlet... kaboooooooom....
After the teenager age, I deeply respected all the electricity dangers, but, sometimes I take some accidental shock here and there: on HOT, on anode of tube amplifier whe it are playng music (very weird sensation, variable AC + DC).
But the last stupidity was to trust the mains circuit breaker on the house. Years of carefully measuring all things on work and on the DIY bench, and simply I wanted to change a CB in home, but I assume that the one marked "general" (before all others) are BEFORE ALL OTHERS. Wrong! After some nasty shock, I discover that was "general" only to small devices and lighting... and also resulted in a shameful little discussion with my wife since she seems me yelling when I'm shocked

[Alex KL-1]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

My folks tell me that when I was an infant I had an insatiable urge to stick my fingers in the outlets and shock my self. They tried EVERY outlet childproofing device they could find and the best one only lasted half an hour against my attempts to defeat it...I have no memories of this...

When I was three I tried to fix the rotted rubber cord of the motor of my a 30's Erector set toy that had been passed down. I used paper tape and I must have taped the wires together as it blew the fuse instantly when plugged in.

Perhaps the dumbest things I did with electricity were when I was a teenager...With in months I had discharged the HV of a SS TV, that had just been turned, off with my bare hands, and had taken Christmas lights off a shrub that they had been on for nearly a year (the shrub had been trimmed during that time) while they were powered on...It had either started to rain when I was doing this or had just rained, and a metal element from a broken bulb touched my arm...I jumped back and I had a good char spot on my arm and it had a lingering burning feeling for a good while after that.

from that I learned that 25KV DC will wake me up and get my attention, but 120AC is a lot more painful.

Wow, this fact my relatives need to know... all of them never seen infants hunting outlets... to tell to them that I'm not the one and only hehe

[madlabs]

I hooked up the hot wire from the wall socket to the doorknob of my room as a security system. It did not however keep me safe. My mom grabbed the knob and after a hot pursuit beat me like a drum. And then dad came home and had his turn.

[jhalphen]

Hi to all,

some recollections throughout time...

Age 10, had built 3 tube SW radio Knight-Kit "Ocean Hopper", worked fine.
Installed long wire antenna on balcony, touched antenna and balcony floor was all lead (Paris appartment building). As radio was AC/DC transformerless, got full AC shock. Luckily, was 110VAC back then (now 240VAC).

Age 12, tinkering with Kyoritsu Japanese 3" tube oscilloscope. Wanted to check filament voltage, 6.3VAC right? - wrong! Filament & Cathode is at -(minus) 1200V, didn't know that Scope EHT is not Positive at final Anode.

Age 30, call from help, office secretary, car won't start in winter.
Car is an old 1970s BMW, girl "absolutely sure car is positive ground, hubby told me".
Connect Batt cables from my car, wire instantly glows cherry-red, remove in milliseconds before Batts blow-up. Lots of cursing thereafter.

I started in radio at age 7 (1960), tube radios, bought for pennies at mother's charity rummage sales. Learned pretty quick about exploding electrolytics.
Was a very good lesson, learned to respect electricity at a very young age and being basically a cautious coward, probably saved my life many times afterwards.
Built a 50ft extension cord. "New" radios on test were in my room & would connect long extension near main panel & breaker. If no fireworks in room, would creep back cautiously 5min later to see if set worked.

Best Regards
jhalphen
Paris/France

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by jhalphen

Hi to all,

some recollections throughout time...

Age 10, had built 3 tube SW radio Knight-Kit "Ocean Hopper", worked fine.
Installed long wire antenna on balcony, touched antenna and balcony floor was all lead (Paris appartment building). As radio was AC/DC transformerless, got full AC shock. Luckily, was 110VAC back then (now 240VAC).

Age 12, tinkering with Kyoritsu Japanese 3" tube oscilloscope. Wanted to check filament voltage, 6.3VAC right? - wrong! Filament & Cathode is at -(minus) 1200V, didn't know that Scope EHT is not Positive at final Anode.

Age 30, call from help, office secretary, car won't start in winter.
Car is an old 1970s BMW, girl "absolutely sure car is positive ground, hubby told me".
Connect Batt cables from my car, wire instantly glows cherry-red, remove in milliseconds before Batts blow-up. Lots of cursing thereafter.

I started in radio at age 7 (1960), tube radios, bought for pennies at mother's charity rummage sales. Learned pretty quick about exploding electrolytics.
Was a very good lesson, learned to respect electricity at a very young age and being basically a cautious coward, probably saved my life many times afterwards.
Built a 50ft extension cord. "New" radios on test were in my room & would connect long extension near main panel & breaker. If no fireworks in room, would creep back cautiously 5min later to see if set worked.

Best Regards
jhalphen
Paris/France

The Knight-kit Ocean Hopper, while being a transformerless design, shows a line isolating capacitor from the B- to the chassis.
You should've just got a tingle instead a real shock!

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Alex KL-1

Wow, this fact my relatives need to know... all of them never seen infants hunting outlets... to tell to them that I'm not the one and only hehe

All my neighbors and relatives wondered how I never got electrocuted! I was another one that looks for outlets and I would unplug things!
A very unusual interest!
At least, I made something of myself! I became an electrician!