Re: Death Row HV Question

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Sundog by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <sundog-at-timeship-dot-net>

Hi All, Richard,

  I think the electric chair (Ole' Sparky here in FL) is only a couple of
KV, but several amps.  In a note here, think about this. An unballasted MOT
is about 1/2 the power you'd see in the electric chair.  Unfortunately,
there is no "Half-Lethal".

   The most dangerous shock you can get is from your head to your feet, it
hits both your noodle and ticker.  Next most dangerous would be anything
going from one side of you to the other, through your chest.

  Contact with a pig, that's a toughie.  Depends on what it's ballasted to.
If you have it choked down to a few mA on the primary, you'd barely get a
sting from the secondary (if anything).  Unballasted, you'd almost certainly
blow or burn off a few fingers, go flying across the garage (collecting
injuries on the way), and probably go into cardiac arrest.  There'd most
likely be lots of nerve damage, severe burns at the entry and exit points.
If you survived, you'd probably never be "quite right" after that. A
ballasted pig would probably be somewhere in the middle, but most ppl run
their pigs between 5 and 15 kva, which is well into the lethal range.

 I've been hit by a 12/30 (don't sneeze while testing a dusty tranny),
knocked me silly and probably scared me worse than it hurt me, but it's
nothing I'll try again.

 One thing to keep in mind here, is that while my pig is dangerous, the 240v
going into my contactors (before the ballast) is just as deadly, and because
it doesn't reach out to grab you, you have to grab it.  And you might not be
able to let go. The LV side of coiling, 120 or 240v, is just as dangerous.
Sorry, but I gotta make the safety statement :)
Remember, Stupid Hurts!

  Hope that helps!


Shad




----- Original Message -----
From: Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
To: <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2001 6:35 PM
Subject: Death Row HV Question


> Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<Robynsaddiction-at-aol-dot-com>
>
> Hello List,
>
>         You know, I have been wondering what they typically feed the
dreaded
> electric chairs. That is, what kind of voltage and amperage are we talking
> about here? Will a pulsed discharge kill you faster than just getting hit
by
> your PIG? Is a blow from a Pole Pig a definite death sentence, or is it
> possible to survive such a nasty shock? On which part of the body would be
the
> most fatal place for me to take a shock? Perhaps from one hand to the
other, or
> would the head be the worst place to be hit. I'm not trying to be a sick
freak,
> but I am curious. Thanks to all who have the stomach to answer.
>
Richard
>
>
>