Coming from the RV industry, at least you dont have to have basically all the hand tools and power tools to build a house plus and the wrenches and sockets to work on engine and chassis and everything you need for electrical AND plumbing.
I had to comment on this subject because it really hits home for me on a personal level. I lost my dad years ago when he was on a job due to miscommunication and possibly unsafe working conditions. Just a few simple steps might have produced a different outcome. So kudos to you for hammering home SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! Lockout tagout, communication, training, et. All of it is, in my opinion, priority number 1! Keep up the good job here and on The ElectricianU site.👍
I worked with my brother who was an electrician for years. Always worked on new electrical. Once I started working on existing wiring, things changed! I got shocked on a 277v circuit in a drop ceiling. It was a double stacked junction box with probably over 10 wires in it. It was a commercial building, I couldn’t start switching breakers off so I used a tester. All was good, so I thought! It felt like someone grabbed both my arms! (I heard a voice in my head saying: “I finally got you!”) Thank God I lost my footing on the ladder and fell to the ground. I found out later, one of the neutrals had voltage on it. I thought My organs were toast. Since then, I always lock out tag out and use protective gear. Never rely on colors, test all wires! And never assume the last guy knew what he was doing! Lesson learned over 30 years ago!
I got shoked by a neutral 240V in Europe too, I am not a sparky but I know how to switch off a breaker and test for power afterward. The thing was that I was visiting my family in France and we needed to change a motion activated light over the garage door in driveway, so I search for the breaker, switch it off and used one of those shitty screw driver tester that have a lamp inside because it was the only one available onsite and due to sunny daylight, could not see if it was lightning up or not. Tested all wires the best I could and being confident there was not juice, I go ahead and unplug the light carefully, easy, then I needed to reposition the wires to accept the new light body shape and this is when I got an unexpected 240V zap. Since I grew up in France, I am accustomed to 240V zaps, I know how to react and it was just like a hornet sting but man, that was the first zap on neutral ever. I guess it was a shared neutral but the house is so old, I would not bother looking for it. I finished the job carefully after that. The last time I got zapped at home in the US on a 120V live, I laughed at how tiny the shock was compared to European 240V, it felt like a tingle, really! But hey, people be careful, I must have a resistance to current that not everyone has, do not test at home!!
When I was 19 I was doing a kitchen remodel with my journeyman. He told me to check a 12/2 he had killed before heading outside with the contractor. This wire had been getting stepped on for a week and the sheathing was torn. Decided to try stripping with my brand new utility knife and didn’t feel myself cutting into the hot. My other hand was apparently touching the ground on the worn out part and I couldn’t let go, I managed to push the knife through the wire after several seconds to get out and it terrified me. Went to a trade high school and always wanted to do electrical and that day I was sure I’d never do it again, but that was 8 years ago. Told my journeyman what happened when he came back in and he just called me a bitch for freaking out about it, GC yelled at him and reminded him that it’s his job to make sure I’m safe.
That would seem to me if cutting into unchecked wiring one should be wearing protective gloves. To me that sounds kind of not like the kind of thing one should be doing.
I do 480V and above, it’s no hot work period. My son just started his residential electrical apprenticeship and his senior apprentices are doing some questionable BS and telling him it’s fine. This is the video he needed to see, thank you for putting it out.
I hear you on the child support. People don’t realize you’re assessed before tax and pay after tax. PLUS.. all the money you pay to mom does NOT help you when your son/daughters at your place. The system is surely broken. Great story. Keep it up.
BRO. 12:30-end is a masterclass in leadership, not just electrical safety. I am a front-line supervisor in an unrelated field, and was truly inspired by this video. Thank you.
Took 240V across both the hands and through the chest. It was a short electric shock. It was a wallop though. I was stunned for hours. I was sitting on concrete with boots in the dirt. Two hours passed after the shock with me sitting there. I thought maybe 5-10 minutes had passed. My boss came up to me and ask me what I had been doing and told I him I got shocked. He then relayed to me I had been working on the junction for 3 hours and how come I wasn't done. Last time I worked on anything hot.
Normally, a person connecting with both legs of 120 won't stay around to tell future stories. That step down transformer on the line will keep increasing the current the longer you stay in contact. As you slowly dry out from the current, it will keep ramping it up to maintain a positive connection. 120 to neutral is one thing, but 240 each leg is an entirely different animal. It won't stop until your corpse has been cooked to a perfect 450 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm glad you're still among the living. Be safe.
I repaired copiers for a living and a local non profit had someone come in and wire a new outlet, turns out one person did 1/2 the job and then someone else came in and finished the job, not knowing that the guy had wired the outlet into a 227v lighting circuit, (how the hell it happened I have no idea) but when I went to plug that copier in, before I could blink, BANG, my butt skidded across the floor and all I could say is "SOB" as all the lights went out, It blew the end off a 120v 15 amp IEC power cord and could have taken one of my fingers off... a big blue flash of light could be seen behind the brown/tan plastic and lucky me the MOVs in the PSU saved the device from destruction, but that PSU pcb looked like a campfire and smelled like burnt fiberglass, after that I carried my meter with me and tested every outlet from then on out before plugging things in...
Mad respect my man! I’m only two years into the profession, and am finding learning moments all the time. It’s great you can tell your story, with your experience and philosophical approach at becoming a better person along the way. Hands for doing what you do, sir!
One of the worst shocks for me was landing on a 277v lighting circuit when I was still an electrician apprentice. I did not know shit, green as hell. A foremen asked me to do something, I was incredibly eager to get my feet wet. I did what he told me without knowing the circuit was hot. It's been a couple of years since I've done electrical work in that fashion. Nowadays, I work as an electronic technician / electrician for municipality. I can understand your passion for what you do. I absolutely love my career and would never change it for anything.
Damn Dustin… just when I think I couldn’t love you enough, you come out with another one. I’m in CA, 4th year apprentice. Taking my test this summer. My only regret is that I haven’t had YOU as a mentor through my process. But, your videos over the years have helped me out tremendously. You have helped me through my bad “fuck this shit” days and inspired me through my good days. Love you brother.
I’m about to start a course to become an electrician and I’m excited to start my new career and hearing about getting shocked admittedly makes me extremely nervous but hearing this , but I know that I am careful and very methodical worker and I hope that’ll help keep me safe.
Yet another example of why I love your channel. Humility and responsibility are the cornerstones of being a true professional. My worst shock was not my fault (I 100% believed at the time) then I analyzed what happened and found 2 or 3 things I could have done better or differently. That was my wake up. There is always a safer way to do something and now I spend the extra couple of minutes.
This video is the reason storytelling is so important. I’m a home inspector now that did remodeling prior but about 20 years before all that I was renting a place and when I moved in I realized my dryer cord did not match the receptacle. I went and bought one, screwed in the contacts and it wasn’t correct and then went and purchased another. The laundry room was small as usual and I’m little but I still had to wedge myself under the cabinets and behind the dryer to work on it. I was so frustrated at this point that before I ever took the second dryer cord out of the package I decided to see if the plug fit… The contacts were touching my hand. If that breaker hadn’t tripped I wouldn’t be here today. I honestly didn’t even realize how serious this was until telling a friend the next day and showing her the burn, she immediately started tearing up and said you are lucky to be alive right now! I still carry a scar that is just a discolored patch. Now that I’m older and more experienced I’ve realized not only to use absolutely every safety precaution but do not work on stuff like this when you are frustrated. You will end up making stupid mistakes or decisions that you would never have made had you not been blinded by that frustration. It could cost you your life or someone else’s.
I was changing a ballast out one time, on a ladder holding emt with one hand for balance and touched 277v with the other. Pulled my chest muscles, sore for days. Good times.....
Worst story my brother(IBEW) ever told me involved an apprentice being somewhere he shouldn't, his forehead, and a 600 volt, 1000 amp bus bar..😭 Worst part? He survived, but as a complete vegetable.
I know a gut about 10 years ago working in an industrial building had the same thing. He died. It was locked out but the back up Gen. Back fed the buss and no one knew so it was all tested as an open circuit but after a few minutes it was re fed and no one knew. The engineers got into a huge lawsuit.
Outstanding video that applies not only to electrical work but to ANY craft one may take up. Whether it’s woodworking or painting or plumbing there are always dangers and there should always be pride in your work. Thank you.
As an electrician of 40 years, some things we take for granted, and safety is one of those things. Thank you for the refresher course and bringing it to light my friend
16:00 I've been saying that for years. Treat yourself with no seriousness whatsoever, be sure you're able to laugh at yourself... but treat your mission, whatever it may be, with the utmost seriousness.
Been there done that back in 86. As a computer tech we would work on plugs or main power issues. I thought I was being safe when we had to power up a system at postal inspectors in D.C. after a building fire and fire marshal allowed us entry to check out the system. I had my safety shoes on as we proceeded to flip breakers to check to receptacles. My meter leads weren’t long enough to reach the contacts in the Hubble plug so I switched to a clip lead and used a paper clip. After checking several receptacles suddenly the paper clip came off and was stuck on the receptacle, damn it. I stopped and thought for a minute, I had my safety shoes on, I’m not grounded so I won’t get shocked just a quick grab and it’s done. What got done was me, I grab that paper clip and suddenly POW my elbow went through the wall behind me. Dazed, my buddy who was flipping breakers asked what was that noise. He said to be careful, remember the fire, well dumb ass here 18:05 was sitting on a damp floor. My ass was the ground. We were working on 208v ac three phase 50 amp circuits. Never never again used a paper clip, got longer meter leads and never tried to touch a live wire again no matter what. That’s a learning lesson that I don’t want to repeat.
Thank God you're still here after that cable landing on your chest. What probably saved you is that your sweaty clothes probably conducted enough current to reduce the current through your body/heat. Great message. Thank you! I try to teach the apprentices under me to wear a tool belt containing a volt stick and a multimeter. That way they have no excuse not to test with two testers before touching copper. I too learnt in the bad old days of working live and forced myself to drop those bad habits. I still occasionally catch myself thinking, "she'll be right mate, just a quick job". I then stop myself and gently tell myself off. I went to a high school in Tasmania that was infamous for being rough. There were stabbings, brutal bullying, teachers quitting all the time. I hated that school so much. As a freshly qualified Electrician, I was doing a job at the school hooking up new circuits in the heating chassis of the switchboard. I had isolated the heating chassis, so everything behind the panel was de-energised, but below the heating chassis part of the switchboard and out of sight and reach were 3 big fat 3 phase uninsulated busbars. As i reached to grab the cable with my pliers and pull in enogh to fit off, a big chunk of concrete got dragged into the hole in the top of the switchboard and fell and knocked the pliers out of my hand. My pliers must have landed across the busbars and the arch flash was like a bomb going off. Like in the movies, i could only hear a loud ringing in my ears and could only see a whitish pink. It took 3 minutes before i could see properly and 1 day before my ears stopped ringing. The entire end of the jaws of my pliers were blwn off and i had a couple of burn spots on my body where i think molten copper splattered on me. It blew the main fuses in power turret that fed the school. I wasn't wearing safety glasses so really lucky no hot metal hit my face. The official investigation from the electrical safety authority said I should have been wearing safety glasses, and although I had turned the heating chassis off, i hasn't locked it out. I got an official first warning, but I lernt my lesson and kept my job. Lock out, tag out!
I’m in trade school. And in the morning during are lectures I play your vidoes because my class mates are to lazy to try to learn more than one way. They don’t understand the danger of the trade and it’s gonna get them killed.
I was up on a 10' ladder working above a drop ceiling, wiring a 277v emergency light. I had no room to move, my arms were touching the grid, and my head was pressed against an air duct. So I wound up taking a really bad shock to my head. Lost consciousness and fell off the ladder. I ended up being off work for a week, and it was completely my fault.
My worst was a dryer I kept having to plug in unplug and repeat and I forgot to unplug it and stuck my screw driver in and it held me for I’m sure a few seconds but felt much longer . Made me rethink a few things that’s for sure . Haha I think the only reason I’m still kicking is because I’ve defibrillated myself so many times . Haha
I was working on 3 phase motor for Ritz Carlton franchise. The motor was wired for 120v and should have been 277v. Turn off the break to the contactor .left a note. Some moron in the kitchen decided it was too hot and decided to turn it back on. Well I lost a pliers, my hand got thrown against the cabinet . For a week I had indentation on my arm. My arm tingle for a long time. I go back to the wire from under the breaker left the panel cover off.
I’ve watched you for years now and have loved and learned from every episode, but this one is a whole level above all the rest. Thank you for your honesty and all the things I’ve learned from you. PLUR!
After completing my first year at Coyne Electrical and Technical School (Boston) I believed I knew everything about residential wiring. So, I tackled upgrading my parent's basement by replacing all the knob and tube wiring with Romex. I was on an aluminum ladder and reached for a pull box with a live hot wire, one hand was on a cold-water pipe. ZAP I got shocked. This may sound difficult to believe but my entire life passed by me while I was hanging on the pipe. I was lucky I didn't die that day and reinforced to ALWAYS TURN OFF THE POWER BEFORE WORKING ON ELECTRICL CIRCUITS.
Got 600v DC shock as a kid from a hand me down ham radio transmitter. Guy who gave it to me never bothered to mention the Morse code key was hot. Woke up across the room.
Standing in a small puddle with a small electric drill attached to a faulty lead cord. Some people don't realize that when you get shocked your muscles contract. When this happened to me I couldn't even move much less drop the drill. Another person saw it happen and had the good sense to grab the cord and pull possibly saving my life. Episode 2, I was taping the ceiling and climbed up a ladder into a stripped pair of wires. The shock knocked me off the ladder and I've had sometimes severe tinnitus ever since. In other words, I got my bell rung!!
Yesterday, I got shocked for the first time at work at a lake house renovation. I was inspecting a gimbal recessed light over the fireplace. I ended up finding out that the switch leg was hot, but wasn’t making a good connection in the wire connector. Also, I ASSUMED (don’t ever) another switch controlled those lights, but the switch was actually across the room, and it was flipped on. I used my ticker outside the junction box and got nothing. I should have tested the individual wires inside the junction box, because the switch leg was on and shocked me when I went to strip more insulation off. The shock reminded me of one of these prank hand buzzers you use as a kid, but much worst.
Ive been bit from 240 and 480, three-phase several times but the worse came from a loose coil wire on the distributor I tried to reinstall while the engine was running on my ‘65 Chevy pickup. My arrm ached for a day from that one
My worst was about 50 years ago with a circular hand saw (no ground wire back then). We were finishing cutting a new entrance into a home and it started to drizzle, next thing I'm getting zapped and i can't let go. Luckey for me my brother noticed and pulled the plug.
I had a "Mr Safety" father. He was Air Force SNCO. OMG.... *everything* had to be planned out and safety was THE primary job consideration. He passed years ago but those lessons engraved into my brain. Don't f around. Be safe
Worst shock I ever got was from a center tapped 9kv nst, 4.5kv to ground. Couldnt let go, all 30mA went through me. Went through shoe insulation to ground. Left aide of body was numb for a week.
I’m a similar-retired service tech using a old metal drill arm resting on a metal case pulled the trigger bam … blisters on my arm. Ladders are also deadly I’m lucky I fell 20’ to concrete only minor injury
When I was in grade school I touched the metal top of an AC electrolytic capacitor (the large one next to the rectifier) in a desktop computer power supply; it was a Compaq portable and PC PSU's weren't enclosed in metal back then. I couldn't move my hand away and grounding / bonding videos say if you can't move your hand away you're dead. Luckily I was on a non conductive surface and it was only bridging two fingers so I pulled my entire arm away. Nearly the same time in my life I was jumping on a bed, did a flip, landed on my head to one side, felt a sharp pain and almost became a quadriplegic (athletic doctors when I was an adult noticed the lack of cartilage near I think they said C4). It's a miracle any kid survives childhood. Every day of life & health is a gift.
When you take off the cover of a 4x4 extension box in the overhead on a 277 lighting circuit and see a red wire nut roll out. All I thought was this is going to hurt. Yep, thankfully I was in a lift and not on a ladder. The reason it was still live, I was trying to figure out which breaker needed to be opened so I could replace one of the fixtures.
i appreciate this video. You have said everything i have ever thought. I tell everyone i am a 12 yr apprentice. I dont know evereything. always learning. and sure as hell dont want to kill some one. thank you
Not the worst, but the funniest shock I got was when I was troubleshooting a messed up kitchen counter circuit, touched the wrong thing, got shocked in my hand that made me punch myself on the nose, and by reflex I pulled my head back and hit it under the over cabs. All withing a second. Shock, punch, hit my head. Quickly looked if anyone saw, then laughed out loud at myself.
The best video you ever made You reiterated alot of what I tell my guys and means on how I think .My dad was an electrician and gave me this advise. If you ever meet a guy on a job that tells you he knows everything. Do not walk away from him, RUN! He will get you hurt. I actually watch your vids as refresher, different insight as well as many others. As I stated, on all levels, knowledge, safety. This was your best vid Eclipse Electric
Frank Mazzella I totally agree. There isn't an electrician out there now or ever that knows everything. I've been doing it for almost 25yrs and no matter if my guys have been licensed for awhile, newly licensed or still an apprentice, If I'm having trouble deciding on which way to go on something particular or whatever it may be, I'll ask their opinion on it if they have one. To test or educate them for 1 but also they might have a better way of getting something done than me. I can't stand the guys who have been at it for a long time so it's their way or no way cuz they've "done it all", know everything and look down on, belittle or are insulted by a guy w/ nit as many years in. Sorry for the long response but your post triggered me, lol. I've worked for acouple of those guys and swore I'd never treat guys like that. It's so naive, short-sighted and like you said, dangerous with that train of thought
Just to add on to this, always double check before you cut bros, been in the trade for 2 years now and took pride in never blowin up my kleins, but low and behold last week it happened. Was helping my sister out fixin hack shit at her new house, there was a receptacle just hanging on romex under her back porch, took precations and tested the line before i cut ( i assumed it was an abandoned circuit) and proceeded to follow the line as close to the house as possible, i see that the line goes under the flashing under the house and i put my kleins under to cut and boom lol. Turns out there was a flying splice under the flashing i didnt see that was live but the branch i was attempting to cut that it was attached to was not because i didnt check, i assumed. Dont cut blind and never assume, stay safe brothers and sisters.
Thanks for sharing. You explained what happened to me when I allowed end of a cut off live romex wire touch my sweaty shirt. I got the shock of my life.
Thank you for your humble video. I’ve learned a lot from the few vids of yours that I’ve watched. Everyone can always learn something, no matter how advanced they are or think they are. You have another subscriber here.
Ironically my worst shock didn't happen while wiring. I was tig welding in high school and got hit hard but I jerked back and that saved me. But the rest of the day my left arm hurt in a way I never felt before or since. Did I mention I wear gloves while welding now...
Thanks for sharing. I got zapped years back while changing out resi receptacles. I was working down the hill where nobody could see me. Another crew cut my lock so they could run a saw really quick. I had a headache for 3 days and my hair turned gray 2 weeks later. If I see guys around a panel that I don’t know I throw up cones and safety tape for good measure.
I was in the Navy and I was changing a ballast for over head lighting and touched a hot wire. I was shocked on the entire right side of my body from my hand to my foot. I was able to pull away and noticed my left foot was on a rubber mat and right foot was on the hull of the ship.
I got between 600V and 347V on a lighting circuit that had one fixture tied neutral to ground energizing T-bar and another 347V lighting tail that was wrapped around a 120v receptacle tail .Let's just say I blew a 6 inch hole in air duct and had burns to my neck from arc flash and have a flat spot on my right index finger ,have a torn rotator cuff from the injury took off out 100amp 3p 600V main lighting breaker .Was just a 347v 20a lighting feed .let's just say I was shaking and sore for 2 days
Thumb and middle finger hit separate legs of a 208v circuit at the same time. I fell back and bounced my head off the concrete. Everything in my vision was purple for 2 weeks until it finally faded away. Don't know if the shock or hitting my head caused it, but that was some weird shit.
I appreciate this…but I’d say that going back to finish versus going to the ER where I’m sitting right now because I got hit with 277 yesterday and thank god I did because organ damage is real and I happens days later…really not worth it. Considering my employer had the same mentality to just suck it up could have cost me my life when they can and will easily replace you. You said you had a kid…family over everything. 911, ER over “keeping your word” to the customer. It can be fixed later.
Well TO ME. You and my uncle are the best electricians I know. I say this because you guys explain and ACTUALLY want to teach someone something. That in itself is a big plus to me and because of you guys I plan on staying in the trade and hopefully joining a local union. Thanks a lot
I was working under a master electrician when I started maintenance the 2nd day he had me change a disconnect switch for a ring roll machine ! Yea the power is off I still have the burnt Philips screwdriver ! NEVER TRUST YOUR LIFE TO SOMEONE ELSE !!!!!!!!! Another great video Dustin .
a arc welder gave me the worst shock I ever got. I wiped the dew off a pipe and made a great conductor . It's a scary when have the thought I can't get losses .
I was on a large commercial site for a bank and finished one of three lighting circuits. Turned them on and they worked, great! Got into a box that I thought was a different circuit and boom. Knees buckled on a 10’ ladder just from brushing my hand against the hot and something else. No idea what grounded me, it happened so fast. I didn’t fall off the ladder but I was wobbly going down. 277 will eff you up fast, but as you said it was my fault for not checking. Unless you can see the other side of the wire disconnected, test it! Even then still test it!
I was working on a machine that had 440. While I was reconnecting a power lead someone turned the breaker on. Like you, this was before lock-out/tag-out was stressed. Believe me, that was a memorable jolt. Thanks for stressing safety. It is serious business and should always take first place.
Great topic. Even if you're not the best electrician, memorizing codes, knowing all the tricks, you can still be safe. Sometimes, it takes a shock to jolt us into reality.
Thank you for living 😊 I really need trusted sources for my education 🤔 Home DYI’er here who has a home built in 58, added on to twice in the next 20 years, and now I have to fix electrical issues almost weekly. The web is a great place to read read read but channels like yours are a great asset.
Just wanna say thank you. I recently passed my residential wireman's license and I give all of the credit to electricianU. The code time videos and the practice exams from the electricianU website were the tools I used in preparation.
Lost my linesman one day, had an old beat up spare in the back of some random drawer in the shop…. Didn’t realize the insulation was worn all the way down to the metal on one spot of the grips. I went to go splice a 277 line for a fixture. Somehow I managed to unclench the linesman and toss them. I know what you mean about the involuntary noises lol.
I initially wanted to say that wiring 277 volt light fixtures is where I received the most uncomfortable shocks but then I remembered a job I was sent to in Myrtle Beach SC where the local contractor sabotaged the job at construction of a major hotel and then walked off. When we got there wire color didn't matter... anything could be hot. To save time we would deliberately short circuit a wire to figure out what was hot and which breaker it went to. Invariably we would eventually get caught between hot and ground and get lit up and it was, to say the least, very uncomfortable. Now before you start saying that we should have used instrumentation, this was back in the day where our only resource was an analog Simpson meter and it was just taking too long due to the enormous size of this job plus the ground wire could be the hot in this situation. Also, to duly note, the ground at this coastal location was exceptional because of the high water table. In other words, it would rock your world. Now to add to our misery, one of the boys that was assigned the duty of changing light bubs thought he would be the class clown by sneaking up behind us working a hot receptacle box and dropping a light bulb on the bare concrete behind us. At one point in the day he did this to me. I spontaneously and reflexively flipped my Klein screwdriver at him, which whizzed past his ear and embedded itself into the sheet rock wall behind him. He looked at the screwdriver in the wall, turned around and then looked at me with eyes wide open, and I didn't see that boy for the rest of the job.
It took me until my mid 30's until I got the perspective you're sharing. That's some real LIFE wisdom (not just electricity) you have shared my friend.
I've been shocked by 277V and 240V, but my worst shocks have been 120V while I was sweaty working with my hands up above my head. Once on an elevator light and once on some fluorescent lights up in a ceiling.
After the Coast Guard as a machinery technician, I had a job in a Virginia fertilizer plant doing millwright work, and rebuilding OLD electric motors and odd stuff. They gave me a shed for a shop and I rigged up a lift and was setting it up to do repairs, and I found a wire running into a workbench and running behind the fascia frame and since the wood floor was oily and dirty; I was feeling along the wire to see where it went, and it just ended where something was removed but the ends were bare and hot with 440v! My lungs spazzed so hard my exhale ripped my vocal cords as I shot back about 8 feet into a wall. I sat there, vibrating I think, for 2 hours and had like laryngitis for a couple days as I recall. It was 1975 and when OSHA eventually came to that shithole, they raped 'em good! There was nothing modern, nothing safe there.
Kudos to you. I'm normally not inclined to express my opinion, yet I felt compelled after viewing your video that you hit the mark 100%. Fake-it-til-you-make-it does not apply where safety is at stake. I couldn't live with myself being the cause of an apprentices death at the hand of my ignorance. Conversely, I can be proud of sending an apprentice home to his\her family safely every single day.
I took 480v from my left elbow to my right hand. 2nd was working on 277v lights. Got hit on the Neutral wire and the ceiling grid. Both Taught me to turn things off. 1 was in the late 90s one wasn't in early 2000s but in my years I have known 3 guys that have died 1 that needed major plastic surgery from getting hit and flash burn. It's not worth doing live shut it off. I have 2 of my sons working the trade now. I tell them just shut it off and test it to be 100%
I got bit pretty bad the other day. I took over a job from a coworker who had abandoned it because of the homeowner.. but anyways one of the things that needed to be done was land a couple circuits on the panel. Obviously I assumed that the wires coming into the panel but no low and behold this wire was spliced in a junction box and was LIVE going INTO the panel. It was pre spliced and marretted so when I went to put it into the breaker I took the marettes off and touch BOTH conductors and got the shock of my life. Really goes to show that you CANT trust other peoples work and to always check
Grounding and bonding quwstion: 1. Panels have two ground bus bars, you tighten the green bounding screw. So you place neutrals on one side, grounds on the other. But what is the point separating the two when they bond both bus bars? 2. Placing a panel ground #6 on the water faucet but that water faucet is fed with PEX? I came across this but the inspector gigged me because I just ran the two grounds 6 ft apart outside!
I was a painter in the 90s and walked into a remodel at an assisted living facility and saw a man get electrocuted. Someone in the facility flipped the breaker on while this guy was working on the addition. Sitting on one knee, the electricity went through his arm, through his heart and down his leg, out his butt on the floor. His right side was completely fried. All muscles and tissue/skin were fried. He lived but lost complete use of his right side.
This makes me appreciative of the school I'm going to and the company I work for. Second year and still haven't been shocked mainly because my company and school just beat safety into our heads. Some electricians still don't take it seriously, but I do.
I worked for Cigars International when I was just out of highschool as their 2nd shift maintenance tech. The last 4 hours of my shift I was on my own everyday. A forklift driver hit an exit sign and knocked it apart. Just needed to be placed back together. I made the mistake of touching the circuit board with both hands. For what felt like forever I was being shocked while 15 feet in the air by myself on a scissor lift. Fortunately I had a harness on and I was able to get off it by letting myself fall backwards without falling off the lift. I was dizzy for 15 minutes afterward.
got shocked for the first time the other day. I got hit by 120 but was lucky enough that I wasn't holding it... it hit my knuckle while I was working on another wire in the box. (high resistance)
Only been on the job for 8 months. I know to be careful, but even that short amount of time in after doing outlet after outlet, switch after switch it's easy to let your mind wonder. I appreciate this pep talk. It's a real motivator. Thank you. Ps I've blown up a pair of kliens already. Never again that's like almost $50 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
For me it was when I put my hand in a light pole fed by 277 volt, three phase. Wire nut came off of the neutral. Was like a squirrel holding a nut, was bad.
Big fan of the channel, as an up and comming electrician, these videos are awesome and really help me alot not only with the technical aspect, but the passion for the job aspect as well. Thanks for the vids man
I remember accidentally touching an electric fence intended for cattle whilst on my way down from Mount Pilatus, Switzerland. I can't remember the pain, but I can remember the shock being on the left side of my body. Still I managed to get out of the fencing by asking a local farmer to open the fence gate for me, albeit with my extremely minimal Swiss German. If I were to be an apprentice in electrical engineering, the worst shock I could get from consumer electricity would be 230 Volts since I live in Europe. I know European Voltage is double that of North America, yet I don't know if pain is proportional to current or to power. If twice the voltage, or four times the power, goes through your body, does it hurt twice as bad or four times as bad ? Does the human body register pain based on current or power ? I'd be glad to know that, if there is a definite answer
Not letting the ego get in the way of telling an embarrassing story in a humorous way so others can learn is peak ultimate human. Keep it up. I value your candid but friendly demeanor too. No fluff, confident and concise. We appreciate you bro. Thank fuck you're a resistant mofo!
This same experience happened to me…..laying on my back on wet ground attempting to repair some freeze broke pipes. I got scrunched up into a very low section of the crawl space and my chest came squarely into contact with a wire staple which had cut into the hot wire of some ancient Romex. My chest and back were soaked which made my clothing useless as an insulator. I almost died that day. The only thing that saved me was gravity. As I convulsed and bucked under the house I slid downhill just enough to break contact. My face was black and blue from bouncing off the a floor joist so violently. It was quite the wake up call when it comes to crawl spaces and old house wiring.
My ex brother-in-law is an electrician. Fairly early in his career he started working with BIG electricity - like major industrial power. That was back when (probably) there were more "yeah, I went to school and got the cert, but most of it was just wuss stuff". I know for a fact that he was a cowboy. Anyhow, he and some of his crew were working on some bazillion volt thing and there was some kind of arc that crispy-fried most of the skin on his back. After 3 or 4 months of healing, he retired from the bazillion volt business and spent the rest of his career wiring houses. Not that you can't get hurt or killed in/around residences.
My worst one was 600v, I was lucky it was just across the tip of 1 finger, but I instantly had a burn blister on the finger. I had removed a conveyor motor for repair, which I had locked out and tagged. a couple days later I was notified the repaiir was done and went to reinstall it. I recall thinking I should check that it was still locked and tagged off, but thought it will be fine, I locked it myself. I got the cable re-entered into the motor J-box, did the first connection, no problem but got hit putting on the 2nd conductor. Found out the plant manager had removed the lock, because that piece of equipmment was interlocked with other machines so without it running they were shut down. Since then even If I put the lock on myself I check to be sure no one has removed it. I also got my own locks because I had used the plants lock so they had the key that they removed the lock with. Another memorable hit was changing a light fixture, I turned off the switch, but when taking down the light took a really hard hit, turned out whoever did the original install had put the switch on the neutral of the cct, lessen learned, even if you turn off the switch yourself test it anyway.
as an apprentice ive been lucky, he WORST shock i personally got was realizing how much all them tools were gonna cost me, no joke
You'll be ok all that is nothing compared to what your gonna be making once your a journeyman💯
Ok, but don't let your voltage tester cost you anything.
Having a plan B should always be your plan A, always have a plan on if you get grounded youll always be fine.
@@FOH3663😂
Coming from the RV industry, at least you dont have to have basically all the hand tools and power tools to build a house plus and the wrenches and sockets to work on engine and chassis and everything you need for electrical AND plumbing.
I had to comment on this subject because it really hits home for me on a personal level. I lost my dad years ago when he was on a job due to miscommunication and possibly unsafe working conditions. Just a few simple steps might have produced a different outcome. So kudos to you for hammering home SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! Lockout tagout, communication, training, et. All of it is, in my opinion, priority number 1! Keep up the good job here and on The ElectricianU site.👍
Omg so sorry🙏 I lost my father to early to mesothelioma. Nothing I can say
Be safe
Be safe brother and really sorry about your dad, may he rest in peace ❤️💯
@@866martin Thank you Karl! And be safe yourself!
@@Hatim.13 Thank you so much! Be safe out there!
I worked with my brother who was an electrician for years. Always worked on new electrical. Once I started working on existing wiring, things changed! I got shocked on a 277v circuit in a drop ceiling. It was a double stacked junction box with probably over 10 wires in it. It was a commercial building, I couldn’t start switching breakers off so I used a tester. All was good, so I thought! It felt like someone grabbed both my arms! (I heard a voice in my head saying: “I finally got you!”) Thank God I lost my footing on the ladder and fell to the ground. I found out later, one of the neutrals had voltage on it. I thought My organs were toast. Since then, I always lock out tag out and use protective gear. Never rely on colors, test all wires! And never assume the last guy knew what he was doing! Lesson learned over 30 years ago!
Dude same shit happened to me, those damn neutrals
I got shoked by a neutral 240V in Europe too, I am not a sparky but I know how to switch off a breaker and test for power afterward. The thing was that I was visiting my family in France and we needed to change a motion activated light over the garage door in driveway, so I search for the breaker, switch it off and used one of those shitty screw driver tester that have a lamp inside because it was the only one available onsite and due to sunny daylight, could not see if it was lightning up or not. Tested all wires the best I could and being confident there was not juice, I go ahead and unplug the light carefully, easy, then I needed to reposition the wires to accept the new light body shape and this is when I got an unexpected 240V zap. Since I grew up in France, I am accustomed to 240V zaps, I know how to react and it was just like a hornet sting but man, that was the first zap on neutral ever. I guess it was a shared neutral but the house is so old, I would not bother looking for it. I finished the job carefully after that. The last time I got zapped at home in the US on a 120V live, I laughed at how tiny the shock was compared to European 240V, it felt like a tingle, really! But hey, people be careful, I must have a resistance to current that not everyone has, do not test at home!!
Whooo I hear ya. I’m a apprentice commercial electrician and all the story’s I hear of 277 and 480 are straight up scary.
This is facts bro safety first check multiple ways for voltage it's your life on the line .don't cut corners
That's good advice. "Never assume the last guy knew what he was doing".
When I was 19 I was doing a kitchen remodel with my journeyman. He told me to check a 12/2 he had killed before heading outside with the contractor. This wire had been getting stepped on for a week and the sheathing was torn. Decided to try stripping with my brand new utility knife and didn’t feel myself cutting into the hot. My other hand was apparently touching the ground on the worn out part and I couldn’t let go, I managed to push the knife through the wire after several seconds to get out and it terrified me. Went to a trade high school and always wanted to do electrical and that day I was sure I’d never do it again, but that was 8 years ago. Told my journeyman what happened when he came back in and he just called me a bitch for freaking out about it, GC yelled at him and reminded him that it’s his job to make sure I’m safe.
Did you check to make sure there was power to the wire?
Before stripping it?
@@ei1209 that’s why I was stripping it, so I could check
That would seem to me if cutting into unchecked wiring one should be wearing protective gloves. To me that sounds kind of not like the kind of thing one should be doing.
Journeyman sounds like a dip.
I do 480V and above, it’s no hot work period. My son just started his residential electrical apprenticeship and his senior apprentices are doing some questionable BS and telling him it’s fine. This is the video he needed to see, thank you for putting it out.
I hear you on the child support. People don’t realize you’re assessed before tax and pay after tax. PLUS.. all the money you pay to mom does NOT help you when your son/daughters at your place. The system is surely broken. Great story. Keep it up.
They also set it at what they think you can be making. If you have a degree or education but aren’t using it well now your value is assessed at that.
BRO. 12:30-end is a masterclass in leadership, not just electrical safety. I am a front-line supervisor in an unrelated field, and was truly inspired by this video. Thank you.
I really appreciate this story man thank you. As a father of two and apprenticing electrician it gave me some things to think about.
I love your philosophy Dustin. Your experience and wisdom shows. A smart man knows a lot. A wise man knows how much he doesn't know.
Love this, thank you 🙏
Took 240V across both the hands and through the chest. It was a short electric shock. It was a wallop though. I was stunned for hours. I was sitting on concrete with boots in the dirt. Two hours passed after the shock with me sitting there. I thought maybe 5-10 minutes had passed. My boss came up to me and ask me what I had been doing and told I him I got shocked. He then relayed to me I had been working on the junction for 3 hours and how come I wasn't done. Last time I worked on anything hot.
So, did you quit your job as an electrician?
Rode the lightning and still kept sparking. Been a n electrician for 25 years now. @@amauryaracena
Normally, a person connecting with both legs of 120 won't stay around to tell future stories. That step down transformer on the line will keep increasing the current the longer you stay in contact. As you slowly dry out from the current, it will keep ramping it up to maintain a positive connection. 120 to neutral is one thing, but 240 each leg is an entirely different animal. It won't stop until your corpse has been cooked to a perfect 450 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm glad you're still among the living. Be safe.
@@amauryaracena NO. It's like falling off a bike.
I have a simple electrical question: is necessary the neutral wire in orden to light a bulb?
I repaired copiers for a living and a local non profit had someone come in and wire a new outlet, turns out one person did 1/2 the job and then someone else came in and finished the job, not knowing that the guy had wired the outlet into a 227v lighting circuit, (how the hell it happened I have no idea) but when I went to plug that copier in, before I could blink, BANG, my butt skidded across the floor and all I could say is "SOB" as all the lights went out, It blew the end off a 120v 15 amp IEC power cord and could have taken one of my fingers off... a big blue flash of light could be seen behind the brown/tan plastic and lucky me the MOVs in the PSU saved the device from destruction, but that PSU pcb looked like a campfire and smelled like burnt fiberglass, after that I carried my meter with me and tested every outlet from then on out before plugging things in...
🤦♂️
Oh my, I gasped several times during your story! 😅 I’m glad you got out okay and didn’t let it phase you from your calling 😄⚡️ Thanks for sharing!
Mad respect my man! I’m only two years into the profession, and am finding learning moments all the time. It’s great you can tell your story, with your experience and philosophical approach at becoming a better person along the way. Hands for doing what you do, sir!
One of the worst shocks for me was landing on a 277v lighting circuit when I was still an electrician apprentice. I did not know shit, green as hell. A foremen asked me to do something, I was incredibly eager to get my feet wet. I did what he told me without knowing the circuit was hot. It's been a couple of years since I've done electrical work in that fashion. Nowadays, I work as an electronic technician / electrician for municipality. I can understand your passion for what you do. I absolutely love my career and would never change it for anything.
Damn Dustin… just when I think I couldn’t love you enough, you come out with another one. I’m in CA, 4th year apprentice. Taking my test this summer. My only regret is that I haven’t had YOU as a mentor through my process. But, your videos over the years have helped me out tremendously. You have helped me through my bad “fuck this shit” days and inspired me through my good days. Love you brother.
I’m about to start a course to become an electrician and I’m excited to start my new career and hearing about getting shocked admittedly makes me extremely nervous but hearing this , but I know that I am careful and very methodical worker and I hope that’ll help keep me safe.
Yet another example of why I love your channel. Humility and responsibility are the cornerstones of being a true professional. My worst shock was not my fault (I 100% believed at the time) then I analyzed what happened and found 2 or 3 things I could have done better or differently. That was my wake up. There is always a safer way to do something and now I spend the extra couple of minutes.
Absolutely!
Honestly one of the best videos you have made so far!
This video is the reason storytelling is so important. I’m a home inspector now that did remodeling prior but about 20 years before all that I was renting a place and when I moved in I realized my dryer cord did not match the receptacle. I went and bought one, screwed in the contacts and it wasn’t correct and then went and purchased another. The laundry room was small as usual and I’m little but I still had to wedge myself under the cabinets and behind the dryer to work on it. I was so frustrated at this point that before I ever took the second dryer cord out of the package I decided to see if the plug fit… The contacts were touching my hand. If that breaker hadn’t tripped I wouldn’t be here today. I honestly didn’t even realize how serious this was until telling a friend the next day and showing her the burn, she immediately started tearing up and said you are lucky to be alive right now!
I still carry a scar that is just a discolored patch.
Now that I’m older and more experienced I’ve realized not only to use absolutely every safety precaution but do not work on stuff like this when you are frustrated. You will end up making stupid mistakes or decisions that you would never have made had you not been blinded by that frustration. It could cost you your life or someone else’s.
I was changing a ballast out one time, on a ladder holding emt with one hand for balance and touched 277v with the other.
Pulled my chest muscles, sore for days.
Good times.....
Worst story my brother(IBEW) ever told me involved an apprentice being somewhere he shouldn't, his forehead, and a 600 volt, 1000 amp bus bar..😭
Worst part? He survived, but as a complete vegetable.
omfg
I know a gut about 10 years ago working in an industrial building had the same thing. He died. It was locked out but the back up Gen. Back fed the buss and no one knew so it was all tested as an open circuit but after a few minutes it was re fed and no one knew. The engineers got into a huge lawsuit.
Outstanding video that applies not only to electrical work but to ANY craft one may take up. Whether it’s woodworking or painting or plumbing there are always dangers and there should always be pride in your work. Thank you.
As an electrician of 40 years, some things we take for granted, and safety is one of those things. Thank you for the refresher course and bringing it to light my friend
16:00 I've been saying that for years. Treat yourself with no seriousness whatsoever, be sure you're able to laugh at yourself... but treat your mission, whatever it may be, with the utmost seriousness.
This is a great message to all trades and even the diy'er/home owner.
Once go a bite from shared ground in a junctionbox in the ceiling. Breaker was off and ticker was silent. Took a few bites to figure it out
Best one I had, was a live wire falling on a t bar ceiling I was poking up into. My chest was across the t bar.
Been there done that back in 86. As a computer tech we would work on plugs or main power issues. I thought I was being safe when we had to power up a system at postal inspectors in D.C. after a building fire and fire marshal allowed us entry to check out the system. I had my safety shoes on as we proceeded to flip breakers to check to receptacles. My meter leads weren’t long enough to reach the contacts in the Hubble plug so I switched to a clip lead and used a paper clip. After checking several receptacles suddenly the paper clip came off and was stuck on the receptacle, damn it. I stopped and thought for a minute, I had my safety shoes on, I’m not grounded so I won’t get shocked just a quick grab and it’s done. What got done was me, I grab that paper clip and suddenly POW my elbow went through the wall behind me. Dazed, my buddy who was flipping breakers asked what was that noise. He said to be careful, remember the fire, well dumb ass here 18:05 was sitting on a damp floor. My ass was the ground. We were working on 208v ac three phase 50 amp circuits. Never never again used a paper clip, got longer meter leads and never tried to touch a live wire again no matter what. That’s a learning lesson that I don’t want to repeat.
Thank God you're still here after that cable landing on your chest. What probably saved you is that your sweaty clothes probably conducted enough current to reduce the current through your body/heat.
Great message. Thank you! I try to teach the apprentices under me to wear a tool belt containing a volt stick and a multimeter. That way they have no excuse not to test with two testers before touching copper.
I too learnt in the bad old days of working live and forced myself to drop those bad habits. I still occasionally catch myself thinking, "she'll be right mate, just a quick job". I then stop myself and gently tell myself off.
I went to a high school in Tasmania that was infamous for being rough. There were stabbings, brutal bullying, teachers quitting all the time. I hated that school so much.
As a freshly qualified Electrician, I was doing a job at the school hooking up new circuits in the heating chassis of the switchboard. I had isolated the heating chassis, so everything behind the panel was de-energised, but below the heating chassis part of the switchboard and out of sight and reach were 3 big fat 3 phase uninsulated busbars. As i reached to grab the cable with my pliers and pull in enogh to fit off, a big chunk of concrete got dragged into the hole in the top of the switchboard and fell and knocked the pliers out of my hand. My pliers must have landed across the busbars and the arch flash was like a bomb going off. Like in the movies, i could only hear a loud ringing in my ears and could only see a whitish pink. It took 3 minutes before i could see properly and 1 day before my ears stopped ringing. The entire end of the jaws of my pliers were blwn off and i had a couple of burn spots on my body where i think molten copper splattered on me. It blew the main fuses in power turret that fed the school. I wasn't wearing safety glasses so really lucky no hot metal hit my face.
The official investigation from the electrical safety authority said I should have been wearing safety glasses, and although I had turned the heating chassis off, i hasn't locked it out. I got an official first warning, but I lernt my lesson and kept my job. Lock out, tag out!
I find this very relatable, I’m going through a time right now where I beat myself up over the most minor thing. Thanks for giving me some advice
Don’t be too hard on yourself just always strive to do better. The worst thing you can do is repeat the same mistakes over and over and never grow
@@electricianu thanks for the advice!
I’m in trade school. And in the morning during are lectures I play your vidoes because my class mates are to lazy to try to learn more than one way. They don’t understand the danger of the trade and it’s gonna get them killed.
I was up on a 10' ladder working above a drop ceiling, wiring a 277v emergency light. I had no room to move, my arms were touching the grid, and my head was pressed against an air duct. So I wound up taking a really bad shock to my head. Lost consciousness and fell off the ladder. I ended up being off work for a week, and it was completely my fault.
My worst was a dryer I kept having to plug in unplug and repeat and I forgot to unplug it and stuck my screw driver in and it held me for I’m sure a few seconds but felt much longer . Made me rethink a few things that’s for sure . Haha
I think the only reason I’m still kicking is because I’ve defibrillated myself so many times . Haha
I was working on 3 phase motor for Ritz Carlton franchise. The motor was wired for 120v and should have been 277v. Turn off the break to the contactor .left a note. Some moron in the kitchen decided it was too hot and decided to turn it back on. Well I lost a pliers, my hand got thrown against the cabinet . For a week I had indentation on my arm. My arm tingle for a long time. I go back to the wire from under the breaker left the panel cover off.
I’ve watched you for years now and have loved and learned from every episode, but this one is a whole level above all the rest. Thank you for your honesty and all the things I’ve learned from you. PLUR!
After completing my first year at Coyne Electrical and Technical School (Boston) I believed I knew everything about residential wiring. So, I tackled upgrading my parent's basement by replacing all the knob and tube wiring with Romex. I was on an aluminum ladder and reached for a pull box with a live hot wire, one hand was on a cold-water pipe. ZAP I got shocked. This may sound difficult to believe but my entire life passed by me while I was hanging on the pipe. I was lucky I didn't die that day and reinforced to ALWAYS TURN OFF THE POWER BEFORE WORKING ON ELECTRICL CIRCUITS.
Got 600v DC shock as a kid from a hand me down ham radio transmitter. Guy who gave it to me never bothered to mention the Morse code key was hot. Woke up across the room.
Standing in a small puddle with a small electric drill attached to a faulty lead cord. Some people don't realize that when you get shocked your muscles contract. When this happened to me I couldn't even move much less drop the drill. Another person saw it happen and had the good sense to grab the cord and pull possibly saving my life. Episode 2, I was taping the ceiling and climbed up a ladder into a stripped pair of wires. The shock knocked me off the ladder and I've had sometimes severe tinnitus ever since. In other words, I got my bell rung!!
Yesterday, I got shocked for the first time at work at a lake house renovation. I was inspecting a gimbal recessed light over the fireplace. I ended up finding out that the switch leg was hot, but wasn’t making a good connection in the wire connector. Also, I ASSUMED (don’t ever) another switch controlled those lights, but the switch was actually across the room, and it was flipped on. I used my ticker outside the junction box and got nothing. I should have tested the individual wires inside the junction box, because the switch leg was on and shocked me when I went to strip more insulation off. The shock reminded me of one of these prank hand buzzers you use as a kid, but much worst.
Ive been bit from 240 and 480, three-phase several times but the worse came from a loose coil wire on the distributor I tried to reinstall while the engine was running on my ‘65 Chevy pickup. My arrm ached for a day from that one
My worst was about 50 years ago with a circular hand saw (no ground wire back then). We were finishing cutting a new entrance into a home and it started to drizzle, next thing I'm getting zapped and i can't let go. Luckey for me my brother noticed and pulled the plug.
I had a "Mr Safety" father. He was Air Force SNCO.
OMG.... *everything* had to be planned out and safety was THE primary job consideration.
He passed years ago but those lessons engraved into my brain.
Don't f around. Be safe
Worst shock I ever got was from a center tapped 9kv nst, 4.5kv to ground. Couldnt let go, all 30mA went through me. Went through shoe insulation to ground. Left aide of body was numb for a week.
I’m a similar-retired service tech using a old metal drill arm resting on a metal case pulled the trigger bam … blisters on my arm.
Ladders are also deadly I’m lucky I fell 20’ to concrete only minor injury
When I was in grade school I touched the metal top of an AC electrolytic capacitor (the large one next to the rectifier) in a desktop computer power supply; it was a Compaq portable and PC PSU's weren't enclosed in metal back then. I couldn't move my hand away and grounding / bonding videos say if you can't move your hand away you're dead. Luckily I was on a non conductive surface and it was only bridging two fingers so I pulled my entire arm away.
Nearly the same time in my life I was jumping on a bed, did a flip, landed on my head to one side, felt a sharp pain and almost became a quadriplegic (athletic doctors when I was an adult noticed the lack of cartilage near I think they said C4). It's a miracle any kid survives childhood. Every day of life & health is a gift.
When you take off the cover of a 4x4 extension box in the overhead on a 277 lighting circuit and see a red wire nut roll out. All I thought was this is going to hurt. Yep, thankfully I was in a lift and not on a ladder. The reason it was still live, I was trying to figure out which breaker needed to be opened so I could replace one of the fixtures.
i appreciate this video. You have said everything i have ever thought. I tell everyone i am a 12 yr apprentice. I dont know evereything. always learning. and sure as hell dont want to kill some one. thank you
You basically just made a speech about wisdom. Congratulations - You are becoming a very wise man.
Not the worst, but the funniest shock I got was when I was troubleshooting a messed up kitchen counter circuit, touched the wrong thing, got shocked in my hand that made me punch myself on the nose, and by reflex I pulled my head back and hit it under the over cabs. All withing a second. Shock, punch, hit my head. Quickly looked if anyone saw, then laughed out loud at myself.
The best video you ever made You reiterated alot of what I tell my guys and means on how I think .My dad was an electrician and gave me this advise. If you ever meet a guy on a job that tells you he knows everything. Do not walk away from him, RUN! He will get you hurt. I actually watch your vids as refresher, different insight as well as many others. As I stated, on all levels, knowledge, safety. This was your best vid Eclipse Electric
Thanks for the comment, and for watching my friend 🙏
Frank Mazzella I totally agree. There isn't an electrician out there now or ever that knows everything. I've been doing it for almost 25yrs and no matter if my guys have been licensed for awhile, newly licensed or still an apprentice, If I'm having trouble deciding on which way to go on something particular or whatever it may be, I'll ask their opinion on it if they have one. To test or educate them for 1 but also they might have a better way of getting something done than me. I can't stand the guys who have been at it for a long time so it's their way or no way cuz they've "done it all", know everything and look down on, belittle or are insulted by a guy w/ nit as many years in. Sorry for the long response but your post triggered me, lol. I've worked for acouple of those guys and swore I'd never treat guys like that. It's so naive, short-sighted and like you said, dangerous with that train of thought
Just to add on to this, always double check before you cut bros, been in the trade for 2 years now and took pride in never blowin up my kleins, but low and behold last week it happened. Was helping my sister out fixin hack shit at her new house, there was a receptacle just hanging on romex under her back porch, took precations and tested the line before i cut ( i assumed it was an abandoned circuit) and proceeded to follow the line as close to the house as possible, i see that the line goes under the flashing under the house and i put my kleins under to cut and boom lol. Turns out there was a flying splice under the flashing i didnt see that was live but the branch i was attempting to cut that it was attached to was not because i didnt check, i assumed. Dont cut blind and never assume, stay safe brothers and sisters.
Thanks for sharing. You explained what happened to me when I allowed end of a cut off live romex wire touch my sweaty shirt. I got the shock of my life.
Thank you for your humble video. I’ve learned a lot from the few vids of yours that I’ve watched. Everyone can always learn something, no matter how advanced they are or think they are. You have another subscriber here.
Ironically my worst shock didn't happen while wiring. I was tig welding in high school and got hit hard but I jerked back and that saved me. But the rest of the day my left arm hurt in a way I never felt before or since. Did I mention I wear gloves while welding now...
Thanks for sharing. I got zapped years back while changing out resi receptacles. I was working down the hill where nobody could see me. Another crew cut my lock so they could run a saw really quick. I had a headache for 3 days and my hair turned gray 2 weeks later. If I see guys around a panel that I don’t know I throw up cones and safety tape for good measure.
I was in the Navy and I was changing a ballast for over head lighting and touched a hot wire. I was shocked on the entire right side of my body from my hand to my foot. I was able to pull away and noticed my left foot was on a rubber mat and right foot was on the hull of the ship.
I got between 600V and 347V on a lighting circuit that had one fixture tied neutral to ground energizing T-bar and another 347V lighting tail that was wrapped around a 120v receptacle tail .Let's just say I blew a 6 inch hole in air duct and had burns to my neck from arc flash and have a flat spot on my right index finger ,have a torn rotator cuff from the injury took off out 100amp 3p 600V main lighting breaker .Was just a 347v 20a lighting feed .let's just say I was shaking and sore for 2 days
Thumb and middle finger hit separate legs of a 208v circuit at the same time. I fell back and bounced my head off the concrete. Everything in my vision was purple for 2 weeks until it finally faded away. Don't know if the shock or hitting my head caused it, but that was some weird shit.
I appreciate this…but I’d say that going back to finish versus going to the ER where I’m sitting right now because I got hit with 277 yesterday and thank god I did because organ damage is real and I happens days later…really not worth it. Considering my employer had the same mentality to just suck it up could have cost me my life when they can and will easily replace you. You said you had a kid…family over everything. 911, ER over “keeping your word” to the customer. It can be fixed later.
Well TO ME. You and my uncle are the best electricians I know. I say this because you guys explain and ACTUALLY want to teach someone something. That in itself is a big plus to me and because of you guys I plan on staying in the trade and hopefully joining a local union. Thanks a lot
I was working under a master electrician when I started maintenance the 2nd day he had me change a disconnect switch for a ring roll machine ! Yea the power is off I still have the burnt Philips screwdriver !
NEVER TRUST YOUR LIFE TO SOMEONE ELSE !!!!!!!!!
Another great video Dustin .
a arc welder gave me the worst shock I ever got. I wiped the dew off a pipe and made a great conductor . It's a scary when have the thought I can't get losses .
I audibly and visually shook at the description of this incident FFFFFF
I'm glad you were not more seriously injured or killed!
I was on a large commercial site for a bank and finished one of three lighting circuits. Turned them on and they worked, great! Got into a box that I thought was a different circuit and boom. Knees buckled on a 10’ ladder just from brushing my hand against the hot and something else. No idea what grounded me, it happened so fast. I didn’t fall off the ladder but I was wobbly going down. 277 will eff you up fast, but as you said it was my fault for not checking. Unless you can see the other side of the wire disconnected, test it! Even then still test it!
I was working on a machine that had 440. While I was reconnecting a power lead someone turned the breaker on. Like you, this was before lock-out/tag-out was stressed. Believe me, that was a memorable jolt.
Thanks for stressing safety. It is serious business and should always take first place.
Great topic. Even if you're not the best electrician, memorizing codes, knowing all the tricks, you can still be safe. Sometimes, it takes a shock to jolt us into reality.
Couldn’t have said it better myself Dustin! Way to stay humble.
Thank you for living 😊 I really need trusted sources for my education 🤔
Home DYI’er here who has a home built in 58, added on to twice in the next 20 years, and now I have to fix electrical issues almost weekly. The web is a great place to read read read but channels like yours are a great asset.
Just wanna say thank you. I recently passed my residential wireman's license and I give all of the credit to electricianU. The code time videos and the practice exams from the electricianU website were the tools I used in preparation.
Lost my linesman one day, had an old beat up spare in the back of some random drawer in the shop…. Didn’t realize the insulation was worn all the way down to the metal on one spot of the grips. I went to go splice a 277 line for a fixture. Somehow I managed to unclench the linesman and toss them. I know what you mean about the involuntary noises lol.
I absolutely fucking love this video. It hits home in more than one aspect . Thank you for all you do.
No matter what, you have become an excellent teacher.
I initially wanted to say that wiring 277 volt light fixtures is where I received the most uncomfortable shocks but then I remembered a job I was sent to in Myrtle Beach SC where the local contractor sabotaged the job at construction of a major hotel and then walked off. When we got there wire color didn't matter... anything could be hot. To save time we would deliberately short circuit a wire to figure out what was hot and which breaker it went to. Invariably we would eventually get caught between hot and ground and get lit up and it was, to say the least, very uncomfortable. Now before you start saying that we should have used instrumentation, this was back in the day where our only resource was an analog Simpson meter and it was just taking too long due to the enormous size of this job plus the ground wire could be the hot in this situation. Also, to duly note, the ground at this coastal location was exceptional because of the high water table. In other words, it would rock your world. Now to add to our misery, one of the boys that was assigned the duty of changing light bubs thought he would be the class clown by sneaking up behind us working a hot receptacle box and dropping a light bulb on the bare concrete behind us. At one point in the day he did this to me. I spontaneously and reflexively flipped my Klein screwdriver at him, which whizzed past his ear and embedded itself into the sheet rock wall behind him. He looked at the screwdriver in the wall, turned around and then looked at me with eyes wide open, and I didn't see that boy for the rest of the job.
It took me until my mid 30's until I got the perspective you're sharing. That's some real LIFE wisdom (not just electricity) you have shared my friend.
Question,can you run 12 or 14 g wire across bottom of joists in unfinished basement?
I always do the static arm sleeve test on a non-contact voltage tester before using it, helps reassure me the thing is working right.
This Program is Awesome 😎💯
I've been shocked by 277V and 240V, but my worst shocks have been 120V while I was sweaty working with my hands up above my head. Once on an elevator light and once on some fluorescent lights up in a ceiling.
After the Coast Guard as a machinery technician, I had a job in a Virginia fertilizer plant doing millwright work, and rebuilding OLD electric motors and odd stuff. They gave me a shed for a shop and I rigged up a lift and was setting it up to do repairs, and I found a wire running into a workbench and running behind the fascia frame and since the wood floor was oily and dirty; I was feeling along the wire to see where it went, and it just ended where something was removed but the ends were bare and hot with 440v!
My lungs spazzed so hard my exhale ripped my vocal cords as I shot back about 8 feet into a wall. I sat there, vibrating I think, for 2 hours and had like laryngitis for a couple days as I recall. It was 1975 and when OSHA eventually came to that shithole, they raped 'em good! There was nothing modern, nothing safe there.
Kudos to you. I'm normally not inclined to express my opinion, yet I felt compelled after viewing your video that you hit the mark 100%. Fake-it-til-you-make-it does not apply where safety is at stake. I couldn't live with myself being the cause of an apprentices death at the hand of my ignorance. Conversely, I can be proud of sending an apprentice home to his\her family safely every single day.
Thank man great video on trying to keep us safe 😉🤘🏼
I took 480v from my left elbow to my right hand. 2nd was working on 277v lights. Got hit on the Neutral wire and the ceiling grid. Both Taught me to turn things off. 1 was in the late 90s one wasn't in early 2000s but in my years I have known 3 guys that have died 1 that needed major plastic surgery from getting hit and flash burn. It's not worth doing live shut it off. I have 2 of my sons working the trade now. I tell them just shut it off and test it to be 100%
"I'm laying under the f€%58$ wire ", my guy I was HOLLERING 😭😂
I got bit pretty bad the other day. I took over a job from a coworker who had abandoned it because of the homeowner.. but anyways one of the things that needed to be done was land a couple circuits on the panel. Obviously I assumed that the wires coming into the panel but no low and behold this wire was spliced in a junction box and was LIVE going INTO the panel. It was pre spliced and marretted so when I went to put it into the breaker I took the marettes off and touch BOTH conductors and got the shock of my life. Really goes to show that you CANT trust other peoples work and to always check
Grounding and bonding quwstion:
1. Panels have two ground bus bars, you tighten the green bounding screw. So you place neutrals on one side, grounds on the other. But what is the point separating the two when they bond both bus bars?
2. Placing a panel ground #6 on the water faucet but that water faucet is fed with PEX? I came across this but the inspector gigged me because I just ran the two grounds 6 ft apart outside!
I was a painter in the 90s and walked into a remodel at an assisted living facility and saw a man get electrocuted. Someone in the facility flipped the breaker on while this guy was working on the addition. Sitting on one knee, the electricity went through his arm, through his heart and down his leg, out his butt on the floor. His right side was completely fried. All muscles and tissue/skin were fried. He lived but lost complete use of his right side.
This makes me appreciative of the school I'm going to and the company I work for. Second year and still haven't been shocked mainly because my company and school just beat safety into our heads. Some electricians still don't take it seriously, but I do.
I worked for Cigars International when I was just out of highschool as their 2nd shift maintenance tech. The last 4 hours of my shift I was on my own everyday. A forklift driver hit an exit sign and knocked it apart. Just needed to be placed back together. I made the mistake of touching the circuit board with both hands. For what felt like forever I was being shocked while 15 feet in the air by myself on a scissor lift. Fortunately I had a harness on and I was able to get off it by letting myself fall backwards without falling off the lift. I was dizzy for 15 minutes afterward.
got shocked for the first time the other day. I got hit by 120 but was lucky enough that I wasn't holding it... it hit my knuckle while I was working on another wire in the box. (high resistance)
Only been on the job for 8 months. I know to be careful, but even that short amount of time in after doing outlet after outlet, switch after switch it's easy to let your mind wonder. I appreciate this pep talk. It's a real motivator. Thank you.
Ps I've blown up a pair of kliens already. Never again that's like almost $50 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
For me it was when I put my hand in a light pole fed by 277 volt, three phase. Wire nut came off of the neutral.
Was like a squirrel holding a nut, was bad.
I'm glad you're okay and are adamant about safety. There's people at home that depend on us to return safely and the shortcuts just aren't worth it.
Big fan of the channel, as an up and comming electrician, these videos are awesome and really help me alot not only with the technical aspect, but the passion for the job aspect as well. Thanks for the vids man
I remember accidentally touching an electric fence intended for cattle whilst on my way down from Mount Pilatus, Switzerland. I can't remember the pain, but I can remember the shock being on the left side of my body. Still I managed to get out of the fencing by asking a local farmer to open the fence gate for me, albeit with my extremely minimal Swiss German.
If I were to be an apprentice in electrical engineering, the worst shock I could get from consumer electricity would be 230 Volts since I live in Europe. I know European Voltage is double that of North America, yet I don't know if pain is proportional to current or to power. If twice the voltage, or four times the power, goes through your body, does it hurt twice as bad or four times as bad ? Does the human body register pain based on current or power ? I'd be glad to know that, if there is a definite answer
Thank you 😊. And I am happy you are ok👍
Not letting the ego get in the way of telling an embarrassing story in a humorous way so others can learn is peak ultimate human. Keep it up. I value your candid but friendly demeanor too. No fluff, confident and concise. We appreciate you bro. Thank fuck you're a resistant mofo!
This same experience happened to me…..laying on my back on wet ground attempting to repair some freeze broke pipes. I got scrunched up into a very low section of the crawl space and my chest came squarely into contact with a wire staple which had cut into the hot wire of some ancient Romex. My chest and back were soaked which made my clothing useless as an insulator. I almost died that day. The only thing that saved me was gravity. As I convulsed and bucked under the house I slid downhill just enough to break contact. My face was black and blue from bouncing off the a floor joist so violently. It was quite the wake up call when it comes to crawl spaces and old house wiring.
I work around a lot of 480v high amperage machines and luckily I’ve only tasted a few 120 safety circuits.
My ex brother-in-law is an electrician. Fairly early in his career he started working with BIG electricity - like major industrial power. That was back when (probably) there were more "yeah, I went to school and got the cert, but most of it was just wuss stuff". I know for a fact that he was a cowboy. Anyhow, he and some of his crew were working on some bazillion volt thing and there was some kind of arc that crispy-fried most of the skin on his back. After 3 or 4 months of healing, he retired from the bazillion volt business and spent the rest of his career wiring houses. Not that you can't get hurt or killed in/around residences.
My worst one was 600v, I was lucky it was just across the tip of 1 finger, but I instantly had a burn blister on the finger. I had removed a conveyor motor for repair, which I had locked out and tagged. a couple days later I was notified the repaiir was done and went to reinstall it. I recall thinking I should check that it was still locked and tagged off, but thought it will be fine, I locked it myself. I got the cable re-entered into the motor J-box, did the first connection, no problem but got hit putting on the 2nd conductor. Found out the plant manager had removed the lock, because that piece of equipmment was interlocked with other machines so without it running they were shut down. Since then even If I put the lock on myself I check to be sure no one has removed it. I also got my own locks because I had used the plants lock so they had the key that they removed the lock with. Another memorable hit was changing a light fixture, I turned off the switch, but when taking down the light took a really hard hit, turned out whoever did the original install had put the switch on the neutral of the cct, lessen learned, even if you turn off the switch yourself test it anyway.