Weekend update

[Nasty135]

Once upon a time , I worked for an electrical company and one day I was sent with "THE GRIZZLED VETERAN" We had to work at a Harley Davidson dealer in VA. (This was a long time ago but I remember as if it were yesterday) OLD JOE sent me to the truck way out in the parking lot when I hear this muffled "AHH-WHUMMMP" I really didn't know where it came from being in a very congested business part of town, So I walk back in the showroom heading toward the rear of the shop and notice SMOKE rolling out the door and permiating the ceiling area ,Suddenly (I can be a little slow) It dawns on me AH-WHUMMP was HERE.... WHERE"S OLD JOE!!

It seems OLD JOE was just starting to take the screws out of a 600 VOLT panel and the last screw was laid up next to one of the feeds in the panel , AS he turned the screw it cut into the insulation, the result was something he won't soon forget.

It blew the screw driver(what was left of a screw driver)straight back flying out of his hand and at the same time the ARC(explosion) blew the panel at him knocking him accross the room to the floor(which actually saved him from being BURNT more severley than just losing his eyebrows. He was very shook up understandably so. He was lucky to be alive ,I ended up driving him to the hospital for treatment on his FLASH BURNS and just in general because as I stated initially OLD JOE was just that , and I knew that whether he had taken a jolt or not this kind of excitement could be hazardous to his health.
He was a good electrician and this was not his fault ,It could happen to anyone. It gave me a very healthy respect for electricity .
I'm sure he has been retired for years buy now, But I'll bet you he still remembers the day he had this rookie with him.
You know , He never took me with him again after that incident , I wonder?HMMMM /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Was I his JINX /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Robert_in_NY]

My father learned a similar lesson with a panel box. He loosened a screw and a bar fell out. So he picked the bar up and put it back up where it fell from and ZAP /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

An electrician friend of ours showed us a picture of a job he had to do. Somebody decided to nail a 16 box nail thru the wall. Well, the panel box was between the studs on the other side of the wall and the nail went thru the back of the box and blew it up. The picture was neat as the box looked like someone squished a spider as every breaker blew out of the box and was hanging on to the wires still in a 360 circle around the box. I would have loved to been there to see the guys reaction that put that nail in /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif