Originally Posted by
manicmike
As a kid I played around with electricity *a lot*. I've felt the force of 220V (UK where I grew up) then 240V (Australia) and it wasn't that bad. I believe the rest of the world went with a higher voltage because although higher voltage gives you more of a jolt, the current is proportionally lower and is less likely to kill you (it's current that stops the heart and damages the nerves). If it weren't for this I'd have won a Darwin award at about 3 years of age.
EDIT: Maybe it's all those jolts that made me a sewing machine collector
I had a handyman we knew once tell us that 240 is more dangerous than 120, because 120 will make you let go when you get shocked, and 240 tends to make the muscles contract, so you hang on. Based on what you said (and since you live with 240, I suspect you're more familiar) It sounds like this was wrong? He used to do wiring on the 220 and 440 washers at the laundromat that his family owned.
What is the amperage (current) per breaker at the fuse box in the average house in Aus? Here older houses are 15amp, and newer I think are usually built with 20amp. Considering it takes less than an amp to stop your heart, I don't think I want to tempt it anymore regardless.
It's possible successive jolts may flip the switch back and forth. I haven't worked on nearly as many machines since I zapped myself. Of course they've all be character building machines, so that may have to do with my reluctance too. One win, that's all I want. One win occasionally.
Successive jolts may also just weld the switch in the "hoarder" position too...
Originally Posted by
miriam
It looks really clean too. I agree. A theft needs to occur!