Welder's first kiss

[joshuabardwell]

I was adjusting the dry-fit on a piece today. The ground clamp was hooked up and the welder was on; the stinger was placed securely away from the work area. It had been raining and the ground was wet. I wasn't wearing gloves. As I put my knee down on the ground, I felt a little tingle in my hand and realized what was happening. I was getting zapped! Nothing really to speak of. At first I just thought it was one of those nerve twinges that happens sometimes if I tweak my hand a certain way.

I don't know why, but I always think of the stinger as the thing that "makes the zap". I guess the ground clamp is "pulling" just as hard as the stinger is "pushing".

 

[mjncad]

Congratulations on getting to First Base. :laughing:

 

[CNC Dan]

josh, check to see if the secondary winding is connected to the frame of the welder. With welder off, measure the resistance between output leads to the case. Some welders have the center of the secondary winding connected to the frame and ground conductor of the input wireing. That would give you about half of your output volts on either lead to ground.

 

[rankrank1]

Yep I have been welder kissed before too. I mostly weld outside in the dirt and grass. Since I am forced to be outside then my welding duties are mostly limited to the warmer summer months. I have noticed that my chances of getting kissed only happen when the grass is wet from dew or my clothes and body are soaking wet with sweat from the summer heat (or a dual combination of both). Now when ground dampness occurs or me being soaked occurs then, I simply quit welding for the day.

I guess I am what you call a fair weather only welder now - LOL. Of course I am only a backyard hobbyist too so I can easily make that choice. Regardless the safety factor is worth it for me.

 

[Shield Arc]

Working heavy civil construction all my life, except for about 3-years in a shop. And living and working in the north west for 35 + years, I have never been shocked!

 

[CNC Dan]

Working heavy civil construction all my life, except for about 3-years in a shop. And living and working in the north west for 35 + years, I have never been shocked!

That's quite a record!
I got zapped first when I was 5 years old when I plugged in our Xmass tree and didn't see the tinsel on the plug. Just like yesterday for me.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used to enjoy "kissing the pipefitters" with the TIG torch that is. I had a fitter once who wouldn't use a spacer and would try to hold a gap in the fit which of course meant that one side wouldn't be grounded, so that is the side I would touch first to watch him jump. I had a friend who was a fitter and overheard him talking "bad" about a welder who was doing that to him. It seems they were up in a pipe rack sitting on some wet from the dew stainless steel pipe and the welder kept touching the fitter with the tungsten of the TIG torch. He was saying that he could taste the fillings in his mouth and was sure that there was an arc going between his teeth. Of course I had to laugh and rather loudly at that.

 

[Shield Arc]

That's quite a record!

Now Dan, you didn't really buy that BS story did you?

 

[CNC Dan]

Now Dan, you didn't really buy that BS story did you?

Sure, a 'hobbyist' wouldn't make that stuf up.

 

[Shield Arc]

Welding in the rain is just part of the business here. About the only thing we don't do in the rain is paint! :laughing: