So, after working 2 jobs this summer, I decided to treat myself to a flat screen TV. I’ve been playing X-box on my tiny box TV for a long time and multi-player sucks.
so anyways, of allll the places I chose to drill…POP went the drill…sparks went flying…the place went dark. After flipping through switches in the electrical box, everything worked except for the living room ceiling, some plugs, the bathroom plugs and lights, and kitchen lights.
AAAAAAAAAAARGFH. So I will have to call an electrician out. They probably have to break through the wall right??? :fume: :aiyo: :aiyo:
This kind of situation (drilling where no man has drilled before) is why some dude invented the metal/wire detectors. They are very practical and save you from messes like this.
[quote=“Battery9”]So, after working 2 jobs this summer, I decided to treat myself to a flat screen TV. I’ve been playing X-box on my tiny box TV for a long time and multi-player sucks.
so anyways, of allll the places I chose to drill…POP went the drill…sparks went flying…the place went dark. After flipping through switches in the electrical box, everything worked except for the living room ceiling, some plugs, the bathroom plugs and lights, and kitchen lights.
AAAAAAAAAAARGFH. So I will have to call an electrician out. They probably have to break through the wall right??? :fume: :aiyo: :aiyo: [/quote]
The electricians worst nightmare…(said by an electrician (not me, though))
awwwwwwwww found someone to help. Two guys came over and ripped the line out of the wall without having to break the wall. Replaced it and laughed a lot. Only NT$880
You know why don’t you? 1. This is Taiwan. normal electronics laws don’t apply. 2. Some of your neighbors, friends or co-workers like you and were burning money on your behalf. It also helps not to understand the laws of electricity too much here. then they will get you.
[quote]Offhand it would seem that a shock of 10,000 volts would be more deadly than 100 volts. But this is not so! Individuals have been electrocuted by appliances using ordinary house currents of 110 volts and by electrical apparatus in industry using as little as 42 volts direct current. The real measure of shock’s intensity lies in the amount of current (amperes) forced though the body, and not the voltage. Any electrical device used on a house wiring circuit can, under certain conditions, transmit a fatal current.[/quote]–“The Fatal Current,” New Jersey State Council of Electrical Contractors Associations, Inc., Bulletin VOL. 2, NO. 13, February, 1987 physics.ohio-state.edu/~p616 … rrent.html
I’m glad that you’re okay, and that your repair bill was pretty affordable. Out of curiosity, what were you drilling for anyway? Were you trying to wall mount your new TV?
I assure you that 110 volts could easily kill you. Ever hear of people dropping a hair dryer into a bath that they’re soaking in, or something like that? That’s why bathrooms are supposed to have those special safety outlets that shut off if the current running through them is too high.
Current is what kills, not necessarily the voltage.
Also, static electricity can have many thousands of volts, but most people don’t die from a little static electricity when there’s dry weather (which, admittedly, doesn’t happen so much in Taiwan). The reason is there’s not much current involved with static electricity.
AC 110 is absolfucinglutely deadly. It the amps that kill and it doesn’t take much across the heart to stop it dead.
Glad you’re OK. Consider it a close call and watch where you drill. Electricians are a bit lazy, so it is often easy to guess where the put the wires - like don’t drill parallel to an electrical socket or fixture (usually right at the level you want to hang your picture). Think iabout where you would put the cable in the wall if you were lazy - that’s where it probably is. Even then, I cross my fingers each time I drill into the wall and I try not to go deep - just enough to put a countersink in.
I once interviewed a former interior designer for a job. He was a former designer because he had suffered a serious electric shock and lost many fingers on at least one of his hands. Okay, that shouldn’t be a reason to give up but maybe he didn’t have the confidence to go back into it or maybe people discriminated against him. I don’t know. All I do know was don’t f$%k with electricity.
Back in California years ago, I knew a guy who grew a lot of dope in his garage. First, though, he opened the box where the electricity entered the house, spliced in a new line and ran it out to the garage so all those lights were running for free and the utility company wouldn’t see any spike in usage.
Brilliant tactic, but I couldn’t believe he had the guts to try something so crazy. Sure, he was fairly handy with carpentry, plumbing and electrical and he was confident he knew what he was doing, but. . . what if he was wrong? Heck, I stepped back a couple paces and held my breath as he did it. :snivel:
:aiyo: :aiyo: 
