Terry Moushari said:
Is there a possibility of getting electrocuted to death by a 24V AC portable
welder. Sometime the pavement is wet when I'm welding alone and I'm worried.
Sometimes the glove I use is too thin not sure what will happens when my
glove rips, for example. Will I be electrocuted and die as a result?
Terry
Here's the welder
http://tinyurl.com/2r6fe
itable
Well Terry,
It's not very likely but it *is* possible. That welder inevitable came with
papers and/or booklets including warnings and safety precautions. You'd
better follow them, especially if you don't understand the working of that
welder.
IMHO you need a basic understanding of the welder to work with it. So for
short:
The welder has to cables. The welding arch is kept alive by the current that
flows from one cable to the other. The same current may kill you when it
flows through your body.
Current flow is caused by a voltage and has to flow through a resistance
(the load). The higher the voltage and/or the lower the resistance, the
higher the current. When welding, the welding arch is the load. This has a
very low resistance so the current will by high. When you are the load (so
to speak, don't try this for real) things are different. If it's a bright
summer day and you get the cable ends with one hand each, some current will
flow through your body. But the voltage is not above 37V (according to the
specifications) and your dry skin has a high resistance. The current will
be so low, you will hardly feel a thing if anything at all. If you do the
same on a rainy day, soaking wet, it may be fatal. That's because a wet skin
has a low resistance so the current will increase to fatal hights. (That's
still a thousend times lower then the current through a welding arch.) Once
again: "Don't try this at home."
So I bet one of the safety precautions you should have read, is: "Wear
insulating gloves."
And the wet pavement? Has nothing to do with it. Any danger from that has to
do with another current. *If* you did not use protective ground for your
welder *and* if the welder has a leakage from primary to secundary *and* if
your work is grounded *then* you may get 110V mains in your hand(s). So a
current may try to flow from your hand to your feet (and to the pavement.)
It's not likely to happen and less likely to be dangerous, especially as you
always use a mains outlet with protective ground. Eh?
Keep it safe.
petrus