How am I not dead?

[Renze]

If you put an oscilloscope on your wall socket, and look at the entire waveform, positive peak to negative peak, you reading will actually be about 340v peak to peak.

The 120v reading is rms, root mean square

Then what about our European system, 230V using a single phase and a null wire, while you get 400V from two, or three phases ?

I allways found it curious why America with its longer distances, uses half the voltage than Europe though a higher voltage transports more energy through a given wire.... ?

 

[k0ua]

Then what about our European system, 230V using a single phase and a null wire, while you get 400V from two, or three phases ?

I allways found it curious why America with its longer distances, uses half the voltage than Europe though a higher voltage transports more energy through a given wire.... ?

I think it all started with "frying an elephant". Perhaps the public is scared enough with the 120 volt nominal outlet voltage. Of course we use larger wire here to transport the larger currents at the lower voltages. For our appliances needing more power we do use 240 volts. Our ovens, clothes dryers and many of our shop tools like air compressors, etc are all 240 volt. And of course electric water heaters.

 

[Mysfyt]

I would like to read the report of a real event.
Words have little value. A quick search of the inter-web returns nothing...shocking! Urban myth?

Myself, I can't even feel 12V in any way, shape, or form (except on the tongue)

I think there is a warning label on my car battery to the effect of "Do not take internally" ......

That's kind of like the warning on fireworks to not put them in your mouth. If a person is that stupid, he's way beyond a written warning.

 

[Soundguy]

Then what about our European system, 230V using a single phase and a null wire, while you get 400V from two, or three phases ?

I allways found it curious why America with its longer distances, uses half the voltage than Europe though a higher voltage transports more energy through a given wire.... ?

What about it? Different freq and voltage, none of the physics or laws change.

 

[prichard]

Then what about our European system, 230V using a single phase and a null wire, while you get 400V from two, or three phases ?

I allways found it curious why America with its longer distances, uses half the voltage than Europe though a higher voltage transports more energy through a given wire.... ?

Longer distances have nothing to do with anything. Distances are done with high voltage whether here or in Europe. Household voltage could be anything.

 

[lennyzx11]

When I brought my (then) German wife to USA, she brought her mothers old sewing machine which was 240 AC.
Being smart, I remembered the dryer ran in 220 and wired a plug on it at our American home.

During testing, that thing would run like a scalded dog!
Trouble was, neither one of us could touch the metal framed machine or foot pedal without getting the s*** knocked out of us.

That's how I learned the diff in Europe wiring and ours.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I learn more on TBN than anywhere else. I had never heard of the Edison elephant. Read about it this morning. All this electricity talk has me skittish. There is a sump pump in the basement of my fathers house. I was there yesterday trying to get the place ready to sell. There were many times as a teen when I would be mopping up the basement after a storm. Walking thru the water without a second thought. Yesterday it rained an inch and a half in very short timid and there was water in the basement. Only half an inch but I decided I would wait till today to go down there.

 

[aczlan]

Then what about our European system, 230V using a single phase and a null wire, while you get 400V from two, or three phases ?

I allways found it curious why America with its longer distances, uses half the voltage than Europe though a higher voltage transports more energy through a given wire.... ?

Our system is uses something like 15,000 volts to run down the road, then it is stepped down to 120/240v where the drop for the house comes off of the overhead lines.
As such, the bigger difference is the required wire sizes.

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

In aviation we learned not to wear a watch with metal straps* as shorting between any hot spot and ground made for a charred wrist! (saw that more than a few times)

Once at a yard sale a guy was selling a battery that he claimed was only 4 mths old.
Being cautious I asked for a coat hanger to check the spark to qualify the battery.
Stupid me held the coat hanger while I made contact between both terminals.
The burn mark in my hand testified to the claim that it was only months old. Bought it! ($25) and it still starts my tractor!

* working under the dash.

 

[Renze]

Our system is uses something like 15,000 volts to run down the road, then it is stepped down to 120/240v where the drop for the house comes off of the overhead lines.
As such, the bigger difference is the required wire sizes.

Aaron Z

Yes, now you say so: when i was in Canada there was a transformator at the beginning of every single house line. Here in Europe there is a transformator in every neighbour hood and 3 phase and null wire running to about 10 to 50 house holds, depending on rural or city neighbourhood.

Is the North American system also 3 phase 240v and a null wire for 120v ?

 

[prichard]

Yes, now you say so: when i was in Canada there was a transformator at the beginning of every single house line. Here in Europe there is a transformator in every neighbour hood and 3 phase and null wire running to about 10 to 50 house holds, depending on rural or city neighbourhood.

Is the North American system also 3 phase 240v and a null wire for 120v ?

We have 240v, 120v to neutral as well as 208/120 and 480/277. 480 only for industrial applications. Household is usually 240/120 1phase.

Also, I believe you have 50hz where we are at 60hz.

 

[CobyRupert]

Is the North American system also 3 phase 240v and a null wire for 120v ?

Residential in the US tends to be single phase 240 volt service with a center tapped null to get 2 legs of 120v that are distributed to wall receptacles. Call this single phase 120/240 volt,

Low voltage 3hree phase services and panels in commercial and industrial applications tend to be 120/208 volt, 3 phase

 

[aczlan]

Yes, now you say so: when i was in Canada there was a transformator at the beginning of every single house line. Here in Europe there is a transformator in every neighbour hood and 3 phase and null wire running to about 10 to 50 house holds, depending on rural or city neighbourhood.
Is the North American system also 3 phase 240v and a null wire for 120v ?

A transformer here will cover 5-10 houses (in a subdivision, probably more in a more crowded city setting), but out in the country there are only 1-4 houses per transformer (2 on ours).
Being as you are running 240 for "normal" household loads (and 480 for big ones as I understand), you can go twice as far on the same size wire powering the same wattage worth of loads.

Aaron Z

 

[rd_macgregor]

What, nobody going to mention getting zapped by an electric fence? Our hot gate wire can knock me to my knees if I don't duck low enough. It isn't going to kill me, but sure is unpleasant.

 

[k0ua]

What, nobody going to mention getting zapped by an electric fence? Our hot gate wire can knock me to my knees if I don't duck low enough. It isn't going to kill me, but sure is unpleasant.

I have been zapped twice by an electric fence. Both were very unpleasant encounters. One was when I was a child and walked up to examine a road sign and did not know the fence wire was there and I simply walked into it. I jumped back pretty quickly. I first thought that a wasp or bee had stung me until I saw the wire.

The second time, as a teen, another teen handed me a water hose to drink from that was spilling out right next to a electric fence wire that I did not realize was there, and he did since it was his home. In getting the drink I accidently let the water stream play across the energized fence and received a shock in my mouth and hand. The audience of several teenages boys thought it was extremely funny. Me, not so much.

The only thing that might be worse would be peeing on an energized wire, but I wouldn't have any first hand experience on that one thankfully.

 

[Soundguy]

I've been hit by an electric fence a few times as we have had them for cows n whatnot over the years.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I put in a cyclops 5 joule fence. I live in fear of that thing.